Flaw in Customer Service Surveys?

Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 373

Here is a problem I see in these surveys - let's say an employee wants to get more hours than another employee - just get on the cell phone and text a friend to come in and then have the employee you don't like wait on your friend or ring them up - then they get a receipt and then friend can say negative things about the employee they are trying to get hours reduced (so they can get more hours or get another friend or relative hired).

Now personally I don't think they should be allowing all this cell phone use on the floor by associates - it is used also to steal - and texting is making it even easier IMO - since the surveillance cameras can't pick up on the text of the cell phone.

On the other hand an employee can wait on a friend or relative and have them get the survey and give them 10s.

Also I think there are numbers that can be called as well.

I have also seen employees digging in the trash for receipts that customers often just say they don't want. Now this may be used to steal - but also the customer survey numbers are on there.

Now you would think that LP and management would pick up on this kind of thing.

I understand there are cameras around watching us - but still it can be easy for employees to do this - and I don't know how long tapes are kept to prove or disprove this kind of behavior.

I know some employees who are getting some low scores - and I am wondering how this system is even appropriate and relevant.

Does corporate actually do any communication with customers after these surveys to find out a pattern or to find out if the remarks are justified?

Joined: 05 Jul 2008 Posts: 169

Customer surveys are subjective and should never be used as a tool for punishing or rewarding employees with hours and etc.

Years ago they had a contest for employees to get a trip to the corporate office of Kmart in Troy, Michigan based on ratings on customer surveys. The associate who won from my store did just as you were saying, Luis Luis, she had all her neighbors and friends call the 800 number. In truth, she had a very harsh way with customers, but this employee thrived on competition.

Another employee had a relative call in and not only gave the store poor scores but the same person had the person call the toll free # number to leave a complaint about an assistant. It was a false complaint but the assistant was abusive to the employees. After reporting the assistant to the DM, corporate, the ethics hotline, and the LP department for help in documenting the abusive behavoir the employee resorted to the survey and customer service number. She was caught and had her hours reduced but was not terminated.

Considering how poorly the associates have been treated and how off target the company is in gaining customers, the surveys are just another waste of money which could have been reinvested in the failing business.

Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 373

[quote="bubbdog"]Customer surveys are subjective and should never be used as a tool for punishing or rewarding employees with hours and etc.

If you were in charge that is the way it would be - but I don't think that is the way the information is used IMO.

Years ago they had a contest for employees to get a trip to the corporate office of Kmart in Troy, Michigan based on ratings on customer surveys. The associate who won from my store did just as you were saying, Luis Luis, she had all her neighbors and friends call the 800 number. In truth, she had a very harsh way with customers, but this employee thrived on competition.

Another employee had a relative call in and not only gave the store poor scores but the same person had the person call the toll free # number to leave a complaint about an assistant. It was a false complaint but the assistant was abusive to the employees. After reporting the assistant to the DM, corporate, the ethics hotline, and the LP department for help in documenting the abusive behavoir the employee resorted to the survey and customer service number. She was caught and had her hours reduced but was not terminated.

Considering how poorly the associates have been treated and how off target the company is in gaining customers, the surveys are just another waste of money which could have been reinvested in the failing business.[/quote]

Joined: 26 Jan 2007 Posts: 483

I'm sure this really happened.

Joined: 05 Jul 2008 Posts: 169

When we actually had someone go over our evaluations (last year that did not happen) I remember a section concerning the mystery shop reports, giving the store a rating. Depending on what time of year your eval hit it could be devastating to your evaluation. I thought that was one of the most unfair and subjective bunch of b.s. I asked why this was even on the evaluation. One persons's opinion could affect your once a year raise (and that term is up for debate).

I also never saw a place on the eval that included customer compliments, be that in letter, oral or via e-mail. Believe it or not some of the customers do go out of their way to praise good service. Depending on your manager whether you will hear about it.

It was a double whammy to have store sales put on the hourly associate evaluation. Most companies will include store sales on a member of managments evaluation but not hourly pions.

IMO the surveys and mystery shop reports should not ever be used to punish. A training tool to focus on customer service, maybe, but without knowing the identity and relationship the person has concerning the company who made the comments, you are not given the opportunity to follow-up.

Joined: 23 May 2008 Posts: 373

I think Sears tends to be negative - I mean you can do a 1000 things right - and have one shirt not folded and then get written up for it (very common in my store). Just a very hostile environment.

Posted: Sun Oct 11, 2009 4:04 am Post subject:

It's all BS. I actually heard an associate tell his customers to give him all 10's because if they didn't he would be fired. Sears is looking for the most insane way to get certain numbers up and I guess it's to make them feel better about themselves for the other idiot things they do. So we have to make sure we are at 65% in csat, make sure we all get credit, open a Christmas Club, these are issues that are important to upper management to save thier jobs. I feel more than ever I am working to save someone else's job. These are not areas that are appealing to the customer. The customer wants what they are looking for, in stock to take home TODAY. Not "We have that in stock in our warehouse and can have it here in a week." Everything is geared to cheat, so it doesn't matter anyway. It doesn't matter how you get the numbers, just get them. Sears is all about having a false sense of security and the stores that are trying to be legit, might be hurting themselves. I'm assuming there are still stores out there trying to be legit. If not, God bless us all and may the bigger cheater prevail.

Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 222

Back when I worked for the Holdings, I had fellow associates just simply save the receipt surveys and then use payphones to call them in. Cheating was rampant and endorsed by management

Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 3:54 am Post subject:

Joined: 18 Jul 2004 Posts: 72

Is there any out there who thinks the feedback from CSAT surveys is beneficial to the stores? Don't we need customer input to gage how we're responding to our customer needs? Just playing devil's advocate; not saying they couldn't be improved or even adjusted - but how else would you suggest we get that pertinent information from our customers? Doesn't practically every one of our competitor's does the same thing? Have any of you filled out a Best Buy survey, or a Borders Books survey? They pretty much ask the same questions - now I'm personally not privvy to how they disseminate this information to their associates, but they must somehow use it to motivate their associates to improve customer service. No, it should be weilded as a blunt object to beat associates who do poorly, but it also doesn't let them off the hook completely. Isn't it only fair that they offer the associate to tell there side of the story (if they remember the customer and have a story to tell)? Without feedback, how would we gage our service? But if there is flagrant cheating going on within your unit, you should report it to management. They shouldn't condone the behavoir in the least; if they do - then there's always the ethics hotline.

Joined: 25 Mar 2008 Posts: 222

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