Roger Lee, etalk Director of Consulting Services
Post-call surveys are designed to understand how well service was provided at the time the service was delivered. In terms of a customer service or sales call center, this translates to the ability to ask the customer what they thought of your service immediately after those services were provided.
Creating post-call surveys requires a good understanding of what you are trying to measure before you gather the information from your customers/clients/business partners. It is important that these post-call survey questions align to the quality monitoring program and to the overall organizational strategy. Some organizations use the survey feedback as part of the customer service representative’s performance review or as supplemental information.
Keep the post-call survey short and concise. The questions that you ask on the survey must be easily, clearly understood by the person taking the survey. Vague and nebulous questions will not be helpful when performing data analysis. When designing the post-call survey, I recommend having 3-4 quantitative questions and 1-2 open-ended questions. Qualitative information can be very useful, especially if the customer did not give a favorable rating on the quantitative questions.
Here are some examples of questions that can be used on post-call surveys:
Please rate the overall satisfaction of the representative.
Please rate the following on a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being the highest):
Response time
Attitude
Knowledge
The product or software does what I wanted it to do.
How can we improve our customer support?
I was able to contact the organization when I needed to.
The service took place in the desired time frame.
I received the products when I needed them.
I understood all the details on my billing invoice.
The representative did not “talk down” to me.
The products work well for its intended application.
Technicians know their products inside and out.
Technical support was effective.
There are many different survey scales that can be applied to the post-call survey. I prefer the 5-point scale and Yes/No scales. The 5-point scale covers a wide range of responses, i.e., 1. Strongly disagree, 2. Disagree, 3. Neutral, 4. Agree, 5. Strongly agree.
Analyze the Survey
Performing the analysis after collecting the customer feedback is critical. The purpose of the analysis is to identify both upward and downward trends. The qualitative information will provide specific feedback on what is working and what is not working from the customers’ viewpoint. The analysis will also help determine if the survey questions need to be modified for further data collection.
The analysis needs to be communicated to all pertinent parties of management so that the appropriate actions can take place. In most situations, the analysis will drive process improvement projects such as new products, changes to the IVR, and even changes to certain policies and procedures. In addition, the information can identify those agents who provide great customer service. A close-loop feedback process must be established both internally and externally, especially if the customer is waiting for a response from the organization.
For a more in-depth understanding of the various post-call survey methodologies, download the free white paper “Post-Call Customer Satisfaction Measurement” written by Richard Bucci, Associate Consultant, the PELORUS Group.