I’ve mentioned a few times in this blog that I think many companies could improve their customer surveys. Ok. I’ve screamed like a howler monkey. Beat my breast like a Tarzan wanna be. Thrown myself on the floor like a toddler at the local Walmart wailing for the latest Avengers figure.
But today I’d like to praise a “survey” that I recently saw at BioLife. Instead of sending me a 25-question survey on my experience, the company simply placed this sign at its exit. I like it because it’s 1) specific 2) pleasant and 3) sincere.
Instead of a generic invitation to provide feedback, BioLife specifically invited me to share my opinion if it didn’t meet its own standards of excellence. By calling out a 9 or a 10 as its own quality expectation, BioLife reminded me of the service level it wants to provide. If not, managers were standing by to talk to me so they would know what they could have done (or not done) to make my experience wonderful.
I contrast this with a car repair shop I once frequented (but frequent no more). Its survey asked me to rate my experience as a 10 because the company would chastise employees if I ranked them lower. I hate to get anyone in trouble, but how does this approach help the company improve its service? Also, what kind of company would punish employees because a customer didn’t rate them as perfect? Answer: a company I don’t want to do business with.
But back to BioLife. I also like the friendliness of the sign. Without being wordy or too cutesy, BioLife reiterated its desire to get my honest (negative) feedback. The “home run” metaphor (including those charming baseballs over the “i”s) warmed me and made me smile. A little bit of a cliché, sure, but an apt metaphor.
And I loved the giant “Please” in the middle of the sign. Most surveys say please and thank you for your feedback. There, it seems perfunctory and insincere. But the sign “Please” caught my eye immediately. I felt the urgency of BioLife’s desire to improve. It made me want to help. Even though I did rate my experience as a 10, I was grateful that BioLife asked nicely for my feedback. Mostly I was grateful that the company didn’t bother me lately with a lengthy questionnaire.
I realize that a sandwich board at the exit won’t be right for every company. But I thought it was an out-of-the-box idea worth sharing.