I began working in the early days of Silicon Valley and worked for a number of start-ups. Because I was considered a people-person, I ended up managing the fledgling tech support department. I enjoyed working with customers, even when they weren’t happy, because I could usually find a way to make them happy. After a while, upper management wanted to know what our customers thought of us, so I created a customer satisfaction survey and emailed it to customers. I compiled the results and presented them to upper management, and they congratulated themselves on a job well done.
Every now and again, I would receive a customer satisfaction survey myself, often in the mail, and I would fill it out and send it back, thinking that someone would read it and that my opinion counted. When I started working for much larger tech firms, I realized that nobody was reviewing the survey results, and we were just “going through the motions” for nothing. This was 30 years ago.
Fast forward to today, and I seem to get a survey request for every transaction I do. Do you really think Amazon cares about how I feel about the product they provided me? Nowadays, if I call a company for any reason, once I get through their convoluted voice mail tree, I’m told there will be a survey at the end that they would like me to answer for them. And every live agent I talk to also wants me to fill out a “short” survey.
It seems there is no end to the number of surveys I am asked to fill out every week. I realize that some companies use surveys to determine whether their agents get a raise or get fired, but I know from experience that there are other ways to measure someone’s job performance. I’m done filling out surveys. I think they’re pointless and a waste of time. Does that make me a bad person?
I haven’t done one in a couple decades. As you say, it’s performative garbage misused by management.
IMO you’d be a bad person to participate in surveys. The sooner the customers of the world unite in never returning them, the sooner companies get past this ignorant useless annoying fad.
My view is that I can’t be bothered to comment on services or products that are excellent or at least O.K. What bothers me are things that are simply no good. If they truly bother me that much, I will sue the company for everything it’s worth.
The more you fill out the more junk mail/scam offers you’re going to get. Far too many of these “surveys” are just a way to get lists that can be sold to others.
I try to keep a very low key online identity. So, no chance of me giving you any information than what is necessary to accomplish what I am doing. Zero interest in giving feedback, good or bad. Not filling out as survey in no way makes you a bad person.
I kinda miss the old land-line days where telemarketers would call you during dinner. Telemarketer: Hi, sir! We are doing a survey and would like your opinion. Me: You don’t want my opinion, I am an asshole, and then hang up. Much more satisfying than deleting an e-mail or text.
“Our representatives are all busy with other customers right now. Please be patient. Your estimated wait time is [robot voice] 15 minutes. When you have concluded your business please take a few (15 more) minutes to complete our customer satisfaction survey.”
I hate that every time I order something or get any sort of service I’m requested to fill out a survey. Amazon orders, CVS orders (both merchandise and prescriptions), grocery deliveries (both from the store and from the delivery service, DoorDash, etc, etc, etc. I’ve gone to the ER the past two Sundays, and I got requests to fill out a satisfaction survey both times - not to mention getting these every time I go to the doctor.
Hell, I can’t even go to the US Post Office anymore without the clerk spending an additional 10-15 seconds circling their name “for your survey” in an awkward ending to an otherwise pleasant, straightforwad transaction. With as busy as my Post Office is, that 10-15 seconds adds up to a lot of wasted time every day!
Side note: I don’t want to give you feedback on my “customer experience.” Unless you’re Jimmy Hendrix, I don’t need an “experience.” I need my dry cleaning/groceries/cheeseburger/box shipped, etc.
Whomever came up with that phrase needs to be subject to Muzak, on repeat loop, in a stuck elevator for a life term without parole.
Look at it this way. Suppose you were in desperate need of a job. You put together your best resumé, and with a hope and a prayer, send it out to potential corporate employers.
You don’t expect they’ll all invite you for an interview, but there was a time when applicants were at least granted the courtesy of a response. Today, the usual response is … nothing. In fact, it’s likely that no human has even seen it – it was probably filtered out by a bot, which can’t even be arsed to send out a response.
I believe that corporations seeking to freely pillage their customers’ time and privacy with stupid surveys should be granted the same courtesy.
You want my opinion? Pay me! I am serious. Discount, rebate, refund, credit? I am not working for you. If you pester me too much, boy will I give you a customer survey.
I think it makes you a normal person. I may have two or three times in my life finished a phone survey at the end of a call. I’ve never filled out an email or receipt survey.
Only three cases where I fill out surveys anymore.
A bribe; give me something to make it worth my time to fill it out.
A one star review for a product on Amazon. This requires the product description was an outright lie, or it was simply not fit for purpose.
When it is a “tip”. If I get particularly good service over the phone or in person from someone, I am willing to fill out a survey about that person and the interaction, giving all 5s or 10s or whatever. I consider spending 2 or 3 minutes of my time to help them hit their rating target a fair trade for whatever good service they gave me.
Indeed. Back when they’d call and ask me to do a survey, I’d ask, “What’s in it for me?” and get stunned silence.
This is all actually worse than one might imagine. The “rule” for survey results seems to be that anything less than 9 out of 10 is a fail. So a “That was pretty good but could be improved slightly, here’s a 7” might as well be a 1. I’ve been told this repeatedly by folks who are forced to collect and analyze survey data.
It wasn’t stunned silence. It was them unrolling their eyes because it was the tenth time they heard someone say it that day. They were just doing their fucking job.
