Who's Improving and Who's Failing in Restaurant Customer Service

Fast-food titans McDonald’s, Taco Bell and KFC are conquering the globe, but they are losing to the likes of In-N-Out Burger, Chipotle Mexican Grill and Chick-fil-A in the United States, according to Consumer Reports’ latest fast-food survey.

Answer: Sbarro.

Between 2009 and 2013, the sodium levels of this KFC meal actually increased by 11%, according to the CSPI survey.

Chipotle's speed of service is one of the biggest contributors to its success. Some of the Mexican chain's busiest restaurants average more than 350 transactions in a single hour during lunch time. That's one freshly prepared and packaged burrito in the hands of a customer about every 10 seconds.

Just about every payments company out there either already has, or is working on, a way for customers to use their smartphones to transact a payment at a payment terminal. This is supposed to be the next big revolution in the payments industry. But at restaurants, at least, the need for payment terminals could be greatly reduced or eliminated in just a few years as other mobile initiatives become popular.

(Michelle Rick)

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It's not always easy trying to read a menu while hungry like the wolf, woozy from aperitif and exchanging pleasantries with a dining partner. The eyes flit about like a pinball, pinging between set meal options, side dishes and today's specials.