Jersey Mike's steals customer satisfaction crown from Chick-fil-A

Chick-fil-A has been dethroned.

Customer satisfaction rankings

The sandwich chain Jersey Mike’s is the top-rated quick-service brand in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) Restaurant and Food Delivery Study 2026, stepping past longtime leader Chick-fil-A.

It’s a notable achievement, given Chick-fil-A has held the top spot in the index for 11 years, the Ann Arbor, Michigan-based data company said. Chick-fil-A’s high score this year remained unchanged at 83 (on a scale of 0-100), but Jersey Mike’s — a first-timer in the survey — ranked higher with a score of 84, recognizing the sandwich chain’s freshness, food variety, and value.

Jimmy John’s was also ranked for the first time in this year’s survey, nabbing a score of 81. Subway also showed noticeable improvement in the ranking with a 4% increase in score to 79

More broadly, consumer satisfaction with both quick-service and full-service restaurants remained stable this year. QSR scores held at 79 for the third consecutive year. Full service also held at the higher score of 82.

Meanwhile, food delivery posted a 1% gain for the second year, reaching a score of 75, the survey found.

Sales and consumer trends

Noting that restaurant chains grew sales around 3% last year, citing the Technomic Top 500 restaurant chains, the ACSI study found consumers are spending more selectively, questioning whether the experience justifies the price and, in some cases, trading down to convenience stores and supermarkets.

In full-service restaurants, consumers are consolidating visits to fewer occasions. The shifts are reshaping what drives satisfaction, ACSI said, with guests putting more emphasis on consistency, reliability, and perceived value.

“Restaurant industry-level scores are stable, but there’s real movement underneath,” said Forrest Morgeson, associate professor of marketing at Michigan State University and director of research emeritus at the ACSI, in a statement.

“New brands are entering our rankings and immediately competing at the top, which tells you something about where consumer expectations are headed,” Morgeson added. “Price still matters, but it’s no longer enough on its own. Consistency across the full experience is what separates the leaders right now, and that’s showing up clearly in the data. The challenge going forward is sustaining that as costs continue to rise and competition intensifies from outside the traditional restaurant space.”

Full service and qsr scores

Among full-service brands, the top scorers tightened their cluster. LongHorn Steakhouse dropped 1% to tie with Texas Roadhouse, down 2%, with a score of 82. Olive Garden’s score remained unchanged at 81.

Chili’s, meanwhile, raised its score 1% to 79. The casual-dining chain has been on a sales and traffic growth tear over the past three years. ACSI said the chain has had an above-average complaint rate, but that could be related to challenges from surging traffic.

Among other QSRs, KFC recorded a 4% gain in its ACSI score, reaching 80, while Popeyes’ score dropped 3% to 73.

Raising Cane’s and Wingstop are new entrants to the survey, ranking at 79 and 77, respectively.

In the burger category, Burger King’s improvement efforts appear to be paying off. The burger chain’s score increased 1% to 78, and it now shares the top spot with Culver’s.

Sonic also showed improvement, raising its score by 5% to 77, in part by leaning into value offerings, ACSI said.

Among food delivery players, Uber Eats’ score rose 1% to 76, while Grubhub climbed 3% for the second straight year, to 75. DoorDash gained 1% for a score of 74, which ACSI attributed to app enhancements.

The study is based on 16,464 completed surveys of consumers selected at random and contacted by email between April 2025 and March 2026.