As anyone who travels the Interstate knows, consistency is the selling point of a chain restaurant. Whether you're parked between the tumbleweeds at a windswept Wyoming exit or crammed into a shopping mall in New Jersey, a brand-name restaurant is supposed to deliver the same quality of food and service. It largely depends on the type of corporate ownership, according to a University of Illinois business professor. The rankings were based on nine measures, including food taste, menu selection, friendliness of service, knowledge of server, atmosphere and cleanliness. Corporate chains included Bob Evans, Cracker Barrel, Olive Garden, Red Lobster and Steak and Ale.
Some chains have a mix of franchised and corporate outlets.
Michael did not rank the restaurant chains individually, but grouped them together according to their organizational structure. Under the franchise system, quality and service were dependent on the profitability, location and cost of a restaurant. A franchisee has an incentive to skimp on quality, while the unit manager of a corporate chain has less incentive to lower quality because it's not coming out of his or her own pocket. Who started franchising is an open question. Some point to the 19th century Singer sewing machine as the start of franchising in America.