Aptos CA — Online survey services provider The Benchmarking Exchange (TBE) has sent out an unsolicited mass email promoting a survey which aims to gather information on the effectiveness of surveys.
The email, received by Oxebridge — which has never knowingly registered with TBE — claims the online survey will “[focus] on how organizations collect, report and manage Customer Satisfaction and Customer Perception metrics.” The email claims:
In this survey you will find out methods used and how organizations set improvement goals based on the results. Some of the key metrics of this survey are:
- Response rates
- Survey methods used
- Frequency of surveys
- Measuring and implementation of improvements
- Use of Excellence Model
Survey questions prompt participants to provide data on their own response rates, target audiences, the methods they employ for submitting surveys, and whether or not they use an “Excellence Model” like Baldridge, ISO or Six Sigma.
“It’s a survey to promote surveys,” Oxebridge VP Operations Christopher Paris said. “And they are using spam to deliver it. One wonders what kind of response rate they will get in their survey on response rates.”
TBE’s marketing indicates the survey is sponsored by technology giant Bosch. A link to the survey start page can be found here. The page apparently only works under Internet Explorer, as the browsers Firefoxand Chrome only display blank pages. The survey requires the user to enter their email address in order to receive the final report, and the TBE page elsewhere invites visitors to enter their email addresses, but the site lacks any terms of service or privacy policy.
Despite some clumsy marketing language that promises participants that they “will find out methods used and how organizations set improvement goals”, the actual purpose appears to be to gather data on survey methods and success rates, not to train participants or provide any education. Once the data is gathered, participants will receive a report on the survey results itself.
It is likely that Oxebridge was put on the TBE email list because of its leading role in implementing ISO 9001, a standard which began emphasizing the gathering of customer satisfaction data with the release of 2000 revision of the standard. Since then, Oxebridge clients and ISO 9001 users worldwide have reported that response rates to customer satisfaction surveys have dropped, possibly a result of the inundation of such surveys coming on the heels of the publication of the ISO 9001:2000 standard.
“Surveys are only one method to gauge customer satisfaction,” Mr. Paris said. “ISO 9001 does not mandate surveys, per se, and we believe there are many, many other ‘passive’ methods to gain data on customer perception.”
“But,” Mr. Paris added, “this is the first time I have ever seen anyone promoting methods for conducting advanced customer satisfaction surveys, and using a spam survey to do it.”
Christopher Paris is the founder and VP Operations of Oxebridge. He has over 35 years’ experience implementing ISO 9001 and AS9100 systems, and helps establish certification and accreditation bodies with the ISO 17000 series. He is a vocal advocate for the development and use of standards from the point of view of actual users. He is the writer and artist of THE AUDITOR comic strip, and is currently writing the DR. CUBA pulp novel series. Visit www.drcuba.world
