010423 Is Love Affair with Fast Food Cooling Down?April 12, 2001Cincinnati, OH - Consumers are rapidly loosing their appetite for the fast food industry. Latest data on consumer attitudes from leading online consumer feedback service PlanetFeedback.com revealed that complaints are outpacing compliments by nearly 50 percentage points. PlanetFeedback.com offers consumers a quick, easy and free way to register a complaint, compliment, question or suggestion with a company. Aggregated data collected in the feedback process is fed into a database, gathering essential statistics and key metrics on consumer attitudes, such as customer satisfaction, loyalty and viral power. The category generating the highest volume of consumer feedback at PlanetFeedback.com is the restaurant industry. In fact, PlanetFeedback analyzed more than 15,000 consumer letters sent to fast food restaurants and franchises from September 2000 to February 2001. Pete Blackshaw, CEO of PlanetFeedback.com, said U.S. consumers, reeling from reports about mad cow and foot-and-mouth disease in Europe, are putting fast- food chains under higher scrutiny. “We're starting to see an increase of consumers questioning major chains about their sources of beef and quality- control measures for monitoring food safety. But the nervousness extends to a higher degree of caution in general and a more pessimistic attitude about the quality, cleanliness and service at fast food restaurants.” Key concerns on consumers' minds - Food quality is the major issue for customers, although customers define "quality" along a broad spectrum that includes the food itself, poor service, order accuracy and employee training. For instance, one customer wrote: " ... employees do not care at all about the customers." Based on PlanetFeedback data, restaurants more likely to receive food-quality complaints than others include Hardee's, Wendy's, Burger King, Pizza Hut, McDonald's and Steak 'n Shake. - Employees can make or break a fast food experience. Consumers complain frequently about poor service, lack of cleanliness/hygiene among employees, rudeness, poor training and basic incompetence. "Upon arriving home, I discovered a sandwich missing ... in other words, I paid $6 for a Pepsi and fries," is one example of a typical complaint. - Busy consumers want more menu choices, including more vegetarian options, more nutritious foods and healthier alternatives -- but in the same amount of time. Among their suggestions: more breakfast offerings, low-fat items, and veggie burgers. "It really bothers me that there are ZERO selections on the McDonalds menu for vegetarians ... " is the feedback from one consumer. - Teens and families with children are fast food's most frequent customers. However, teens remain loyal customers, no matter what their experiences, while families with children are more likely to switch to other companies if they don't like what they encounter. One mother upset with dirty bathroom/diaper- changing conditions for her young children wrote: "I will not stop at another Hardee's ... " According to PlanetFeedback users, the lowest-rated fast food restaurants are Hardee's, Dunkin' Donuts, Arby's, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut, Wendy's and McDonald's. However, PlanetFeedback users had praise for some fast food restaurants. Those awarded highest ratings included In-N-Out Burgers, Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, Chick-fil-A, Papa John's Pizza, White Castle and Long John Silver's. Cleanliness is viral Hygiene was identified as the concern affecting fast food customers most. In fact, hygiene stands out as the issue that's most “viral,” meaning it's the one that consumers talk about most to their friends, families and colleagues, especially when hygiene is poor. Consumers' definitions of hygiene cover the gamut, from store cleanliness/trash to employees' appearance to gross-out food handling habits. They complain about poor or nonexistent hand washing, direct contact with food, sneezing while preparing food and unkempt fingernails and hair. About PlanetFeedback.com Founded in October 1999, PlanetFeedback.com is the leading online consumer feedback service. Its Web site, www.PlanetFeedback.com , was launched in February 2000 and currently generates thousands of letters per week. It is the only consumer feedback site with both TRUSTe and BBBOnLine privacy certification. PlanetFeedback also offers services that help businesses better understand and respond to consumer needs. PlanetFeedback's business services product, BrandPulse, provides deep analysis for companies on customer satisfaction and the “virality” (word-of-mouth behavior) of consumers who send company feedback via the Web. Consumers can reach PlanetFeedback through its home page or through over 900 Web sites, including CNNfn.com, Epinions.com, Oxygen.com, and many others.
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