"TOTALLY" SATISFIED

There are many ways to "score" or "scale" a survey.  How the scale is devised and how the resulting responses are analysed and interpreted can have a dramatic impact on how surveys are responded to and how the results are used. 

Most people have seen written survey formats wherein a question is read and the response is recorded by filling in one of a series of dots alongside the question.  A "front end loaded" survey is one approach used with this format, usually offering response choices such as "excellent, good, fair and poor".  In that series, there are two positive responses, one neutral response, and one negative response.  The scale is "front end loaded" in that there are more "good" responses than "bad" ones.  The subliminal message the scale delivers is that the sender of the survey presumes there won't be that many negative replies.  The subconscious mind gets the message and responds accordingly. 

With our scale the response alternatives are balanced - Totally Satisfied, Somewhat Satisfied, Somewhat Dissatisfied and Totally Dissatisfied.  A fifth alternative, No Reply, or Insufficient Information to Evaluate, provides a catchall for uncertainty, but does not encourage any specific reply.  The choice of that scale serves several purposes:

"Totally Satisfied" is unambiguous.

It is neither subjective nor open to interpretation.  Terms such as "good", "fair" or "excellent" can mean different things to different people.  "Totally Satisfied", with rare exceptions, means the same thing to virtually all people.

"Totally Satisfied" denotes a complete absence of issues.

Customers who respond in such a way are indicating they have no unmet needs or desires; that there is nothing the client can do to improve their performance.  That alone is the one true foundation of meaningful customer satisfaction and loyalty.

"Totally Satisfied" translates well into all other languages.

It's important to know that overseas customers are reading and interpreting the same thing that domestic customers are.

Totally Satisfied is, however, more than a survey scale.  The true measure of its value lies in what a Totally Satisfied customer represents in terms of the future of a given business.

Dissatisfaction having to do with what we call the "big three" - price, quality or on-time delivery - will be communicated to a supplier clearly and without hesitation.  More subtle forms of discontent, however - matters having to do with such things as customer support, billing and invoicing, delivery documentation, or any number of hundreds of possibilities - will normally never be discussed.  Each will nevertheless affect customer satisfaction and future purchase decisions. InfoQuest brings those issues to the surface for identification, discussion and resolution.

The importance of doing so is simple.  Those who are only "Somewhat Satisfied" will generally check out the competition - shop around for alternatives - before deciding whether or not they will come back to you.  Those who are "Dissatisfied" are probably lost customers.  Totally Satisfied customers are, by and large, loyal.