In a separate article, I bashed surveys for a number of reasons.

To recap briefly, they're unreliable, slow, unrepresentative of customer sentiments at large, and there are more direct ways of tapping into customer satisfaction.

One of the best ways of doing this is by asking a customer how things are going DURING the transaction, itself.

One of my law professors, who helped Subway to expand across country, said you have no business owning a restaurant if you're too shy or lazy to walk up to customers and ask, "How's your meal?”

It's absolutely essential, he said, if you want to control quality, get valuable feedback right away, and show that you care about customer service.

And it's incredibly simple, isn't it?

There's no paperwork to fill out, no forms to mail, nothing to tally, and it is done, one customer at a time. The CRM (Customer Relationship Management) folks make it seem as if they've invented a one-to-one interest in customers.

Baloney! That's what existed before we tried to get fancy and bureaucratic about monitoring and managing customer satisfaction.

Another ideal time to tap customer satisfaction is before they leave the store, your site, or the telephone line. The folksy way of doing this was always saying, "Come back and see us real soon; ya hear?”

Saying the line is important, but even more significant is monitoring how customers respond.

One after another should be saying, "Will do! and "Sure thing! and "You bet!”

If they're silent, avoid eye contact, or just grumble, yo

I've written at length about the importance of generating customer recommitments. These are explicit pledges that customers are happy enough to return and are committing to do so.

"Will do! and "Sure thing! and "You bet!” are all recommitments.

If you want customer loyalty and an immediate signal of satisfaction, they are money in the bank.

Figure out how to agreeably ask for and get feedback in the here-and-now about how you're serving and satisfying customers. It's faster, cheaper, and more reliable than more "clever” means.

Tell Your Friend