Asking Questions - The Definitive Guide To Questionnaire Design ...

ASKING QUESTIONS THAT EVALUATE PERFORMANCE 225
tinuous feedback mechanisms involving comment cards, toll-free
hot lines, and on-line Web surveys. Important issues of sample bias
are relevant, however, since it is thought to be primarily passionate
people (happy or mad) who make the effort to participate in
feedback. Recent efforts are being used to try to widen the participation
level.
Franchises (such as fast food) have long been areas where quality
and service can vary widely across units within the same chain.
A mechanism used to assess service across a wide number of units is
“mystery shoppers,” people who are evaluating the company by simply
behaving like a shopper (or diner) and whose identity is not
known to those they are evaluating. The primary job of mystery
shoppers is to frequent the franchised restaurants to ensure that
food quality, timing, cleanliness, and other standards are being met.
Many other retailers are beginning to develop and engage in similar
activities.
A more detailed description of one customer appraisal system
may clarify the manner in which they are used. One organization
sends an appraisal form, such as that in Figure 7.5, to every customer
who has a service performed by a company employee. These
customer ratings are then summarized in a quarterly feedback report
that provides average ratings on eight diagnostic dimensions as well
as an overall customer satisfaction score. The report is given to both
employees and their managers, and it provides information used to
develop employees and make decisions about salary bonuses. This
customer rating form then becomes a method of employee rating as
well, thereby serving two purposes for the organization.
Collecting feedback from the customer’s perspective is consistent
with the basic tenets of total quality management (TQM) and
with the notion that the customer is always right. It also reinforces
to employees that their overreaching goal is to provide the ideal
value that the typical customer seeks.
In many cases, customers are often in a better position to evaluate
the quality of products and services offered than are managers
or fellow employees. This third-party performance rating can be