Business
10 Fast Food Chains that are by Far the WORST in the Country! (Part 2)
It’s no secret that fast food isn’t the fanciest or healthiest food out there; that’s a given. But, it seems like some restaurant chains might have taken this for granted and forgot to go that extra mile when it comes pleasing their customers. So let’s take a look at 10 Fast Food Chains that are by Far the Worst in the Country (Part 2).
10. Del Taco
Often referred to as a worse version of the beloved Taco Bell, Del Taco isn’t exactly the place to go if you want to enjoy good and flavorful food. Or any kind of freshness, really. Let’s just say it doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to satisfying customers. People have complained about various issues over the years, like the tremendously long waiting time and the flavorless food. A sad, bland, and long experience is what awaits you in the dining room of this Mexican-inspired fast-food, according to many unsatisfied customers. In fact, only around 40% of past customers said they would come back for a second time. The odds aren’t exactly in Del Taco’s favor with stats like that. Not only is the food underwhelming and kind of boring, but the wait is never-ending. Imagine wanting to quickly stop at a small little taco joint to get some good and fast food, but not only does it come late, but it’s also flavorless? Hello disappointment. You probably spend more time waiting than actually eating your tiny meal. Plus, the meat. Oh, the meat. When a fast-food taco place has better reviews for its vegetarian options than its meat options, it’s got to ring a few alarm bells. If the meat isn’t good enough, then how can anything else really be? Probably one of the main reasons why people still go there is because it’s usually open later than Taco Bell. Or because of the very low-priced items. But, then again, sometimes it might be worth it to spend that extra buck to get a little more pep.
9. Little Caesars
Another great example of how low-cost food and high quality don’t always go together, at Little Ceasars, the chances of getting a decent meal are exactly that; little. Known for its really cheap and affordable food, Little Ceasars doesn’t exactly scream fresh and quality pizza. No one in the history of pizza has ever said that Little Ceasars was their favorite. No one. It’s no surprise that with low prices comes low expectations and people are well aware of that when they head over there. You go to Little Caesars for convenience, not for outstanding flavors. With many customer reviews stating that it was “the second-worst pizza they ever had” or “the absolute worst in terms of everything”, it’s hard to understand why it’s still the third-largest pizza chain in America, right behind Pizza Hut and Domino’s. Ah, the power a $5 pizza can hold. The funniest thing is, while it’s among the largest, it’s also among the worst as it keeps getting voted on to so many “Worst Pizza in America” lists. But who’s laughing at who? Because let’s face it, Little Caesars might not offer the best quality out there, but how many other pizza places can you name that offer the same kind of deals it has? Chances are, not that many – if any. Whether you like Little Caesars or not, there’s just one important thing to remember: with cheap prices comes cheap pizza, and cheap pizza is not the kind of pizza anyone deserves.
8. Wingstop
The average American eats, on average, a whopping total of 18 00o chicken wings in their lifetime. And about half of those are probably consumed during the Super Bowl. Cue Wingstop. Being one of the most popular food items in America, wings have a ridiculously big following. Like really big. It’s almost like there’s an underground chicken wing cult somewhere or something. Wingstop has tried very hard over the years to become the number one stop for wings. With dining rooms decorated in a “pre-jet” aviation theme, customers can enjoy a nice 1940s vibe while eating their meal. Their very salty meals, apparently. According to many former customers, the food served at Wingstop is tasteless, except for the salt, of course, and burned most of the time. Unseasoned, drenched in sauce, and burnt little boneless wings aren’t exactly the type of wings that are sought out by most people. No, those are the kind of wings that get eaten last, found at the bottom of the bucket, when you’re not hungry anymore, but you don’t want to waste food. Kind of like the last pick of the draft: not the best, but still on the team. The reviews also mention the overall horrible customer service they got when they visited a Wingstop. Basically, not the best chicken experience you can get. It takes all kinds to make the world go round, and well, it seems like it applies to chicken wings as well, making Wingstop is one of the worst stops for wings in America.
