The fast food fight: How chains are enticing your dollar

Whether you're coming home from a late night out or just looking for a quick bite, it's fair to say Kiwis love their fast food.

The golden arches, the colonel, and even the king help satisfy our cravings, but which one should you choose?

Location

Let's start with the location - and a recent Australian study.

It looked at the relationship between an area's wealth and the number of fast food stores nearby.

It found takeaway stores were more often than not, closer to low socioeconomic areas and schools.

So if you're living in a poorer area, you've got a better chance of finding a fast food outlet nearby.

Cleanliness

You may think the higher trafficked restaurants would be better, but they can also cause problems; staff can be less friendly and at peak times it may be harder to find a clean table.

Technology

These days technology can be a competitive advantage - McDonald's automated system is a good example.

Why stand in line when you can order it with the touch of a button?

But the pizza joints even have arguably better tech.

Flash apps mean you can follow your order from the moment it enters the oven to when the driver or your friendly robot turns up at your door.

If Domino's' new drone service lifts off, you'll have to keep an eye to the sky.

Service

It's probably the easiest to do, but makes a big difference - a smile.

Service makes all the difference when eating out. There's nothing worse than a rude waiter, or a slow meal.

McDonald's says each franchise offers different ways of rewarding staff.

We asked some of the fast food chains to tell us what they think are the most important parts of their business - only McDonald's replied.

A McDonald's spokesman said their key focus remains on quality, service, cleanliness and value.

But he admitted challenges do arise when lots of people turn up at once, such as at the end of a major sporting event or concert.

So while your gut may be the decider on what you choose, there's plenty of ways to entice a hungry stomach through the doors.

Newshub.