Customer Satisfaction Pilot Studies and Analysis

Response Rate

Response rates are an important context for understanding the results provided by any survey. This is based on the fact that a customer survey tries to understand the true range of all customers' experiences. We rarely have the resources to survey all customers, so a sample is randomly drawn from the total customer population. Because everyone has an equal chance of being chosen for inclusion in the sample, the survey results are assumed to be similar to the results obtained if the total population had been contacted.

Response rates strongly affect the basic assumption of randomness and therefore the assumption that the sample's satisfaction is similar to the population's satisfaction. There are two possible situations in which an individual does not respond to the survey. First, those who do not respond are like everyone who does respond except that they are not available or are unwilling to respond. Second, those who do not respond are unlike everyone who does respond and are not available or are unwilling to respond. It is the second situation that is far more likely and of great concern. Numerous studies have shown that low response rates do alter the results of surveys, presenting an inaccurate picture of the population. The sample goes from being random to one that contains individuals who self-select to either be or not be surveyed. Moreover, those who self-select into the survey are no longer representative of the population.

All of the pilot states were asked to achieve a minimum 50 percent response rate to guard against the problem of being representative. Nearly all of the states achieved just below or above the 50 percent rate for participants. For example, in State A, which had both JTPA and Job Service participants, the response rate was 46% for JTPA respondents but only 26% for Job Service respondents. The response rate for those with valid phone numbers was 58.5%. This second number gives a more useful sense of degree of self-selection. Other states had similar customer response rates. Employer response rates were somewhat lower in State A, which had 44.3% of employers with valid phone numbers responding. 3

The response rates from the pilots may not accurately represent response rates for WIA, however. First, the respondents were drawn from a different program population (JTPA and in some cases Wagner-Peyser). Second, the respondents were contacted a longer time after exit (90 days and often much longer) in these studies than they were in WIA (within 60 days). However, these results do point to some important considerations. Staff in One-Stop centers must obtain good contact information and alternative phone numbers if possible. This is particularly important for employers, since response rates will suffer if the individual in the employer's organization who actually received the services being addressed in the survey cannot be contacted. Staff can also help with response rates by explaining that customer surveys are regularly conducted and that the participant or employer may be contacted. They can further indicate that this is done because they are concerned with the quality of their services and the satisfaction of their customers. Setting up the survey in this way during the final contact with the customer is an important means of reminding both staff and customers that customer satisfaction is important to the One-Stop system.

Basic Descriptive Statistics>>

3 These results reported by Suzanne Kreutzer of Social Policy Research Associates in their draft report of September, 2000.

 
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