When designing your Customer Satisfaction Survey, the level of detail in your questions should always match your research and business objectives.
Your Customer Satisfaction Survey could ask the single question:
If your objectives are to compare responses on this question with responses from previous years, this question is sufficient.
However, if your objectives include making improvements to the service you offer based on responses to the questionnaire, this question is not detailed enough to give an indication of what to focus on to improve the level of customer satisfaction.
Ideally, the questions need to specify measurable, observable or behavioral aspects that can be improved or modified for a better customer experience.
The level of detail in the question text should match the level of detail required to match the research objectives and/or business objectives. The question above asks for specific experiences in a specific time frame. This is far more detailed than our first example.
The above set is perhaps too detailed for the average customer. It is better designed for the restaurant manager or a food critic.
The researcher needs to identify what aspects of the service contribute to customer satisfaction and build a questionnaire based on those determinations.