7. Checkers
Checkers has offered literally everything on its menu since it first opened in 1986 – but nothing really stands out. From burgers to hot dogs, and chicken nuggets, it has followed the really classic path of any other fast-food restaurant. And that’s part of the problem. With so many comparable chains and similar menus, Checkers wasn’t able to distinguish itself and come up with anything daring enough or specific to its own brand. The Checkers menu is basically just a list of common and forgettable items, but without the actual quality that usually comes with those items. The blandness of the meals has long been a stigma attached to Checkers that people have complained about numerous times. The insanely high levels of saturated fat and sodium also seem to come up often. If your food’s going to taste bad, at least make it healthy, or vice versa, right? The very soggy, old, and unwanted piece of lettuce always shoved in the burgers is also not a very big crowd-pleaser, to say the least. The only thing we can give them a star for is price. The food is pretty cheap. But, as we already know, cheap price often equates to cheap food. Checkers has long been the butt of the joke of fast-food restaurants and is constantly mocked for its very poor customer service. Maybe it’s time Checkers finally admits defeat. Checkmate.
6. Boston Market
Formerly known as Boston Chicken, Boston Market is a home-style fast-casual chain that offers its customers a multitude of options to choose from: rotisserie chicken, sandwiches, and even pot pies. A great selection of convenient and easily accessible chicken, sounds perfect, right? Well, as a matter of fact, it’s not. It’s far from it, actually. The whole point of getting fast food is to get it fast. It’s right there in the name. And also, to get a taste of some familiar greasy grub. Basically, people want a good old unhealthy meal that’s gonna satiate them for possibly the next couple of hours – or maybe days. But when you go to Boston Market, this is not what you get at all. Customers have complained about the long wait times and the muddled employees who serve them. A bit of a chaotic experience, essentially. It’s not that the food is bad – although it hasn’t been described as great either – it’s just that it’s so inconvenient and long to get what you ordered, that people just don’t want to ever bother going there. If people wanted home-cooked style meals that take forever to make, they would eat at home, not at a “fast-casual” chain that seems to be more casual than fast. Boston Market has shut down a lot of its locations across the country over the last few years and just don’t seem to be getting a hang of things.
5. Jimmy John’s
Funny enough, Jimmy John’s isn’t on this list because of its low-quality food, like so many others are. No, it’s on here because of the awfully bad management and the countless scandals this chain has faced over the years. And, okay, yea, the food isn’t that great either, but still. For the longest time, every employee working at a Jimmy John’s had to sign a contract. So far, pretty standard, nothing worrying here. But on this said contract was a notorious noncompete clause, that prohibited employees from working at any other delis until two years after their employment at Jimmy John’s ended. Oh, and they were forced to sign it. The employees and several U.S. states eventually took Jimmy John’s to court and in 2016, the clause was ultimately removed from the contracts. This trial shone a bad light on the company’s management skills and since then, the company has suffered a great loss in their numbers and bottom line. Obviously, this wasn’t helped by the, at least, five E. Coli outbreaks that happened during the last decade or so in various restaurants. Turns out, there is such a thing as bad publicity – who knew? To try and mount a comeback from their financial drought, in 2019, Jimmy John’s came up with a brand new promotion to appeal to people who lived outside of their delivery zone. A contest in which you could win $250,000 to put towards a new home inside the “delivery zone.” Seems like an expensive way to acquire new customers – no? Come on, Jimmy John’s, you’re better than that!
