Report: Chick-fil-A, Sonic earn top fast food customer rankings

Waban, Mass. -- Chick-fil-A and Sonic Drive-In deliver the best customer experience in the fast food industry, according to the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings, an annual ranking of companies based on a study of 10,000 U.S. consumers.



Chick-fil-A led the food chains for the third year in a row, landing it in third place overall out of 268 companies across 19 industries. Sonic Drive-In came in a very close second with an overall ranking of fifth. Five other fast food chains earned an "excellent" rating: Dairy Queen, Starbucks, Little Caesar's, Subway, and Burger King. The food chains with the lowest rated customer experience are McDonalds, Baskin Robins, and Orange Julius.



Here are some additional findings from the fast food industry:



• The ratings of all fast food chains in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings are as follows: Chick-fil-A (83%); Sonic Drive-In (82%); Dairy Queen (81%); Starbucks (81%); Little Caesar's (80%); Subway (80%); Burger King (80%); Pizza Hut (79%); Domino's (79%); Wendy's (79%); Arby's (77%); Taco Bell (77%);, Dunkin' Donuts (76%); Jack in the Box (76%); Hardees (76%); KFC (76%); Quiznos (75%); McDonalds (75%); Baskin Robbins (73%); and Orange Julius (71%).



• KFC (+9 points); Burger King (+5 points); Wendy's (+5 points); and Taco Bell (+5 points) improved their ratings the most between 2013 and 2014.



• Dunkin' Donuts (-4 points), Arby's (-2 points), and Jack in the Box (-2 points) were the only fast food chains whose ratings declined between 2013 and 2014.



• Overall, the fast food industry averaged a 78% rating in the 2014 Temkin Experience Ratings and placed 2nd out of 19 industries. It was also one of the 15 industries to improve its rating over the past year, increasing its average by 2.2 percentage points.



"Chick-fil-A continues to stand out amid an industry that receives overall strong marks for customer experience," said Bruce Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group.