Are you suffering survey fatigue?
/ Courtesy: NBC News
Whether you're buying a hamburger, a hammer or a pair of socks, you're always getting asked to go to a website and fill out a questionnaire. If you're feeling feedback fatigue, you're probably not alone.
You've probably been in the situation before. You only came in to buy a burger and some fries, but before you leave, you're asked to fill out a survey. "There is a lot the guests want to say to us, we want to be sure we're listening to what's on their minds," said Eric Tunquist, of Jack in the Box.
And they have a lot to say. In fact, every 25 seconds, someone logs onto this website and takes the 4 minute survey. That's more than a million surveys each year. "If a guest were to complete a survey right now, within an hour to an hour and a half, the restaurant manager, the district manager, the franchise owner would all have an alert in their email system, if there was a problem during that visit," Tunquist said.
Today, Jack in the Box is just one of thousands of businesses that say they want your opinion. On the bottom of nearly every receipt these days, there is an invitation to take a survey. "There might be a fatigue with it as well. I mean there might be a point to which people are going to just say, no more," one person said.
Market research has been around for years, but is it getting to the point that all these questions about customer service is making us angry about customer service? "There is survey overload. one of the reasons for that is that it's difficult to get information from consumers," said David Stewart, a marketing professor.
After you answer the questions about the food or service, you're often asked for more personal information like your name, email and phone number. "The tendency with companies, at least what we've seen in the privacy realm, is that they think that data collection is good and the more data you have the better," said Amber Yoo, of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.
That data may put you in the running for prizes or discounts. "I've filled them out for like, you know, fill it out and win, win 5000 dollars. I don't think I really will but hey, if I do it's great," one person said.
Whatever you decide to do, marketing experts say the answers could change your future shopping experience. "There should be moments when they take time out to provide good feedback to markets because marketers are listening and they'll make changes based on that feedback," Steward said.
With survey frustration growing, Jack in the Box is still getting 50 to 60 responses every month for each of its restaurants. That's about the same as when they started the program seven years ago, and clearly shoppers still have a lot to say. "I'd say more gripes than positive but all-and-all we get a pretty good balance," Tunquist said.
There are been surveys now to see how people feel about taking surveys. Studies show consumers are far more likely to give feedback if they're unhappy. Only 37 percent of customers would give feedback on an excellent experience compared to 75 percent of people reporting an unpleasant one.
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Information courtesy of NBC News.
