When surveys are a methodological mess or sabotage your service

We’ve all been there—finally finished with your interaction with customer service (after waiting long enough to question the meaning of time itself). Then the inevitable happens: “We’d appreciate it if you could fill out a brief survey.”. “Brief,” they say. And yet, as you wade through a seemingly endless row of poorly written questions, the experience somehow feels worse than the call itself. The poorly designed survey becomes just another cog in the machine, designed to test your patience.

Sometimes, it gets even worse. You receive outstanding service, and by the end of the call, the agent says, "I'd appreciate it if you could give me a 9 or a 10" on the customer survey you’ll receive the moment the call ends. Clearly, the purpose of such a survey isn’t to gather valuable insights on improving future customer experiences—it’s just someone trying to hit their KPI.

In this third installment of my CX Chronicles, I’ll share some of the problems I encounter when clients ask for advice on designing their customer touchpoint surveys.

Survey design is a craft. In some ways, it’s like a tailor advising a client on the cut and fit of a new suit or dress. The tailor can offer advice on what would be the best fit from a methodological perspective, but in the end, clients decide what they like.

Most issues I have with survey design fall into two categories:

1. Methodological Mess
2. Service Sabotage

When customer surveys are a methodological mess 

Oh, where do I begin? Sometimes I feel like Jack Lemmon or Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men when I receive surveys. Here are the six worst offenders:


1. The Leading Question Trap

"On a scale of 1 to 10, how satisfied were you with the service provided by our outstanding and friendly employee?"

Well, now I feel guilty. You’ve already told me the employee was "outstanding," so what am I supposed to do here? Anything less than a 10 feels like a slap in the face.

Solution: Keep it neutral. Don’t tell me how to feel about your employee; let me decide. Otherwise, I’m not rating the employee — I’m rating your ability to guilt-trip me.



2. The Yes/No Black Hole

"Were you satisfied? Yes or No."

I get this from a service provider I use almost monthly. One question, simple enough, but the scale is all wrong. They probably thought it would make the survey easy to answer. But simplicity for the customer isn’t always the same as asking simple questions.

I’ve never answered "No." My issues are never bad enough to warrant it. So they think I’m perfectly happy, but I’m not. The survey doesn’t capture the nuances, the shades of grey.

Solution: Offer a sliding scale, or at least provide space for detail. The quality of service is rarely binary, so why should your survey be? Categorical questions like Yes/No are fine when suitable when the answer truly can be a yes or no. Otherwise, allow for nuances.



3. The Indifferent Survey

"How likely are you to recommend us on a scale from 0 to 10 based on your recent call with our customer support?"

This is a version of the Net Promoter Score (NPS) question. It’s great when used properly—e.g., in customer loyalty surveys. However, its widespread use has led to misuse, especially when applied in situations where brand recommendation makes no sense. Asking irrelevant questions makes you seem indifferent as if you had to ask something but didn’t care what it was, so you defaulted to NPS.

Solution: If you care about improving future customer experiences, ask questions relevant to the customer, not just to you.



4. The Tolstoy Novel
"This will only take a few minutes of your time…"

Ah, the classic lie. Halfway through the survey, you realize there are more pages than a Tolstoy novel. Each click forward is a fresh exercise in existential dread. Now, not only are you frustrated with the original service, but you’re annoyed that you’re still dealing with this company via the survey.

Solution: Keep it short and punchy. Ask the essentials—don’t make me rate 15 different aspects of my experience like I’m writing a thesis on customer service.



5. Right Survey, Wrong Time
"Thank you for shopping with us. How would you rate your shopping experience?"

I recently bought a birthday gift for my wife online. I’m supposed to pick it up today, and I hope the gift wrap (which I paid extra for) looks nice. That’s why I chose this particular webshop—they offer gift wrapping, unlike their competitors. But I’ve already received several reminders asking me to rate my shopping experience.

The problem? I haven’t even received the parcel yet! I don’t know if it’s a great shopping experience until I collect the package and check everything.

Solution: Send the survey at the right time. Sometimes it’s right after the service interaction, but in cases like online shopping, wait until the entire process is complete. From a methodological point of view, it’s more of a process survey than a touchpoint survey. And sometimes that’s what you should measure: the process, not just the touchpoint.



6. Please Buy More
"Did you know you can try our new version of Product ABC?"

This really shouldn’t need to be on the list—advertising mixed with surveys. In many cases, it’s not even legal. Just don’t do it. Customers can tell, and it hurts your credibility, making them less likely to want the new product.

When customer surveys sabotage service

Let’s not forget: the survey itself is part of the customer experience. Imagine you’ve just had the most amazing dining experience at a restaurant. The waiter was exceptionally attentive, preordering a taxi after noticing you might have had a bit too much wine—perfect service.

But then, on your taxi ride home, you get a text from the restaurant: "Would you like to rate your experience?" You eagerly click the link, only to see questions like:

• Did the waiter offer you a glass of champagne while walking you to your table?
• Did the waiter offer you a complementary side order with your main dish?
• Did the waiter walk you to the door?
• Did the waiter preorder you a taxi?
• Did the waiter ... and the list could go on...

Suddenly, the personalized experience feels like a checklist. The waiter’s high level of service is reduced to a series of scripted actions, and the magic is gone. By the time you finish the survey, the experience feels much less special.

Surveys aren’t a separate entity from customer service—they’re often the epilogue to the delivered service. A service in itself. And if the epilogue is poorly designed, it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, no matter how good the rest of the story is.

When Customer surveys enhance service

So, what should you do instead?

I advise thinking of customer touchpoint surveys not just as a feedback tool, but as an opportunity to deliver service — a chance for the customer to feel served.

This changes how you design the survey. You can approach it in two ways:

1. Reactive: Did we deliver great service?
2. Proactive: How can we deliver great service?

Reactively

It’s fine to ask customers to rate the service they’ve just received. Returning to the restaurant example, we could ask:

"How satisfied are you with the waiter’s service?" (1-10 scale)

This is a neutral, broad question, and the 1-10 scale provides enough nuance. Then, ask satisfied customers:

"Thank you! Please provide an example of something the waiter did you especially appreciated." (open text)

Unlike a checklist questionnaire, this approach asks the customer to highlight what matters most. It also shows the customer that you care about making them feel valued.

Although the survey is reactive in its design, it does enhance the feeling of being served, being cared for. And there's nothing wrong with that - just don't share your service script like in the checklist questionnaire.

For less satisfied customers, similarly well-adjusted questions should be asked.


Proactively

With this approach, you focus on the future. What can you do to provide even more value?

For example, after making a restaurant reservation, you could send this in the morning of the day the guest is due to arrive:

"We look forward to welcoming you tonight. Is there anything important we should know to ensure you have the best possible evening?"

A personal call from the waiter would be even better, but that’s often not practical. This approach allows the staff to personalize your experience while showing you that they’re proactive about your needs.

Proactive and reactive questions could both be included in the touchpoint questionnaire. I did - some years ago - experience a Parisian hotel that got it just right, read about it here, if you like. They mixed reactive and proactive surveys throughout our stay to ensure it enhanced the overall experience - and ensured that it is the first hotel we will check availability for when returning to Paris.


Surveys can be powerful tools to gather feedback and enhance service, but only if done correctly. Whether reactive or proactive, the key is to ensure that the survey itself feels like a part of the customer experience—one that leaves them feeling valued and cared for.

Thank you for reading this far. I hope it served you well.

Nicholas