I was going over a new survey program with a customer recently, and I had requested to see the results from any previous customer surveys.  The client proudly pulled out a survey, and the corresponding report. Proudly, he said, "I created the survey myself, and we've used the same version for the past 10 years!"  I almost fell off my chair.  The survey was four pages long!  In 10 point type!  There were a total of 129 questions! I was almost speechless!  His main complaint was the low response rate, which translated into a very high cost per survey received.  I asked of all the data on the survey, what are the ten items he looked at first.  "That's easy", he said, "I only really look at the customer satisfaction number." My response was swift.  I suggested that he basically cut his survey to three to seven questions.  Ask only what really matters to his business.  Ask no marketing or demographic questions.  Only customer satisfaction questions. If you look at progressive organizations known for their customer service from retailers like Nordstrom, online stores like Zappos.com, to service providers such as Merry Maids and restaurants like Outback and specialty retailers like Honey Baked Ham they all have one thing in common.  They only survey customers on what they need and want to know! For more information on this, and other service quality measurement tools and tips, please visit ServiceQuality.US or Service-Quality.com