QSR August 2022

QSR 50

Why 2021 Was a Mixed Blessing for QSR 50 Brands / BY ADAM LEFF

L et’s step away from the sales and into the consumer response. What did this past year tell us? Many quick-service restaurant brands benefited from being well-positioned to support off-premises dining during COVID waves. Already serving a high percentage of sales through drive-thrus, they were set up to do more of the same. Or were they? Looking at satisfaction ratings for the QSR 50 brands, it appears their guests did not always feel the same. Guest satisfaction declined a quarter of a star from Jan uary to December 2021. While the entire restaurant industry also experienced a drop, it was less severe. So, what caused the downward shift, what impact did it have on sales, and

there was a similar increase in demand. Pent-up demand drove impressive sales comps, not only over 2020, but in some cases over 2019, as drive-thru and carryout became the go-to for COVID-conscious diners. However, the decline in satis faction—especially the greater fall for the top quick-service chains in America—indicates fast food was generally not pre pared to serve diners with the same level of guest experience as they were known for in the past (labor shortages could be a culprit). Diners more frequently cited the quality of food declined, as did staff demeanor. We can dig deeper into the feedback that makes up over all guest satisfaction to see why guests were less satisfied over time. Using Merchant Centric’s proprietary Artificial Intelligence, we count the number of positive and nega tive mentions within review feedback on key themes such as Food, Staff Demeanor, Staff Dedication, Timeliness, Ser vice Accuracy, Price/Value, Loyalty & Referral and 100-plus additional themes. We then use Theme Performance Scores ( TPS ), the ratio of positive mentions for a theme relative to the

what does this mean for the future? The Why Behind the Movement

It seems QSR 50 chains were perhaps not as prepared as may have been concluded, at least from the perspective of con sumers response. Review velocity increased dramatically from March through August of 2021. This likely indicates

ADOBE STOCK / BALANCEFORMCREATIVE

62

AUGUST 2022 | QSR | www.qsrmagazine.com