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According to recent figures published by the NPD Group, casual dining chains top the list when it comes to customer satisfaction.
In the year ending March 2015, diners said they felt 'strong overall satisfaction' during 77% of their visits to casual dining chains, meaning that they rated their experience as either 'excellent' or 'very good.'
Second on the list were branded pubs, scoring 73%, followed by quick service restaurant (QSR) chains, scoring 67%. Customer satisfaction has improved by 10% in casual dining chains and branded pubs since March 2009, and by 14% in QSRs.
The NPD Group, a market research firm, said that a diner's overall satisfaction of a food outlet is driven by a range of factors, including service quality, food and drink quality and taste, ambience, and value for money.
In the survey, branded pubs and QSR chains came top in terms of service quality, with diners stating they were strongly satisfied during 70% and 64% of visits, respectively. Moreover, customers were strongly satisfied with the speed of service during 67% of visits to casual dining chains and during 62% of visits to branded pubs.
Casual dining outlets received a 'strong satisfaction' rating for cleanliness during 72% of consumer visits, while for branded pubs and QSRs the figures stood at a respective 65% and 63%, reports the Retail Times.
While customer satisfaction ratings have increased across the board, the NPD Group notes that there is still room for improvement. For instance, during 38% of visits to branded pubs, diners were not 'strongly satisfied' with the speed of service, while cleanliness was not rated highly during 35% of visits. Additionally, over two-thirds (36%) of visits to QSRs did not provide diners with a 'strong' standard of service.
Cyril Lavenant, director of foodservice at NPD for the UK and France, said the survey indicates that consumers are becoming increasingly demanding and more reluctant to accept an average experience. He commented: "Consumers are more likely to make decisions based on quality and variety of food, as well as price. Foodservice outlets need to understand those are all parts of creating that sense of 'overall satisfaction' if they are to drive footfall.
"If you provide great food, but your service does not follow and your outlet is not clean, you are likely to lose customers."
