Question sets

Customer satisfaction survey questions

A good customer satisfaction survey starts with one score question (NPS, CSAT or CES), asks a few targeted questions about what you want to improve, and ends with an open question. Below you'll find example questions by topic, ready to use, plus the choices that decide whether your survey pays off: which score, which moment and how many questions.

Updated 5 min read

How to structure the survey

1. Choose one score question. It decides what your survey is about:

  • NPS for the relationship as a whole: would you recommend us?
  • CSAT for a single experience: how satisfied are you with your order, your visit, the contact?
  • CES for a task: was it easy to return an item, book an appointment, set up your account?

Not sure? NPS vs CSAT vs CES puts them side by side.

2. Ask why. Straight after the score, with an open question: what is the main reason for your score? This is the question that pays off most.

3. Only add what you need. A few targeted questions on the topic you want to act on now. Not everything in the list below: choose.

4. Leave room at the end. An open question where customers can say what you didn't ask.

Keep it short: in a Cochrane review of randomised trials, a shorter online questionnaire clearly raised the chance of a response. With customers, who owe you nothing, that counts double.

The score questions

  1. How likely are you to recommend [company] to a friend or colleague? (0 to 10)
  2. How satisfied are you with [your order / your visit / your contact with our customer service]? (1 to 5)
  3. [Company] made it easy for me to [task]. (1 strongly disagree to 7 strongly agree)

Pick one per survey. How to calculate the result is explained in What is NPS?, What is CSAT? and What is the Customer Effort Score?.

Example questions by topic

Customers rate the statements below on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), unless stated otherwise.

The product or service

  1. The product does what I expected it to.
  2. The quality has stayed the same or improved over time.
  3. The product is easy to use.
  4. Which feature or part do you use most? (open)
  5. What's missing from the product? (open)

Customer service and contact

  1. My question was answered first time.
  2. I didn't have to wait long for a response.
  3. The person I spoke to understood my question.
  4. The person I spoke to was friendly and helpful.
  5. I didn't have to explain my situation more than once.
  6. Which channel would you have preferred to use? (choice: phone, email, chat, other)

Ease: ordering, delivery, getting things done

  1. I could easily find what I was looking for.
  2. Ordering was quick and trouble-free.
  3. The delivery arrived when promised.
  4. I was kept well informed about the status of my order.
  5. Returning or changing my order was simple.

Price and value

  1. The price reflects what I get for it.
  2. It was clear beforehand what I would pay.
  3. Compared with alternatives, I find [company] (much cheaper / cheaper / about the same / more expensive / much more expensive).
  4. Which would you rather pay for: [option A] or [option B]? (choice)

Communication and information

  1. The information on the website was clear and complete.
  2. The emails I get from [company] are useful.
  3. I don't get too many messages from [company].
  4. I know where to go if I have a question.

Getting started and onboarding (mainly for software and subscriptions)

  1. I could get started quickly after signing up.
  2. From the start, I understood how to get the most out of [product].
  3. What was the hardest part of your first few weeks? (open)
  4. What do you wish you'd known sooner? (open)

Loyalty and the future

  1. I expect to still be a customer a year from now.
  2. I would choose [company] again.
  3. Have you ever considered switching? If so, why? (open)
  4. What would make you buy more from us? (open)

Open questions

  1. What is the main reason for the score you gave?
  2. What would have made it a 10?
  3. What should we definitely not change?
  4. If you could improve one thing about [company], what would it be?
  5. Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?

The right moment

When you ask determines what you measure:

  • Straight after an experience (a delivery, a contact, a purchase) you measure that experience. Wait a few days at most, or you mostly measure what someone remembers of it.
  • Periodically (quarterly, annually) you measure the relationship. Do it at the same moment each time, so you can compare.
  • Not too often for the same customer. Someone who gets several surveys in a short space of time will stop answering. Space your surveys out.

What to avoid

Asking what you already know. Don't ask for a customer number, location or the product someone bought if you already hold that data. Every unnecessary question costs attention.

Jargon. "How would you rate our omnichannel experience?" means nothing to a customer. Use your customers' words, not your organisation's.

Leading and double-barrelled questions. "How satisfied are you with our fast and friendly service?" Word it neutrally, one topic per question.

Compulsory open questions. An open question you can't skip produces answers like "n/a" and "none". Make open questions optional, or ask them in conversation.

A survey with no follow-through. Let customers know what you did with their feedback, for instance in a newsletter: "you said X, we did Y". It makes the next survey more credible. More in increasing survey response rates.

Fewer questions, more insight

The more questions you ask, the more you learn about the topics you thought of, and the less about what matters to the customer. The alternative is one score question followed by a conversation that follows up on whatever the customer raises. It needs no long questionnaire, and it gives you stories instead of loose numbers.

How ScoreStory does it. You choose a score question (NPS, CSAT or CES) and a research goal, and Vox, the AI interviewer, holds a short conversation with each participant about the why. You can set themes up front, such as delivery or customer service, and answers are linked to them automatically. You can invite people by email, with an open link and QR code, or with a button on your website. More on the product page.

Sources

  1. Methods to increase response to postal and electronic questionnaires, Edwards et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2023

Measure the score, then ask why

ScoreStory asks for one score and then holds a short conversation about the reasons behind it. Your first 10 interviews are free, with no credit card and no end date.

Start for free See how ScoreStory works
Metrics explained NPS vs CSAT vs CES: which should you use? The four scores side by side: what they measure, when to use which, and how they complement each other. Metrics explained What is NPS? The Net Promoter Score explained Where NPS comes from, how to calculate it, what counts as a good score, and how to get from a number to improvements. Research practice How to increase survey response rates: what actually works What dozens of experiments say about length, invitations, reminders and incentives, translated into customer and employee research.

All guides