While I am not a fan (or big believer) in Yelp, I can’t help but notice that with the exception of In 'n Out, virtually EVERY fast food chain has dropped to about two stars. While most of the negative reviews are service related (hours, drive thru times, accuracy, etc.), many mention food quality as well.
I know a lot of folks here do not do fast food, but for those of you that do, have you noticed this?
No.
Chik Fil A consistently gets as good if not better Yelp ratings than In N Out.
Shake Shack does as well, so does White Castle and places like Chipotle and Jimmy Johns are right there.
That said, I treat Yelp reviews like I do horoscopes. For entertainment purposes only.
Sorry… I should have specified. McD’s, JitB, Carl’s, Wendy’s, BK, TB, Jimboy’s.
That’s like asking for the tallest midget at a midget convention.
And you bring a ringer (in the form of In N Out) to the competition.
Nevertheless, the ratings have changed big time.
How do you know that? Evidence? Source?
I mean, do you have a graph of each of the Yelp ratings for select list of luminaries, McD’s, JitB, Carl’s, Wendy’s, BK, TB, Jimboy’s, plotted over time?
How do we know that their Yelp ratings have remained (generally) constant over time and you’re just now noticing their rather below average (vis-a-vis In N Out) ratings?
Dude… you’re a mess. How can I ignore you?
I’ve never looked at Yelp ratings for fast food, but I can say that at least a few notable chains seem.tonhabe taken a definite dip in quality imho.
BK is maybe the most noticable. Once acceptable fries are now like supermarket frozen oven fries. The cheap kind. Everything fried has a bitter edge like they extend the oil through many batches as a cost saving measure.
I cant say as I’ve noticed taco bell take a hit, but that’s a pretty low bar to clear.
While I haven’t noticed a dip in McD’s quality,I have definitely.noticed marked decrease in service and general competence. This is true across the board (I don’t do chick fil a so I can’t comment on them) with the huge shift to apps and online ordering. A place where the job primarily used to be one of kitchen drudgery and customer service is now one of, essentially, underpaid and underqualified tech support. It is unreasonable to ask some 17 year old.part time worker to sort out why the app won’t honor your coupon or fix the GrubHub driver that ate half your fries. And yet they staff fewer and fewer workers, trying to automate as much as possoble, and the ‘manager’ on hand is the 22 year old that just graduated and is only hanging on til they get a real job.
KFC, Church’s, Jack In the Box and Wendy’s have all (imho) been hit HARD in the service category.
We have college classmates who’ve been the summer Good Humor Man or a KFC fill-in (yep, he knows the secret herbs and spices ratios cuz he was that good), but here’s the cake:
It’s been months since I’ve tried it again, but I think Popeye’s chicken thighs have gotten smaller 
. It throws off the ratios of meat to skin, and it seems more often over-fried.
I was taken out to lunch at Popeyes in Redding a couple months ago. Was it good. Not something i would run to . Would I eat there again . Probably not . Give it a 4.5
The Pandemic changed the world. For the good (higher wages). For the bad, employers were forced to hire people they never would hired in better times. And of course so many people want to work from home now. They got use to the easy life.
But back on topic - I agree that Chik Fil A has never faltered. Two lines at the drive thru. Several employees along the way. They really are top notch when it comes to service and quality of fast food.
Actually, I’m an occasional buyer of chain fast food, but no, I haven’t noticed any drop in reviews. That’s because I pay them no attention.
IMO, the #1 priority in fast food is consistency–it’s far more important to make sure X comes out the same every time than it is to improve quality. In fact, franchisees who do anything differently get punished. Against this backdrop, I’d find a general downturn in reviews very suspect.
Fast food is calories to keep me from keeling over because Ive been up since 530, skipped breakfast, and I have a few minutes to grab something to eat before I get to my next call.
Reviews of fast food are like pockets on underwear or screen doors on submarines…they sound like a good idea but they are actually utterly useless.
I haven’t had fast food in the U.S. in years. However, I have acquiesced to the occasional nub of KFC chicken when in China.
For those who have traveled a bit overseas, how similar are the ubiquitous options (burgers at Wendy’s/Burger King/Maccas, seasoned cardboard sandwiches at Subway) to those in the U.S.?
It’s deliberately broad because I seriously have no idea if a Big Mac tastes the same in Dallas and Dublin, let alone Dallas and Detroit.
(I don’t want to bring in locally adapted dishes, since those wouldn’t be ubiquitous around the world.)
BK using rancid oil is no BS. I just can’t eat there. I think you’re right about the customer service, though. They are getting the lowest employees in a tight market.
We’ve been to an Edinburgh branch of the world’s most famous Scottish restaurant, and for all we knew we could have been in East Lansing.
I have to ask - why are you looking up fast food chain reviews on Yelp? I mean I have never, ever thought to myself "Gee I wonder what Yelp rates McD’s 
It was brought to my attention by a friend when I mentioned I pretty much enjoyed In n Out, Carl’s, and Wendy’s (and of course JitB tacos), but I haven’t been to any of them since the pan.
The Yelp reviews vary by location in my experience. In small towns where the options are very limited, the Yelp reviews for places like Subway or Pizza Hut tend to be 4s.
Even in Toronto, I’m surprised when some fast food chains have Google reviews around 4.
I have used Yelp when I’ve been looking for hair salons for blow dries while travelling and it’s usually worked out quite well.
