Satisfaction surveys

AQ Services views customer satisfaction surveys as complementary and supportive of mystery shopping programs. Mystery shopping examines and reports upon the service given by the organization, whereas satisfaction surveys report on how the service given is perceived or received by your customers. A satisfaction survey provides valuable information on the status and effect of the improvements initiated from a mystery shopping program.

The interactions between customers and members of staff are two-pronged. On one hand, companies offer products and their staff behave in a certain way (their service) within their defined environment (a shop, etc.) Whereas, on the other hand, customers have needs and objectives too. A good match between the offer and the demand will lead to a positive interaction and experience. Companies should of course ultimately strive for the perfect match, which will lead to the desired transaction between customer and product or service provider.

In order to achieve insight into the levels of satisfaction of the needs and goals of customers, one needs to ask a number of customers for their opinions. The response from any individual customer is of course subjective but if the same questions are asked of an adequate total sample of customers, an objective and usable survey is created.

The potential use of and correlation between customer satisfaction surveys and mystery shopping data is self-evident. The improvement track that a mystery shopping program can initiate starts on the shop floor and its effects should, if implemented correctly, be noticed by the customers.

Staff and management satisfaction and their buy-in to agreed and defined service standards in the business [KPI`S], should also be monitored via similar survey methodology. This will help to ensure that both management and staff have the same positive attitudes and behaviors, and that they share in the same service culture.

For more information on Satisfaction Surveys, please contact AQ Services.