Following the release of CustomerHero’s QSR: Burger Segment (US) Benchmark 2025, industry leaders, analysts, and media are taking notice of the data-driven rankings that provide a comprehensive look at customer experience in the U.S. quick-service restaurant industry. This groundbreaking benchmark evaluates 37 of the largest burger chains in the country, analyzing over 1.8 million customer opinions to highlight the best and worst performers across 30+ key performance categories.
As competition in the QSR space intensifies, understanding customer expectations has never been more important. The CustomerHero benchmark helps brands gain valuable insights into consumer sentiment, highlighting what drives satisfaction—and where brands fall short.
Which Burger Chains Are Leading in Customer Experience?
With data collected from Google Maps business listings between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2024, the benchmark ranks major players such as McDonald’s, In-N-Out Burger, White Castle, Smashburger, Rally’s, Five Guys, Carl’s Jr., Jack in the Box, Burger King, Wendy’s, as well as smaller but growing chains. The report answers key questions that matter most to QSR customers:
- Which chain has the friendliest staff?
- Where is service the fastest?
- Who serves the best burgers?
- Which chain gets orders right?
- Where are the best fries?
- Which brand offers the best value?
- Where is food always hot and fresh?
And much more.
The ranking is divided into small, medium, and large QSR burger chains, ensuring fair comparisons between brands of different sizes. The findings reveal clear differences in customer expectations and performance, with some brands excelling in specific areas while others struggle to keep up.
“This benchmark is helping QSR brands better understand their strengths and weaknesses from a customer perspective,” said Marcin Racino, Head of AI & co-owner of CustomerHero. “By leveraging AI-driven sentiment analysis, we provide a data-backed roadmap for brands seeking to optimize their customer experience strategies.”
How the Benchmark Was Created
The CustomerHero QSR Benchmark 2025 is built on real customer feedback collected through Google Maps reviews, analyzed using advanced AI-powered sentiment analysis. The AI model identifies key themes in customer comments, categorizes sentiment (positive, neutral, or negative), and processes this data through quantitative analysis to create objective rankings.
Methodology Breakdown:
- Ratings Analysis – A quantitative evaluation of customer ratings on Google Maps, using an average score (1-5 scale) for all locations of each brand.
- Comment Analysis – A deep dive into optional written reviews, utilizing AI interpretation to extract themes and emotional sentiment from a dataset of nearly 1.9 million comments.
- Net Sentiment Score (NSS) – A sentiment-based metric calculated for categories that typically generate strong positive or negative reactions. NSS reflects the overall sentiment of customer comments on specific topics, offering a more detailed view of customer perceptions.
- Complaint Rate (CR) – A metric for categories where positive feedback is expected. CR measures the frequency of complaints, identifying areas where customer expectations aren’t met. A lower CR suggests stronger performance and higher customer satisfaction.
With the U.S. burger QSR market evolving rapidly amid shifting consumer expectations and economic pressures, this benchmark serves as a must-read for industry leaders, investors, and analysts looking to stay ahead of the competition.
Key Findings Include:
- 37 top burger chains ranked based on real customer satisfaction metrics
- 1.8 million+ consumer opinions analyzed for data-driven insights
- 30 performance categories covering everything from taste to technology
