Does completing a survey matter?

Absolutely! As many of our clients know, at the completion of each of our service request tickets, the end user or point-of-contact receives the invitation to take a one-question survey to provide feedback regarding the service received in regard to the request – was the service received Unsatisfactory, Average, Good, or Excellent. Our “goal” is to earn a Good or Excellent rating on each reply. A response of Average or Unsatisfactory is considered “sub-goal”.

Each month, we measure the percentage of tickets that meet our goal and express this number as our Customer Satisfaction Percentage, or CSAT%. We are currently on a four-month streak, having posted a CSAT% of 99% for October, November, December, and 100% for January.

One way we leverage these results is to evaluate the reasons why we earned a sub-goal response. We find the usual reasons are due:

  • Time to respond – it took too long to hear back after submitting my initial request
  • Time to repair – it took too long to resolve, measured in either too much time passing before it was resolved, or it took too many touches
  • Lack of communication – no one kept the client up-to-date as to the status of the request along the way

Our diligent attention to these attributes helps to contribute to our generally low number of sub-goal responses. That’s why we follow three “commandments” to provide excellent service:

  • Show Empathy – No one likes to deal with unexpected issues, so acknowledge the pain the client is experiencing and its impact to their productivity
  • Show Urgency – Confirm understanding of the level of importance of the issue, and that it will be our top priority until resolved or completed
  • Communicate! – Before, during, and after conducting service, contact the client and tell them what you’re going to do, what you are doing, and what you did. No one likes delays or surprises, and consistent communication avoids both

Often, our clients will offer a comment in addition to their score of our service. When added to a sub-goal reply, it helps us to identify precisely what action we could have taken to have earned a better result. When added to a goal reply, it allows us to share the positive feedback with the staff to reinforce the actions that are valued by our clients. Referred to internally as “atta-boys” (or “atta-girls”!), we aggregate and share all of the positive comments received each week on Friday – what better way to start the weekend on a positive note!