3. Customer Survey in Theory

“Wer nicht neugierig ist, erfährt nichts.“

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749 – 1832), German writer and poet

“There can be no knowledge without curiosity.” Goethe’s simple quote explains the purpose of a customer survey: knowledge.

A customer satisfaction survey is a means to assess the customers’ satisfaction towards the company’s products or services. Various methodologies are used to collect customer feedback: face-to-face interviews, telephone interviews, feedback over the e-mail or Internet platform or via handwritten questionnaires. Customer answers to questions are then used to analyze whether or not changes need to be made in business operations to increase overall satisfaction of customers.³⁵ It is a method of gaining information about satisfaction, expectations, requirements and customer needs. Surveys are designed keeping in mind that variance in the wording and construct of questions may influence the respondent’s answers; therefore the questionnaire and interview techniques are as harmonized as possible.³⁶

³⁵ http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/customer-satisfaction-survey.html [7 July 2013]
³⁶ http://ctb.ku.edu/en/tablecontents/sub_section_main_1048.aspx [27 Jun 2013]