● Customer reviews
Customer Satisfaction Survey
A customer satisfaction survey is a short questionnaire that asks customers how an experience went, such as a purchase, a delivery or a support call. It usually pairs a rating with one open question. The answers show what to fix and which customers are happy.
Full definition
Types of satisfaction surveys: CSAT, CES and NPS
Most satisfaction surveys use one of three formats, and each one asks a different question.
- CSAT asks how satisfied the customer was with one experience, rated on a scale such as 1 to 5. It fits a purchase, a delivery or a support call.
- CES asks how easy it was to get something done, such as returning an item or solving a problem. It fits support and returns.
- NPS asks how likely the customer is to recommend you, from 0 to 10. It measures the overall relationship, so it suits a regular check rather than one order.
Pick the format that matches the moment. Ask CSAT after a delivery, CES after a support case and NPS a couple of times a year.
Which questions to ask
Start with a rating question and add one open question. Here are six you can use.
- How satisfied are you with your order? (1 to 5)
- How satisfied are you with the delivery? (1 to 5)
- How easy was it to solve your problem with our team? (1 to 5)
- How likely are you to recommend us to a friend or colleague? (0 to 10)
- What was the main reason for your score?
- What is one thing we could do better?
Questions 1 to 4 give you a number. Questions 5 and 6 give you the reason. Ask about one experience at a time. A question like "How was your order and our customer service?" mixes two moments and gives you an answer you cannot act on.
When to send a satisfaction survey
Send the survey soon after the experience, while the customer still remembers it.
For an order, wait until the parcel has arrived and the customer has had time to open it. A survey sent on the day of purchase measures the checkout, not the product. For a support case, send it when the ticket closes. For a visit, such as a hotel stay or a meal, send it the same day or the next morning. Send one survey per experience, and leave a gap between requests so the same customer is not asked twice in a row.
Which channel: email, SMS or WhatsApp
Pick the channel your customers already use to talk to you.
Email suits longer messages and customers who read at a desk. SMS and WhatsApp are short and sit next to personal messages, so a one-tap rating fits well. A survey that opens in one tap beats one that asks for a login.
Your data decides too. You need a valid email address, or a mobile number you are allowed to message. Use the same wording on every channel so scores stay comparable, and show your brand name as the sender so customers recognize the message.
How long it should be
One rating question and one optional open question is enough for most post-purchase surveys.
Every extra question asks for more of the customer's time, and a customer who stops halfway leaves you with no data. If you need more detail, run a second survey at a different moment instead of making the first one longer. Keep the open question optional, so a customer in a hurry can still give you the score.
Common mistakes in satisfaction surveys
Most weak surveys fail in one of four ways.
- Too many questions. Every extra question raises the chance that the customer quits, and a half-finished survey gives you nothing. Keep one rating and one open question.
- Wrong timing. A survey sent before the parcel arrives, or weeks after a visit, measures an experience that has not happened yet or one the customer has forgotten.
- Asking only happy customers. If you survey only repeat buyers or people who already praised you, the score looks good and hides the problems. Send the survey to every customer after the same moment.
- No follow-up. A customer who reports a problem and hears nothing learns that answering is pointless. Reply to low scores and tell customers what you changed.
How to read the results
Read the score first, then the comments, then the trend.
For a rating, count the share of satisfied answers, which are the 4s and 5s on a 1 to 5 scale. For NPS, subtract the share of detractors from the share of promoters. Then read the open answers and group them by theme, such as delivery, product quality or support. The theme that comes up most is your first fix.
Compare like with like: same question, same moment, same scale. Survey scores are one input into your overall customer satisfaction. For a step-by-step method, read the customer satisfaction survey guide.
Concrete example
These three examples are illustrative.
Hotel. A hotel emails guests the morning after check-out. Question 1: How satisfied were you with your stay? (1 to 5). Question 2: What could we have done better? The front desk reads every answer below 4 the same day.
SaaS. A software company sends a survey when a support ticket closes. Question 1: How easy was it to solve your problem? (1 to 5). Question 2: What slowed you down? The support lead groups the answers by theme once a month.
Store. An online store texts customers two days after delivery. Question 1: How satisfied are you with your order? (1 to 5). Question 2: Is there anything we should fix? The team calls back every customer who answers 3 or lower.
Each survey covers one moment, uses one rating and leaves room for one open comment.
Full questionnaire. A restaurant sends these six questions to every guest the morning after a visit. 1. How satisfied were you with your meal? (1 to 5) 2. How satisfied were you with the service? (1 to 5) 3. How satisfied were you with the wait for your table? (1 to 5) 4. How likely are you to recommend us? (0 to 10) 5. What was the main reason for your score? 6. Is there anything we should fix?
With Review Collect
Review Collect sends the survey automatically after a purchase, by email, SMS or WhatsApp. You set it up once and it runs on every order.
When a customer gives 1, 2 or 3 stars, they land on a branded feedback page and your support team gets an email alert. The customer keeps the choice to publish a review. According to Review Collect internal data, 93% of dissatisfied customers who are contacted prefer resolving the issue privately. Satisfied customers are directed to one platform that you choose.
See how automated review requests work.
