CMI: Getting a Real Measure on Satisfaction
Posted by Ted Hopton on May 29, 2008
How did I miss posting about these great articles by Jay Minnucci? I went to link to them from the post I just wrote about Dr. Jodie Monger’s article on survey malpractice and that’s when I discovered I never wrote about them. They were both published in ICMI’s Customer Management Insight (CMI): Getting a Real Measure on Satisfaction (Part I) and Getting a Real Measure on Satisfaction (Part II).
Well, now I am! I loved this two-part series Jay did so much that I asked him to do a presentation on this topic at ICMI’s Dallas Call Center Demo and Conference last week. I think the live session was even better than the articles, because of the audience participation and the dialogue that took place, and just because Jay’s a fun and professional speaker.
These articles make an excellent companion to Jodie Monger’s article that I just wrote about, Are You Guilty of Survey Malpractice? She delves into the details of survey practices and Jay uncovers a whole lot of other factors that you’ve likely never considered.
Surveys alone do not reflect true customer satisfaction levels. Behavioral metrics hold the key to managing dissatisfaction.
I love the way Jay pussy-foots around touchy issues so delicately, as he does here:
There are three main reasons why the information you get from these surveys is only vaguely reflective of true satisfaction levels:
1. The view of what constitutes a customer is much too narrow;
2. Evaluations are heavily slanted toward input rather than behavior; and
3. Some of you are manipulating the hell out of the data.
He should have been a diplomat instead of a call center consultant 
Both articles are essential reading if you really want to understand the gap between all the glowing internal customer satisfaction reports and the constant complaints reported about widespread customer dissatisfaction. You can stick your head in the sand or you can learn the truth.
