What's important to consumers at restaurants? Technomic examines key factors - kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and Killeen

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SOURCE Technomic

CHICAGO, March 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Today's consumers have seemingly endless dining options, from hundreds of restaurants, to prepared foods purchased from stores, or even home-cooked meals. If restaurant operators want to successfully compete in this environment, they need an intimate understanding of the restaurant experience from a consumer perspective.

To gain that understanding, Technomic developed its extensive Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics online database and just released a downloadable "Voice of the Customer" summary report that offers a concise overview of the attributes that are most important to consumers and the chains that succeed across these metrics.

[Visit our website to download the 16-page complimentary Voice of the Customer report.]

"Restaurant operators are making efforts to track consumer purchasing habits and attitudes," says Darren Tristano, Technomic EVP. "But very few of them have the resources to benchmark their results against their competition and measure performance over time. Today, success depends on excelling on the touch points that consumers feel are most important." Tristano notes that the Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics database helps chains identify where they are winning with consumers and pinpoint factors that require attention.

Top Ranked Chains (Criteria)

Top 5 Limited-Service Chains
Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza (Service and Hospitality)
Chick-fil-A (Unit Appearance and Ambiance)
McAlister's Deli (Food and Beverage)
Firehouse Subs (Convenience and Takeout)
In-N-Out Burger (Value)

Top 5 Full-Service Chains
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (Service and Hospitality)
Ruth's Chris Steak House (Unit Appearance and Ambiance)
Carrabba's Italian Grill (Food and Beverage)
Red Lobster (Convenience and Takeout)
LongHorn Steakhouse (Value)
Source: Technomic Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics

The downloadable Voice of the Customer summary offers a snapshot of consumers' favorite chains and provides insight into why they win with consumers. You'll find:

• The leading chains overall and broken out by quick-service, fast-casual, family-style and casual-dining concepts
• Top concepts among eight different segments, including burger, steak, pizza/Italian, varied menu, chicken, beverage/snack, Mexican and sandwich
• Brands that consumers rank strongest in service and hospitality, unit appearance and ambiance, food and beverage, convenience and takeout, and value
• Leaders in brand image and reputation

More than 115 leading restaurant chains are included in Technomic's Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics online database, which allows operators to track their performance against competitors on more than 60 different attributes regarding food, service, atmosphere, value, convenience, reputation and more. Chains can also analyze their results by region, demographic group or designated market area. The consumer feedback is based on ongoing data collection and compiled from a nationally representative sample of more than 80,000 annual consumer restaurant visits.

Technomic provides numerous online services to the foodservice industry. To learn more, please visit Technomic.com or contact one of the individuals listed below. For Technomic updates, please follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn or our blog.

Contacts
Press inquiries: Darren Tristano (312) 506-3850 or dtristano@technomic.com
Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics demonstrations: Patrick Noone (312) 506-3852 or pnoone@technomic.com

About Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics
Consumer Restaurant Brand Metrics includes the top 100 restaurant chains operating within the U.S. in terms of sales. We also include additional chains that fall outside of the top 100 to round out specific categories or capture regional data. Chain brands included are as follows:

Quick Service: Arby's, Auntie Anne's, Baskin-Robbins, Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'N Biscuits, Burger King, Captain D's Seafood Kitchen, Caribou Coffee, Carl's Jr., Checkers Drive-In Restaurants, Chick-fil-A, Chuck E. Cheese's, Church's Chicken, CiCi's Pizza, Cold Stone Creamery, Culver's, Dairy Queen, Del Taco, Domino's Pizza, Dunkin' Donuts, Godfather's Pizza, Golden Corral, Hardee's, In-N-Out Burger, Jack in the Box, Jamba Juice, KFC, Krispy Kreme, Krystal Company, Little Caesars, Long John Silver's, McDonald's, Old Country Buffet/HomeTown Buffet, Orange Julius, Papa John's, Papa Murphy's Take 'N' Bake Pizza, Pizza Hut, Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen, Quiznos, Round Table Pizza, Ryan's Grill, Buffet & Bakery, Sbarro, Sizzler, SONIC Drive-Ins, Starbucks, Steak n Shake, Subway, Taco Bell, Tim Hortons, Wendy's, Whataburger, White Castle.

Fast Casual: Boston Market, Bruegger's Bagels, Chipotle Mexican Grill, Corner Bakery, Weinstein Bros. Bagels, El Pollo Loco, Five guys Burgers and Fries, Fuddruckers, Jason's Deli, Moe's Southwest Grill, Panda Express, Panera Bread, Pei Wei Asian Diner, Pick Up Stix, Qdoba Mexican Grill, Rubio's, Wingstop, Zaxby's, Baja Fresh, Firehouse Subs, Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shop.

Casual Dining: Applebee's Neighborhood Grill & Bar, BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse, Bonefish Grill, Buffalo Wild Wings Grill & Bar, California Pizza Kitchen, Carraba's Italian Grill, The Cheesecake Factory, Chili's Grill & Bar, Famous Dave's, Hooters, Logan's Roadhouse, LongHorn Steakhouse, Mimi's Café, O'Charley's, Olive Garden, On the Border Mexican Grill & Cantina, Outback Steakhouse, P.F. Chang's China Bistro, Red Lobster, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers, Romano's Macaroni Grill, Ruby Tuesdays, Ruth Chris Steak House, T.G.I. Friday's, Texas Roadhouse.

Family Style: Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Denny's, Friendly's, IHOP, Perkins Restaurant & Bakery, Shoney's, Village Inn, Waffle House.

About Technomic
Technomic provides clients with the facts, insights and consulting support they need to enhance their business strategies, decisions and results. Its services include numerous publications and digital products, as well as proprietary studies and ongoing research on all aspects of the food industry.

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