Last week, the headlines all read along the same lines: Chick-fil-A has lost its crown.
- Chick-fil-A's reign is over. See who is now the top fast food chain ~ USA Today
- US has a new top fast food chain and it's not Chick-fil-A ~ Cincinnati Enquirer
- Chick-fil-A dethroned in fast food rankings as popular sandwich chain surges ~ The Independent
- Fast-food rankings shaken. Chick-fil-A falls as this sandwich shop rises. ~ Florida Today
For more than a decade, Chick-fil-A has topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index. This year, the chain scored 83 out of 100, only to be edged out by Jersey Mike’s, the sub shop chain acquired by Blackstone in 2025 for $8 billion.
Jersey Mike’s finished one point better at 84.
I like both eateries, but having grown up in South Jersey, I'm probably more qualified than most to have an opinion on sub shops. In the Philadelphia area, independent sub and cheesesteak shops dominate the landscape, and chain restaurants rarely set the standard.
Having lived in Arizona for years, however, I've found Jersey Mike's to be one of the few national chains that consistently delivers the kind of sub you'd expect back East.
However, Chick-fil-A is a no-brainer. I've visited locations across several states, and the experience is remarkably consistent. The food is good, but the customer service is what makes stopping there so easy.
And that’s really the point of this story: customer service still matters.
Customer Service: One Leg of a Three-Legged Stool
A company's success is like a three-legged stool. The first leg is a good product—something customers genuinely need or want. The second leg is marketing and branding.
If the product is something that customers need, it’s the marketing and branding that makes them want it. The messaging reassures they made the right choice.
But without customer service, the strength of those first two legs won’t keep the company upright. And there’s a huge difference between customer service and good customer service.
Chick-fil-A has excellent customer service, which is a big reason it ranked number one for the last 11 years. And even though it fell to second place this year, nobody thinks the restaurant, or its staff, have failed in delivering the hospitality customers have come to expect.
Manufacturers outside the hospitality industry can learn a great deal from Chick-fil-A, Jersey Mike's, and In-N-Out, where speed and efficiency don't come at the expense of treating customers like valued people rather than transactions.
Some companies are known for exceptional customer service, while others have achieved near-legendary status for treating customers poorly and somehow surviving despite it.
How your company approaches customer service says a lot about how it values customers. How your company treats its customer service staff says even more.
In other words, if you want to retain customers and maximize lifetime value, recruit and retain the best customer service professionals you can. They are the third leg of the stool that supports your company's reputation. Products may attract customers the first time, but great service is what brings them back.
– Paul Erhardt, Managing Editor, the Outdoor Wire Digital Network