Customer Satisfaction Surveys - Is there another way?

So you've moved on from customer comment cards and have decided to try your hand at an online customer satisfaction survey.

Maybe it was the temptation of the money off vouchers or the thrill of being in a prize draw to win an ipad, or maybe you actually do want to give some constructive feedback to the organisation who requested it. Either way, here you are now sat at your PC, tablet etc, faced with the a seemingly endless amount of questions.

Oops, I should have warned those of you who've not done this before, surveys of this nature are very rarely short & sweet. They tend to have pages and pages of questions, usually just asking for one score on each page, with no space for extra comments. They're asking all about the decor, the menu choice, the specials board - usually the same set of questions as on the comment card you turned into a party hat earlier.

But you are determined, either for the chance of a prize or in the hope that there is a space for you to say what YOU want to say, so you carry on. So here are some things to do while you're selecting 5 out of 10 for each question as you have no strong feelings one way or another on all the things THEY want to ask:

• Play an MP3 (or even cassette tape) of those useful holiday phrases you keep meaning to learn. I'd like a table for two, please............ (quiero) una mesa para dos, por favor
• Turn up the music on the radio and sing along to your favourite tunes at the top of your voice (ok maybe not if you're in an internet cafe or the local library).
• Replay your favourite episode of a soap / drama / football championship in your head. (I'm better on Red Dwarf or Firefly but that might be my geeky side coming out)
• Perform some of the exercises airlines recommend to avoid DVT.

At last, you have finally made it through to the end - you should win that prize for your sheer determination alone - maybe my few suggestions gave you the strength to persevere.

For those of you that wanted to have your say and managed to find a space to say it, let's hope your comments do not fall on deaf ears. And before we part, I offer these words of hope for the future - there is a better way - the technology is there for organisations to collect customer feedback given by their customers in their own words. Those verbatim pieces of feedback can be analysed in real-time and passed on to the organisations to then act on the insight provided.

Feedback that is fast for you to give (online, on mobile or even a voice message) and fast for them understand and act on.

Our Infographic explores how our Fast Feedback solution allows you to do just that: