Chick-fil-A meets reality, consumer ratings have plummeted by 41%


This article was originally published on Examiner.com on July 31, 2012.

The statements of Chick-fil-A’s COO, Dan Cathy, proclaiming that his company supported anti-gay causes created a social controversy. That in return has caused the company’s consumer brand health to rapidly decline. Plainly stated, the company is losing money because of consumer disapproval. Many consider the company’s troubles to be capitalism in action.

Major restaurant chains are measured against each other in terms of value, reputation, satisfaction, impression, and of course quality. Only adults over 18 years old are taken as a response.

It seems that Chick-fil-A was, pre-Cathy’s statements, ranked among the top 5 restaurant chains, according to yougov.com, at a national overall ranking of 65. The average score for a major restaurant chain is only 46. At last recording Chick-fil-A was sitting at 39.

This can be rationalized by the gallery of images from protests that have taken place all around America, and the chart you can find to your immediate left which shows the chain’s drastic free fall.

Each region of the country awards its own score, as certain regions respond differently. After Cathy’s remarks on the Baptist Press, in the Northeast where they were most favored they saw their rating drop from a 76 all the way down to 35. A 41 point plummet.

The company saw a brief positive response in the Midwest when the companies perception raised from a score of 45 to 70 in a span of just 48 hours. However, the trend quickly dissipated and declined back to its original levels.

Cathy’s official Twitter page says that he considers himself to work in customer service.