4. Bojangles
When the Washinton Post itself takes time to publicly diss your restaurant in an article, it’s safe to say that your business might not be doing very well. And that’s exactly what happened to the southern fried chicken chain from North Carolina, Bojangles. The article very blatantly affirmed that the restaurant’s iconic buttermilk biscuit was “Meh. Not a good biscuit!” That put most of the good people from the south in defense mode, and even the North Carolina Senator, Thom Tillis, came to the rescue of the poor, little biscuit. The food at Bojangles is not bad at all. It’s actually quite tasty for the most part and represents the Southern heritage of its chicken well. The problem comes from the way it’s managed. With competitors like KFC and Popeye’s, it’s hard to stay relevant and keep up with the evolving market. Bojangles has made quite a few faux-pas since its debut, and some of them were just impossible to come back from. Like, for starters, the lack of innovation on their menus. Yes, people go to Bojangles to enjoy the quality and authenticity of the food, nothing can take that away from them, but with the same old items, never evolving, it can easily become quite a yawn. The chicken and the biscuits, while not popular with everyone, have been on the menu since the very beginning and comprise about 40% of the sales. But what if, they mixed things up a little? Maybe that’s the only step they need to take to turn things around and get a spot on the list of “Best Fast Food Chain in America.”
3. Cici’s Pizza
A melting pot of all-you-can-eat pasta, pizza, and salad, Cici’s pizza is the perfect destination for any broke college student, or anyone else, in search of a large selection of food for the very small price of 6$ per person. That’s for the pizza buffet, anyway. In theory, the concept of a pizza buffet sounds ridiculously decadent and like something straight out of heaven. Unlimited pizza slices with a soda and a side salad, everything sounds perfect. Angelic, even. But, as the saying goes: in every seed of good, there is a piece of bad, and that applies to Cici’s Pizza, too. With an outrageous nutritional value and bad quality, it seems like the seemingly low price lives up to its end of the bargain. Low price? Low quality. A reviewer online even called Cici’s Pizza the “Dollar Tree of food establishments.” Not sure if this is supposed to be a compliment or an insult since Dollar Tree is a pretty successful company after all. But either way, no matter the number of unlimited slices Cici’s Pizza throws at you, you should never settle for anything less than what you deserve: quality. Don’t let the allure of the all-you-can-eat moniker get to you; it’s a trap! You deserve real good pizza. Sometimes, less is more. And better.
2. El Pollo Loco
El Pollo Loco isn’t one of the most famous fried chicken chains out there, and we can’t really blame them. With fierce competitors like KFC and Taco Bell, making your way into the chicken and Mexican-American market can be quite hard and strenuous. It may even seem like an impossible task at times. But, in the case of El Pollo Loco, they can’t compete for one simple reason; the food is just not that good. And way overpriced. Two unforgivable factors in the fast-food industry. Customers say that food is dry, bland, and not exactly the kind of Mexican fiesta you would hope for. Paired with the flavorless food is the rude staff and the bad customer service which seems to be apparent at many El Pollo Loco locations. Overall, it’s way too expensive for what you get, which is usually a crummy atmosphere and poor food quality. This “Crazy chicken,” thinks it can work its way up to be a great restaurant, but offering up less than stellar food and not caring about its customers – that just won’t do it. A reviewer online even admitted that the chicken was okay, but the whole experience was just “chaotic, confusing, and terribly served.” It might not be the most famous, but if more people knew about it, who knows, maybe it could become infamous…
1. Starbucks
Before you start getting angry and ready to throw punches, you should know that we’re not talking about the coffee at Starbucks, we’re talking about the food. So, go ahead, you can relax and sit back down. Starbucks has become an icon when it comes to coffee chains around the world. You can literally find a Starbucks wherever you go, no matter where you are. The iconic colorful drinks and the hot and steamy coffee are all part of what makes this chain so great. So, then, what’s the problem? The food is the problem. The processed, packaged, overpriced food they have the audacity to serve. Usually, a coffee goes great with a fresh pastry or a nice sandwich for breakfast, but at Starbucks, it seems like they haven’t completely grasped the concept of fresh yet. Or even decent, to be completely blunt. All the food arrives frozen. Pastries, sandwiches, you name it. And, customers have complained that it tastes frozen too. Also, all the stuff you see in the display? Not the stuff you’re going to get. So, that little croissant you’ve been eyeing in the display, that’s not even edible anymore. You really don’t want that one. Who knows how long it’s been there. The moral of the story? Stick to your Caramel Frappuccino and leave the banana bread to a baker.
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