Initially, short customer satisfaction surveys were very popular … in 2003.
As Scott McKain of Create Distinction points out, even the inventor of the idea, Fred Reichheld, wishes it would go away. It seems that anything we do on the Internet is followed by a “satisfaction survey” until we are inundated with them. We get them for everything from restaurant visits, the automobile mechanic, the doctor’s office, and, of course, our motel stays.
While we, as customers, may have also been enthusiastic about the surveys and eagerly filled them in, we have gotten to the point of being irritated by them, sometimes a lot.
Can you understand customer satisfaction without surveys? You certainly can!
First of all, make yourself and all those working with you better! You must be certain you and all your employees are doing everything to make your guests’ stays delightful, as well as productive when they are there for business. If you fail here, any survey or the lack of one altogether will be meaningless … except to verify that you are doing poorly.
Ask all of your employees when helping a guest that they also ask, “Is there anything else I may do for you?” and add, “Is there anything we can improve that would make your stay more enjoyable or productive?” Of course, you must urge your employees to report the results of this engagement. This will give you valuable insight into the things that may be done better for your guests.
Here are more questions to ask your guests, informally, as you and your employees go about your days.
Ask your customers: Does our service live up to your expectations?
Ask your customers: How likely would you be to recommend our hotel’s service to a friend?
Ask your customers: How does our service compare to your ‘ideal’ service?
Ask your customers: Overall, how satisfied are you with our hotel?
Ask your customers: How important are our SLAs (service level agreements) in your decision to select our company?
Ask your customers: Do you intend to return to our hotel in the future?
If you do feel you need a printed or online questionnaire, prepare one to post on your website or Facebook page and prepare a QR code (like the one to the right) with one of the free QR code generators, for your guests to photo with their smartphones. When they do, they will be taken directly to your questionnaire.
You can make business cards available in the rooms and registration desk printed with an invitation to express their feelings about their distinctive experience as your guests.
Your survey can list some variation of the questions above
Here are some resources that will help you with surveys and customer satisfaction:
- How to Measure Customer Satisfaction
- 7 Ways to Increase Survey Response Rates
- Customer Retention Strategies
- Customer Satisfaction Measurement
- 5 Ways to Measure Customer Satisfaction
Are your “satisfaction surveys” very irritating? How do you know? How can you understand your customers’ feelings better?#HotelMarketingDominator https://t.co/sL7irrOb5P
— Hotel Marketing (@HotelDominator) June 13, 2017
Here is to your facility being the dominant hotel business in your marketplace!
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