J.D. Power and Associates (Westlake Village, Calif.) has released the 2004 edition of its Restaurant Satisfaction Study, finding that highly satisfied customers are visiting restaurant chains more frequently, recommending them more often and are spending more money at quick-service and family/casual dining chains.
The study evaluated overall customer satisfaction levels at major chain restaurants across four regions of the country: Midwest, Northeast, South and West. The study based overall restaurant satisfaction on customer dining experiences in four factors, which are closely related in importance: environment (24%), meal (30%), service (26%) and cost (21%). For its study, J.D. Power defined quick-service restaurants as those with inexpensive food ordered at a cash register or selected from a food bar and paid for prior to the meal. In family/casual restaurants, meanwhile, the meals are moderately priced, ordered and served to seated customers during lunch or dinner, paid for after the meal and, in many cases, also cater to children.