The Worst “Value” in Fast Food Across Tampa Bay

These days it seems like everybody’s looking for a good deal. If you don’t believe me, ask your friends, nobody is looking to get hosed over at any business.  Nobody ever wants to feel like they haven’t gotten their moneys worth.  It does not matter what kind of business we’re talking about, it seems all customers are looking, maybe not for a "deal", but certainly a "value" for the hard earned cash they are shelling out.

I feel this is especially true when it comes to food. Combine our search for a good value with our hectic schedules these days some of us may be turning to fast food more often then we would care to admit. The folks at the website EAT THIS NOT THAT recently featured an article of a study conducted by a wealth management  and investment banking, firm named Stifel.  That focused on which fast food restaurants people feel they are getting the least “bang for the buck” from.  The crazy thing about this study is that, although it was conducted across the country, each of the top five "worst value" restaurants have locations in the Tampa Bay area.

The study was done by analyzing popular meals from 13 different food chains in 20 different cities across the United States. They also use the broad-spectrum of restaurants in their evaluation. When it came to hamburgers big chain restaurants, including Wendy’s and McDonald’s were used, when it came to Mexican food, they used places such as Taco Bell and Chipotle.

Some of the top five were no surprise at all. And some of the other ones I found interesting because I haven’t been to some places yet. For the complete list click this link HERE.

The one that I was most sad about was the restaurant they came in number five. While it was no surprise that Chick-fil-A was on the list, they certainly are not the least expensive fast food option out there. They left me with a little sigh, knowing how much my kids like that place and how often my wife takes him there.

To check out the whole list from EAT THIS NOT THAT CLICK HERE

Chick-fil-A is one of the many food staples here in Florida. While some may find it overrated, we think it's the most consistent fast food company there is. Chick-fil-A prides themselves on great customer service and a quality product. But you know people on the internet will always have their own opinion. So we decided to rank the best Tampa Chick-fil-A stores based on customer reviews. Here's what we found.

You can almost always count on there being a line at any Chick-fil-A location, especially during peak hours. So it's not uncommon that some people will avoid a certain location because the drive-thru is always backed up or they don't like how the building/drive-thru lanes are structured. Chick-fil-A was also one of the first companies that had employees taking orders in the drive thru lane to help speed up the process.

There are over 20 Chick-fil-A locations across Tampa. To help save time, we left out the locations at malls, schools, Busch Gardens, and the airport. Meaning we'll just be ranking the stand alone stores across Tampa. These locations can range from Temple Terrace to South Tampa and even Brandon. Note: we also left out the Bearss Ave location since it is currently being remodeled.

First, we went to www.chick-fil-a.com/locations and searched for Tampa. We initially had less than 10 results but expanded our search to show all of their locations. Then we looked at how that store ranked based on the number of Google reviews and the rating. Remember these are not our reviews, just gathering what other people have been saying. Some people just love to complain on the internet, so we don't judge based off other people's reviews. Odds are if we're hungry for Chick-fil-A, a couple of internet opinions aren't going to stop us.

Location: 6299 W Waters Ave, Tampa

Rating: 4.6

Number of reviews: 5,743

What people are saying: This location mostly has 4 and 5 star reviews. Many have commented that it's the BEST Chick-fil-A in the area. Most of the glowing reviews are about their Christmas lights display during the holidays. Which, if you've never seen it, you should check it out! They deck out the entire location in lights!

Location: 1504 E Brandon Blvd, Brandon

Rating: 4.6

Number of reviews: 3,588

What most people are saying: Super clean place plus fast and friendly service. If there is a negative review, the store owner has responded and tried to correct it!

Location: 5302 E Fowler Ave, Temple Terrace

Rating: 4.5

Number of reviews: 5,103

What people are saying: This location seems to have some constant problems, but the staff is normally kind enough to quickly correct them.

Location: 15801 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Carrollwood

Rating: 4.5

Number of reviews: 2,772

What people are saying: Most people say that food and customer service is good. People are mainly complaining about the way the drive-thru is set up.

Location: 11325 Causeway Blvd, Brandon

Rating: 4.4

Number of reviews: 3,904

What people are saying: Most experiences are good but some are disappointing. People say the staff is nice but they often get orders wrong or incomplete.

Location: 609 S Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL

Rating: 4.3

Number of reviews: 2,928

What people are saying: There are a few bad reviews among hundreds of good ones. Most people are saying that the staff here is very friendly and the restaurant runs really well.

Location: 3678 W Gandy Blvd, Tampa

Rating: 4.3

Number of reviews: 2,637

What people are saying: We noticed that in the past 8 months this location has gotten some pretty bad reviews based off of incorrect orders. However, the store owner has responded to all of the bad reviews and has offered to make it right. They even asked for the person's Chick-fil-A app username so maybe they can send them a reward.

Location: 2811 E Fowler Ave, Tampa

Rating: 4.2

Number of reviews: 2,522

What people are saying: Little complaints on food quality but most people express their dissatisfaction with the drive-thru line.

Location: 8465 W Hillsborough Ave, Tampa

Rating: 4.2

Number of reviews: 174 (this is a brand new location so that's why there aren't as many reviews as other locations).

What people are saying: It seemed like the new location was working through some kinks but have since upped their speed. Some complaints mention the online orders aren't accurate.

Address: 2551 N Dale Mabry Hwy, Tampa, FL

Rating: 3.8

Number of reviews: 2,959

What people are saying: A lot of complaints state that this store is usually understaffed and the drive-thru takes "forever". However we did notice that the store owner responds to most of the complaints and tries to offer a solution, which is nice.