Fast food service isn’t exactly known to be as good as a Michelin-starred restaurant. However, it’s now apparently getting even worse.
According to a new study conducted by AI-based intelligence company Chatmeter, complaints are on the rise, wait times are getting longer, and mobile ordering is causing chaos in restaurants. The 2024 QSR Reputation Ranking, which includes 25 of the largest quick-service restaurants in the industry, analyzed customer reviews of the food quality, service quality, and overall value.
The company used its AI platform to look at 100 randomly selected locations from these popular QSRs between August 2023 and August 2024. Ultimately, mistakes were up 6.9% from the previous year and mentions of poor staff attitudes increased 21.8%. Negative comments about managers were also up 14.6% year over year. The reviews specifically contained comments about inattentive staffers, unprofessional communication, incorrect orders, and rude managers.
According to the report, wait-time related reviews have surged 8.5%, with 35.7% of those comments claiming that their order took a “long time”—which was anywhere between 30 minutes to an hour. Mobile ordering complaints also increased by a whopping 52%. Of those, most were negative with customers complaining their orders weren’t ready when promised and walk-in orders were deprioritized as a result.
“Every brand is at risk of going viral for the wrong reasons, with growing reviews and customer chatter around poor service an obvious warning sign,” CEO John Mazur said in a statement. “QSRs must listen to their customers’ feedback in real time to make better decisions and ensure the customer experience delivers on what’s promised.”
“Today, customers are using their mobile phones while in the restaurant or the drive-through to provide nearly instant feedback, whether it’s via reviews or social media,” Mazur added.
While service might be on the decline universally in the industry, Chatmeter did call out a few chains that are—for the most part, at least—doing it right. Chick-fil-A, for example, scored highest as the most-loved restaurant by customers, while Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s and Arby’s trailed shortly behind with the most positive customer reviews for food quality, service, and value.
Megan Schaltegger is an NYC-based writer. She loves strong coffee, eating her way through the Manhattan food scene, and her dog, Murray. She promises not to talk about herself in third person IRL.