Is Papa John's tops in satisfaction? A leading survey says yes

When it comes to fast food customer service, Papa's at the top - Papa John's, that is, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The Louisville, Ky.-based pizza purveyor topped the annual rankings, founded at the University of Michigan, based on customer evaluations of quality of products and services.

Most large fast-food chains saw their scores improve, buoyed by frequent price promotions and new menu items, the ACSI said. Pizza places have been perhaps the most visible on that front, offering pizzas for $10 and less and in other combination deals. That paid off in the rankings: Papa John's led the limited-service restaurant category with a score of 80 out of 100, up from 75 last year, while Pizza Hut and Little Caesars were close behind at 78. Domino's held steady at 77, despite the highly publicized rollout of their new pizza recipe. KFC and Burger King also saw their scores rise. In fact, McDonald's was the only restaurant in the category to drop, to a score of 67, compared to 70 last year. That put it last in the category.

I was initially all set to jump to McDonald's defense, because I think they're good at what they do - offering consistent and by no means terrible food at an inexpensive price. And they've recently introduced more products to broaden their menu, with more snack items and coffee drinks. However, that's sort of the big picture - and people's views are shaped by their personal experiences with the Golden Arches (or any other retailer). For instance, I went to a local-McDonald's-that-shall-remain-nameless last night and the following occurred: It took several minutes of standing at the cash register just to be waited on or acknowledged, even though there was no one else in line and plenty of staffers walking around in full view. The worker that did end up taking my order sneezed into her arm in the middle of making it, so she had to hand it off to another employee, who accidentally dropped the order on the ground as she was about to serve it to me, and had to make a new one. They ended up being very pleasant about it, but the whole thing was positively sitcom-esque - and suggests that maybe the survey respondents are onto something. You can find the full list, with historical data, here.

On a semi-related note: With perhaps unintentional humor, the report notes that "still, airlines remain near the bottom of all industries in the (index)." And US Airways is near the bottom of that category, with a score of 62. However, I can't exactly throw stones. Only newspapers and subscription TV have equal or lower scores, as a category. (Insert gallows-humor newspaper-industry-woes joke here.)

Burger King escalates fast-food coffee battle

If you're a fan of Burger King's coffee, get ready to say goodbye: The nation's no. 2 burger chain will begin ditching its "BK Joe" this summer in favor of the Starbucks-owned Seattle's Best line of java, in an attempt to fight back against sagging sales and boost the quality of its food - and, I'm assuming, its reputation. Says the Associated Press:

Under the effort, more than 7,000 Burger King restaurants will begin sell the coffee along with iced varieties that also come with a choice of plain, vanilla or mocha flavors and whipped toppings. While prices will be set by franchise owners — who operate 90 percent of the chain's locations — the brew's suggested prices range from $1 to $2.79. Drinks will be sold all day.

Far from an isolated move, the move puts BK squarely in the fray of fast food chains angling for a bigger share of the lucrative beverage, and breakfast, business. For the past two years, McDonald's has been aggressively rolling out and expanding its McCafe line of espresso-based drinks. Dunkin' Donuts has been growing locally. And Chick-fil-A has recently begun touting its 100 percent Colombian brews, too. (Of course, for the finest in quality, may I suggest the Observer's third-floor vending machine, and its 75-cent cups of watered-down...something? What? No takers? Moving on...)

Starbucks bought Seattle's Best in 2003 and has been using the brand to grow while avoiding further overexposure of its namesake products and stores. Locally, it's available at the cafes in Borders Bookstores. For Burger King, the new addition could help bolster how people perceive its food - something that looks to me to have taken a backseat amid weird-verging-on-creepy promotions featuring the "king" and his giant plastic head, "Baby Got Back" rapper Sir Mix-a-Lot and Spongebob Squarepants, and grease-soaked sandwiches with sub-McDonald's appeal. The AP story says that along with the new coffee, the chain is likely to debut improved breakfast products. We shall see.