The quick-service segment continues to hemorrhage traffic, a trend that has been in play now for over a year at many brands. Plenty of blame has been placed on stubbornly high menu prices, and for good reason – the inflation index for limited-service restaurants continues to far outpace the general Consumer Price Index.

But there’s more to QSRs’ current struggles than pricing. The 2024 QSR Reputation Ranking, a new report from Chatmeter that analyzes customer reviews, finds that grievances within the segment have increased in the past year. Reviews mentioning mistakes were up nearly 7%, while references to staff attitudes were up nearly 22%, and mentions of managers increased nearly 15%, both leaning negative.

Customers regularly reported inattentive staff, “unprofessional” communication, inaccurate orders, and rude managers. Those managers were frequently described as having poor customer service skills, and some reviews highlighted instances in which managers handled staff issues inappropriately in front of customers.

Additionally, wait time-related reviews increased by 8.5%, with nearly 36% of customers reporting that their orders took “a long time.”

When it comes to slow service, many negative reviews came from digital customers. While the percentage of reviews mentioning mobile or online was less than 1% overall, reviews mentioning slow service included “online” 24.5% of the time, and “mobile” 52% of the time. These reviews skewed negative, signaling a potential threat reputationally as more consumers adopt digital ordering.

Overall, reviews that mentioned customer service issues increased by 19% year-over-year, while those mentioning pricing declined slightly. That’s not to say pricing is no longer an issue – in fact, quite the opposite. The portion of pricing-related reviews that described restaurants as “overpriced,” increased by more than 43% versus last year.

It’s worth noting that while this data illustrates that negative feedback dominates customer service reviews, Chatmeter’s overall perception of customer service improved slightly. The company theorizes that while QSRs are investing in customer service efforts, “they aren’t doing enough.”

“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,” Chatmeter chief executive officer 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.”

QSR brands that are winning the customer service battle

That’s not to say all brands are struggling with customer service. According to the report, Chick-fil-A ranks No. 1 for overall reputation, which includes food quality, service quality, and value. Sibling brands Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s were second overall, while Arby’s was third overall.

Rounding out the top 10 for overall reputation were McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Jack in the Box, Zaxby’s, Panda Express, Five Guys, and Taco Bell. The bottom five out of 25 measured were KFC, Pizza Hut, Papa Johns, Jimmy John’s, and Subway.

For food quality, Chick-fil-A was No. 1, followed by Popeyes, Panda Express, Zaxby’s, and Chipotle. For service quality, Chick-fil-A once again ranked on top, followed by McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Jack in the Box, and Hardee’s.

When asked, “what do customers think about my pricing?” Hardee’s ranked No. 1, followed by Arby’s, Chick-fil-A, Five Guys, and Wendy’s. The bottom five for pricing were Jersey Mike’s, Pizza Hut, Chipotle, Jimmy John’s, and Subway.

Chatmeter used its artificial intelligence-powered sentiment analysis tool, Signals, to analyze Google Reviews from a sample of 100 locations from each restaurant to inform rankings.