Since 1983, Panda Express has been serving up Asian food to Americans with a taste for the food of the Orient! With over 2,000 stores nationwide, Panda Express is, in fact, the largest Asian restaurant chain in the country! Offering a slightly more gourmet experience (well, that’s what we’re led to believe) than most fast food outlets, there’s also the added “gimmick” of being able to create your own meal. We’re going to bet that’s where McDonald’s got it! Anywho, back to Panda, it appears that the food is actually not that great, and it is overpriced for what you get.
BuzzFeed had something to say, as did chef David Chang, criticizing the restaurant for not being authentic with its menu! David Chang remarked: “Do I gnaw on my own thumb, or do I get the orange chicken?” Consumer Score: 39%
Einstein Brothers
Now there’s something that Americans really love for breakfast. It’s doughy, it’s filling, and it’s usually nice and warm. It can be served sweet or with the popular choice of smoked salmon and cream cheese. Yes, it’s a bagel. And a place which does bagels, lots of bagels, and fast? Einstein Brothers! Marketing themselves as a “gourmet” bagel vendor, the chain sees 40 percent of its customers return. It’s not bad, but it’s not amazing. And that’s why it’s on our list!
Reviews have seen the chain slammed for poor bagel quality… nothing worse than a stale bagel! Some have gone as far as to say that grocery store bagels are better! Whoever is on the board really needs to take heed of these comments. Stat. Consumer Score: 40%
White Castle
Between Krystal and White Castle, there isn’t much of a difference. It also seems that there isn’t much more to love when comparing the chains. But next on our list is White Castle, famous for its petite (they are kinda small!) hamburgers. Now, if we go for a burger, we want a BURGER. Like, a decent, hand-filling, stomach-filling burger. Not one where after a few bites, we’re asking for the main event. Sums it up, eh?
Sure, they’re square, and it’s novel, we suppose, but these are supermarket-style. Don’t get us started on the bland patties. Next time, we’re making burgers at home! And after the Consumer Reports, it seems the majority of diners are too! Consumer Score: 39%
Church’s Chicken
So like as soon as we read “Church’s Chicken,” we immediately think of Kendrick’s “Backseat Freestyle.” No? Just us? Sure, we can’t really repeat the lyric on here because we’re all family-friendly, but definitely check it out. You’ll know. Now Church’s has been around for a while – since the 1950s! Specializing in chicken biscuits and fries, diners were returning for years. Well, that is until recent years, when Church’s was struggling on the return customer KPI.
On the bright side, Church’s Chicken is juicy enough, but it slightly lacks in flavor! Oh, and the biscuits… they serve better food in prison. And it’s free! Anyway, we’ll see if they pick up their game for 2020. Consumer Score: 38%
Wendy’s
“Pigtails don’t play when it comes to the fresh, never frozen beef game.” That’s what Wendy’s claims on its Twitter account, anyway! Despite its claims and its commitment to freshness, it seems that Wendy’s rates dismally against other fast-food restaurants. From the ‘finger in chili crisis’ to the more recent live mouse found in a bag of burger buns in 2018 (I mean, at least it wasn’t dead, right?), Wendy’s really doesn’t have a lot of positive energy going for it at the moment.
Time to get out the crystals, fam. But Consumer Reports have shown that due to its marketing approach and advertisements about its fresh patties, it seen more customers through its doors of late! Consumer Score: 38%