Do you REALLY want my feedback?
Posted by Dean Wiltse on Fri, Jun 15, 2007
I recently received a customer satisfaction survey in the mail. It arrived in a nondescript, white envelope without any indication of the sender. Normally I would place this on top of my paper shredder but curiosity got the best of me.
It turned out to be a customer satisfaction survey, which for the lack of better words, was extremely mundane. However, my interest level was instantly peaked after reading the cover letter. I had endured a recent customer service experience that was far from stellar so I was eager to provide the company with a few remarks.
As I paged through the survey, my frustration level grew. Listed were the three typical "satisfaction" categories- extremely, somewhat, and not very satisfied, followed by three blank lines for additional comments. I assume the extra space was supposed to be a kind gesture. At this point, you begin to wonder...is the company really interested in my feedback. If so, why are their questions so pointed? If the survey is solely directing me to check off one of three choices based upon satisfaction levels, they really aren't asking for my true opinion. And in reality, what is satisfaction? Was I satisfied with the employee interaction? Was I satisfied with the product? Concurrently, some customers may wonder if the company is strictly sending the survey out merely as an act to show that they are "customer-focused" or value "customer feedback." There are so many crucial variables that this survey blatantly disregarded.
Many companies may not even realize that this survey style does not provide any value-add to the customer. It clearly was not going to provide the company with a realistic understanding of the customer's sentiments.
Before companies start asking customers for their opinions, their survey focus needs to be more strategic with regards to what they are hoping to accomplish. It may be wise to focus more so on customer behavior and what the customer's next steps would be-not simply customer satisfaction.
In the end, if they wanted one simple answer, they should have just asked, "Were you happy with your experience?" Clearly my response would have been "No. And by the way, you've lost me as a customer."