The 2024 Best Brands for Customer Service List was released today—a first-of-its-kind list for Forbes, created in partnership with customer insights and strategy firm HundredX, Inc. The list ranks the top 300 brands for customer service according to four million pieces of consumer feedback on over 3,000 businesses during the past year.
Recognizing brands in a range of industries, the list includes many quick-service restaurants (QSRs) and sit-down restaurants. In fact, Chick-fil-A, Mission BBQ, and Dutch Bros Coffee all made the top 10.
“The businesses that understand and then meet their customers’ needs better than competitors will always be the most successful,” says HundredX CEO and Founder Rob Pace. “We’re thrilled to further expand our partnership with Forbes and honor those top companies providing excellent service for customers within our data.”
The Best Brands for Customer Service List takes a holistic view of service, examining a brand’s people, technology, and processes from the eyes of the customer. Consumers provide feedback in the following categories:
- People interacted with when purchasing or receiving a good or service
- Speed of providing the good or service
- Services associated with provided the good or service
- Resolution of problems
The restaurants on the list especially ranked high for the “speed” and “people” factors.
“The feedback provided to HundredX shows that restaurants who provide great customer service excel at serving people quickly and having kind and friendly people,” says Andre Benjamin, vice president of Strategy at HundredX. “For quick-service restaurants that made the list, diners cared most about speed by far, followed by the server attitudes. For sit down restaurants, diners cared the most about server attitudes, closely followed by speed.”
Speed is important in industries where products are commoditized and purchased frequently, such as at QSRs. Out of the companies that ranked best for speed, four restaurants made the top 5—Jimmy John’s, Mission BBQ, Chick-fil-A, and Waffle House.
“While speed is critical to even be able to compete, the people are often the key differentiator that allows a brand to stand out from the pack and keep customers coming back,” says Benjamin. “Chick-Fil-A, which was the top restaurant and #2 on the list overall, had the top rating on people of all 3,000 brands we follow. The sit-down restaurants don’t necessarily have to be fast, but customers do not like long waits. People come expecting a server that is welcoming and knows the menu and to get in and out in a reasonable amount of time.”
Besides Chick-fil-A, three restaurants appeared in the top five for people with another coming in at #8: Dutch Bros. Coffee, In-N-Our Burger, Culver’s, and Biggby Coffee.
Other factors that play a role in providing high levels of customer service for restaurants include having strong performing drive-thrus, delivery services, and knowledgeable servers. Beyond customer service, taste is king and the number-one driver of customer satisfaction overall.
When just restaurants are pulled out of the data, the top 10 all appeared in rankings of 50 and above, with sit-down restaurants like Mission BBQ, Capital Grille, Texas Roadhouse, and Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse making up the majority of the list.
The overall top two restaurants, Chick-fil-A and Mission BBQ, dominated in categories compared to other restaurants. Chick-fil-A won in categories like attitude (+41%), drive-thru (+32%), and speed(+20). Mission BBQ was number-one in the sit-down restaurant industry for speed (+36%) and second in the category overall. It also led the sit-down restaurant category in attitude (+17%).
HundredX’s model for collecting customer feedback involved partnering with charitable organizations to encourage feedback in return for funding. To date, HundredX has provided more than nearly $20 million to various causes.
The 2024 Brands for Customer Service is the first of its kind for Forbes, but an extension of HundredX’s partnership with the organization. Past Forbes’ lists powered by HundredX include Best Brands for Social Impact, Customer Experience All-Stars, and the Inaugural Halo 100.
View the full 2024 Best Brands for Customer Service List.
Plan to Attend or Participate in the 2024 Vibe Conference, February 26 – February 28, 2024
To learn more about the latest trends, issues and hot topics, and to experience and taste the best products within the on-premise beverage community, plan to attend the Vibe Conference at Town & Country in San Diego, California. Visit VibeConference.com.
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