Bill Hogg
Contributing Writer
Bill Hogg & Associates

How are you tracking customer satisfaction levels with your customers? Are you asking whether they are satisfied? If so, you are probably not getting a true answer.

Today, customers are so conditioned that when we are asked questions like this, they just say “Yes”. Think about your own experiences. How often have you said things were fine simply because you couldn’t be bothered commenting, or were uncomfortable in the moment, or caught off guard? Unfortunately, lurking under all those “Yes’s” may be a list of issues you never hear about and resultant, never have the chance to correct.

At least when you have a complaint, you have the opportunity to dig deeper to find out what the issue is — and correct it, which results in a happier, more loyal customer. Plus you have the opportunity to change your process or service to better reflect the needs of customers.

So, rather than asking “Were you satisfied with the service you received?” try “How could we have improved your service experience today?” Then really listen. You will be amazed not only by what you find out, but your genuine interest will delight your customer.

Customers will tell you how to modify your experience so that it is in line with their needs and adds real value in their mind, sometimes in ways that will actually save you time and money.

Then when they say “everything was great”, you can feel confident that the measure is a reliable reflection of the true customer feeling.