What really is customer satisfaction survey and what should be the real purpose?  And what if my users do not want to answer those survey and what does this mean?

I have been pondering these questions for a while now and my current interpretation of customer satisfaction surveys are these:

1.                  A mean to keep me on my toes?

When a job has been assigned to me it is natural to assume that I am the right person to work on the job and to help users resolve the problem that he is facing.  However, what if I do not have the necessary knowledge to do it and because of that I take longer than expected to complete the task or I make the situation worse?  And to make the situation worst, I am the only person around at the moment that can be deployed to look at the problem.

What would a customer satisfaction survey result implies in this situation?  That I am incompetent?  I am slow and not responsive?  That I lack the initiative to seek advice from other colleagues who may know how to resolve the problem?

All these will sound stressful when you want to think of such situation in such a negative manner.  On a brighter side, in such situation I would take it as a learning opportunity, so what if I take longer than expected to resolve this problem the first time, I will be able to do it better the next time I encounter the same problem.  I think in general most users are not unreasonable and they would understand if we explained to them that you are new to the problem and may take a tad longer to resolve their problem.  When encountering a problem most would find comfort when they know that someone is looking into their problem and that they are not neglected.

2.                  To find out how I performed in that task?

It is good to find out how my users think of my service after each job is being completed.  However, would I get to know what they think of my service?  It would definitely be great for my morale if I know what my users think of me, especially if I know that they are happy with my service.

So if the survey is done electronically and available to be online, I would definitely like to know how I performed in the eyes of my users at least once a month and maybe see their feedback, if any.

Now, knowing how my users think of me is good but if I have a raving review from my users, would my boss care?  I would definitely more encouragement if my boss would show me some form of appreciation too.

(Acknowledgment: Picture modified from www.careerkidztv.com)

Beyond Service – Why Survey is a post from: IANPEDIA

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

Do we have to have a service level agreement with our users in order to proof that we are out there to help them in times of need?  Well, my answer is a ‘Yes’ and a ‘No’.  Yes because this will serve as a guideline for the service provider to follow and this is good for newcomer to the service team.  And in the case of a disagreement between users and the service provider this becomes an avenue of recourse.  This also serves as a guide for the management if there is enough staff to upkeep the service level.  Of course the cost for justification of increasing headcounts just to maintain the service level has always been management nightmare, especially in bad economic times.

I am not fully in favor of an agreement are because service is actually beyond service agreement and service ticket.  It would also add undue stress to the service staff if the agreement is not carefully crafted.

If there is an agreement between users and the service provider, then shouldn’t there be an agreement between the different supporting teams within the service providing department?  Many a times this is always neglected.  But really, is there a need to?

My personal opinion is that service must come naturally from within us, all of us are a service provider in one way or another, be it at work, at home or out in the public, with your colleagues, friends or relations.  Do we have a service agreement with them?

Service is also not about solving the problems that the customer is facing but also the time for relationship building.  Having a good relationship with the customer is also a kind of service level.  Having a good relationship between the customer and the service provider will also helps to get things done faster, and also less likely to kick up a fuss out of a molehill.

This is all well and good in an ideal situation but there are also instances where relationship building is almost close to impossible.  This is when the time spent with the customer is so short or the customer is in a mood that relationship building is out of the questions.  I suppose this is when an agreement and a service ticket will come in handy.  But generally how many of such cases will that be within a company?  Everyone are colleagues how many will want to put the other party in a difficult position?

In my years of experience, the importance of having a good and cordial, if not a close (not intimate, this is a definite no here and will only complicate matter) relationship between use and the service provider goes beyond that of a service agreement and service ticket.

Beyond Service and Agreement is a post from: IANPEDIA

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.