Ashley ranks lowest in customer satisfaction

By Lee Hyo-sik

Ashley, a family restaurant chain operated by E-Land Group, was found to have the lowest customer satisfaction rates among the four largest franchises here, according to the Korea Consumer Agency, Wednesday.

In a survey of 1,000 consumers aged over 20 having been to Outback, TGI Friday’s, VIPS and Ashley, Outback received the highest score in customer satisfaction with score of 3.62 points out of five. TGI Friday’s, VIPS and Ashley had 3.59, 3.56 and 3.48, respectively.

VIPS is a local restaurant chain owned by CJ Foodville, while TGI Friday’s is an American restaurant chain owned by the Carlson Companies. Outback is an Australian-themed American casual dining restaurant chain owned and operated by OSI Restaurant Partners.

Consumers were asked to rate the restaurants in terms of price, food and service quality, shop accessibility, facilities and payment services.

Ashley scored lower in food quality, customer service, sales promotion and shop accessibility compared to the other three franchises, the state-run consumer advocacy body said. There was no significant difference among the four chains in terms of price, store facilities and payment services.

Concerning food quality, Outback received 3.74 points, followed by TGI Friday’s at 3.71, VIPS at 3.69 and Ashley at 3.57. Outback also topped the customer service category with 3.78 points, followed by VIPS at 3.73, TGI Friday’s at 3.7 and Ashley at 3.63.

However, Ashley disputed the agency’s findings, saying the homegrown franchise, which operates 108 outlets across the country, offers the best food and services at lower prices.

``All four family restaurants received A for customer satisfaction. The score differences among them are statistically insignificant, given the margin of error of 2.5 percent in the survey,’’ said Lee Mi-sun, a spokeswoman for Ashley.

``Customers may feel it’s a little more expensive. But they actually pay less at our restaurants than at foreign franchises because they can use our salad bar for free. That is why we think Ashley and VIPS received lower points than Outback and TGI Friday’s, which do not offer a salad bar,’’ Lee said.

She also said Ashley does not offer many discount programs in partnership with credit card issuers and telecom companies, stressing its menus are already priced lower than those of its competitors.

Outback, meanwhile, welcomed the latest survey results, saying it will continue to provide high-quality food and dining services within a customer-friendly environment.

``It has been 15 years since we entered Korea. For all those years, we have been serving Korean customers the best way we can. We will continue to develop new menus and offer tasty dishes and superb customer service at affordable prices,’’ said Outback spokeswoman Choi Soo-jung.