Flickr by Mr. Anderson
And now the “rest of the story”. I had previously talked about my frustrating experience in recently purchasing a big-ticket item: my new car. But here’s the coup-de-grace: at the end of the process, the “hospitality” girl reminds me that I’ll be surveyed soon by Kia and that anything less than a perfect “10″ on any question represents failure for them. In fact, she told me that anything less than a “10″ actually costs them money. The dealership takes money back from their commission.
Now…what am I supposed to do with that information? I liked my saleperson just fine. So now I’m going to take money out of his pocket as I rant about the dealership’s bad processes (including survey baiting)? Probably not. So they’ll get their “10′s” and think they are genuinely pleasing their customers and will continue on.
I’m not sure I’ve experienced anything this disturbing in the arena of customer satisfaction. Sure, I’ve been told, “We strive for a “10″ and hope you’ll let us know if somehow we failed to meet that goal”. Fair enough. But this survey baiting takes this to a whole new level. And what does it accomplish for the dealership? Virtually nothing as it stymies all constructive feedback. I left that day with my new car and already a clear picture that the dealership really didn’t care all that much about me to begin with. So I’m not sure this final blow was that unexpected either. Just bold beyond reason.
Regardless of what business you may think you’re in, you’re in the customer satisfaction business. At least if you want to remain in that business. A small piece of advice. Solicit honest feedback. Listen. Improve where you need to. And pay attention to how your customers want to consume your product. There’s gold there. But only rusted metal in the process I experienced.