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NPR Highlights Customer Feedback

Vice President Gore's National Performance Review (NPR) is dedicated to improving the Federal Government's service to the American public. To promote this objective, NPR and the National Park Service sponsored a one-day workshop that featured experts in customer satisfaction measurement from Federal agencies, educational institutions, and the private sector. NPR's Customer Survey Workshop focused on how to measure customer satisfaction and how to turn that information into improved service. Its objective was to share information and ideas so that agencies would be better equipped to build successful customer service evaluation programs.

The workshop speakers included:

• Dr. Don Dillman, Director, Social and Economic Sciences Research Center, Washington State University. Dillman is the author of Mail and Telephone Surveys: The Total Design Method. He presented and discussed the four cornerstones of surveying.
• Dr. Gary Machlis, Chief Social Scientist, National Park Service (NPS). Machlis reviewed how the NPS manages and administers its customer surveys.
• Dr. Don Gantz, Director, Citizens Applied Research Institute, George Mason University. Gantz explored the role of statistics, data analysis, and data reporting in customer surveys.
• John McLaughlin, National Customer Administration Manager, Toyota Motor Sales. McLaughlin shared lessons learned from managing a customer survey program.

Lessons Learned. Each speaker shared valuable information about gathering customer feedback. Toyota's experience provided especially practical tips for using that feedback in performance management processes. McLaughlin focused on five "truths" about customer feedback and satisfaction measurement that can be applied to any organization interested in improving customer service.

Truth #1. In order to be a customer-focused business (or agency), you need an organizational structure that is equipped to measure and deal with customer satisfaction issues. However, if you aren't going to empower that organization to do the job, you may as well not have it. Toyota management realizes the importance of accessing the "Voice of the Customer." Its organizational structure includes a sophisticated customer relations department that handles customer satisfaction (i.e., customer surveys) and customer relations (i.e., employee training and incentives, customer assistance center, and dispute resolution).

Truth #2. If you aren't listening to your customers, you can't have all the business attributes that provide them value. However, if you aren't using this information to create change, then don't bother listening. In order to know what their customers want, Toyota has established a customer survey system that measures customer satisfaction with the process of buying, the delivery experience, the service experience, and product quality. Based on the results of these surveys, Toyota develops strategic plans to improve customer service.

Truth #3. You need a good measurement system in order to understand your customer satisfaction challenges. However, if you don't have an honest measurement system, don't bother having one. Initially, Toyota found that its survey process was not accurately reflecting customer satisfaction rates. Its survey results were indicating higher customer satisfaction rates than actually occurred. Causes for the inflated ratings included: regional pressure on the dealers to achieve high scores, which caused them to game the measures; too much focus on indexes (i.e., the summarizing score); and, at first, little management of the process. The impact of these problems included biased information, employee dislike of the survey, and customer disillusionment with the survey process. In the end, customer dissatisfaction levels were the same and sometimes higher than before.

Toyota reexamined its survey process and established a plan to improve its customer feedback system. The plan's key points included:

• Survey Forms. Toyota revised the survey forms, included questions that provided more specific and useful data, and established standards for survey question content and processing.
• Standard of Excellence. Toyota established acceptable levels of performance and eliminated making distinctions of performance above that level.
• Dealer Reporting. Summary evaluations and specific, but anonymous, customer comments were shared with the dealers. Dealers now monitor their own progress, which puts less pressure on the measures.
• No Regional Reporting. Regions were often putting pressure on the dealers to cheat on their measures in order to improve regional performance scores. Toyota eliminated regional reporting and now focuses on the dealers only.
• Telephone Survey. Telephone surveys are conducted to determine initial satisfaction with the product. Standards for conducting the phone survey and processing the data have also been established.

Truth #4. You need a good reporting system in order to empower the operational areas to improve customer satisfaction. However, if the operational areas don't read and use the information, your reporting system will be ineffective. Customer service objectives must be integrated into each unit of the organization. The customer service "division" of an organization cannot improve customer satisfaction alone. Customer feedback should be shared with all areas and levels of the organization.

Truth #5. Collecting and sharing customer feedback is a critical part of informing and empowering your operation to be customer focused. However, if you don't provide the resources to do the collection, then your efforts will be ineffective. Customer service cannot be improved through lip service only. The organization must invest in the measurement process in order to get the feedback it needs for improvement.

NPR occasionally sponsors other workshops or seminars related to customer service. For more information about these seminars or about Federal customer service efforts, you may contact NPR at 202-632-0150.

Originally published on August 1996.