"How was your experience? Drop the details! Spill the tea!"

March 7, 2023 11:10 AM

Almost without exception, every transaction I've made recently is followed by a request for feedback. Would it be okay to decline all of them, forever?

Everything from insurance queries to veterinary visits to makeup purchases to software applications are asking me after every time I use their services to rate and send feedback. It's exhausting and cluttering my inbox and text messages.

One recent purchase is asking me to review not only the product itself but my "delivery experience" whereby it appeared on my stoop, same as every package. I did send an email to a hair salon recently after a particularly good haircut, because I wanted my stylist to get proper credit. But I declined their text follow-up asking me for one minute of my time to complete a poll.

Would I be screwing over individual service workers by not giving any feedback? I know my problem is with ownership/management, not the workers themselves--who likely see benefits from good reviews, or can otherwise face consequences if they don't get enough positive feedback?

I just want these requests to go away. And especially if they're attempting to be colloquial and cute (where the prompt is "spill the tea on your recent purchase!" etc.). Is there any reason why I can't just delete them all??

posted by knotty knots to Grab Bag (27 answers total)

Almost without exception, every transaction I've made recently is followed by a request for feedback. Would it be okay to decline all of them, forever?

Yes.
posted by underclocked at 11:12 AM on March 7, 2023 [42 favorites]

I never fill out business surveys because they are asking me to do their marketing research for free.
posted by cardboard at 11:25 AM on March 7, 2023 [35 favorites]

There is no way that a self selected survey (people who for some reason choose to answer) is in any way meaningful feedback, so any actions based on it are similarly bollocks. You have my permission to stop feeding a broken system.
posted by How much is that froggie in the window at 11:27 AM on March 7, 2023 [8 favorites]

I only fill them out when I want to send a compliment, and rarely when I think telling management that a specific system is bad might help (making efforts to not identify the staff member who was stuck using said crummy system).
posted by momus_window at 11:42 AM on March 7, 2023 [9 favorites]

I'm happy to do quality assurance and market research work for any company that will pay me.
posted by Superilla at 11:47 AM on March 7, 2023 [6 favorites]

I have not filled one out in 10+ years. So yes.
posted by OrangeDisk at 11:48 AM on March 7, 2023

Like you, I am annoyed by the constant requests for feedback. I do make a distinction between rating individual employee performance and rating other more general things, like you mention. I don't generally use Uber/Lyft, but on the rare occasion that I do, I will always give the driver 5 stars unless there is a glaring reason not to. Similarly for customer service reps that I interact with. But I generally don't review experiences or even products unless I have a specific thing I want to point out.
posted by number9dream at 11:49 AM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I tend to do the forms for things like my doctor's office, when it's been a particularly good experience. But generally, no, I don't complete them.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:51 AM on March 7, 2023

I have heard multiple times that if you don't give FIVE STARS to every damn thing, people get In Trouble. So you can't give it a four star and save five stars for something that goes beyond the pale, or say everything was great except for one thing, or anything that isn't perfect, because people (a) don't want honest feedback, (b) you have to give 100% perfect feedback.

Whereas I don't hear complaints too much about how oops, I forgot to rank at all. Or that people are getting In Trouble if you don't rank and review. (Which is to say, my work constantly sends "PLEASE FILL OUT THE SURVEY!!!!" emails. To which I say, if you give me a specific ID code that I have to enter so you can track my answers, bugger this, I will not. Also everyone has learned over the years that the survey answers mean nothing.)

So don't fill 'em out if you aren't being forced to/don't wanna.
posted by jenfullmoon at 11:53 AM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

STRONGLY AFFIRMATIVE YES.

Many corporations are penalizing workers for not getting over the top positive customer service ratings from their customers. For example they have a bonus incentive system and if the worker gets a single four star rating they are not eligible for the bonus. Anything less than five stars is considered sub par.

Giving anything less than an extremely enthusiastic rating can result in lower wages for the worker, and frequently your most enthusiastic rating is not enthusiastic enough on spurious grounds "Did not mention your tone in their rating, so you need to improve your tone when speaking to customers." etc.
posted by Jane the Brown at 11:53 AM on March 7, 2023 [5 favorites]

This is a terrible system. People on the other end are being ranked, compensated, and penalized based on a crude scale with zero nuance and measuring satisfaction, happiness, and anger caused overwhelmingly by forces beyond their control.

Nobody should acquiesce to it.
posted by amtho at 11:58 AM on March 7, 2023 [7 favorites]

Ignore 'em, delete 'em, mark 'em as spam.
posted by rhymedirective at 11:59 AM on March 7, 2023 [6 favorites]

I second rhymedirective.
posted by fimbulvetr at 12:08 PM on March 7, 2023

I refuse to perform unpaid labour for capitalist corporations. They can pay me if they want my services. I give fake email addresses where I can (if this is an ethical issue for anyone reading this, feel free to bring this up with your local representative, not me, who has not consented to be contacted this way).
posted by moiraine at 12:50 PM on March 7, 2023

*silently crumples up Post Office receipt with high-lighted URL that's been sitting on the desk for days.*

Customer feedback surveys? Uh....whatever are you talking about?
posted by wenestvedt at 1:01 PM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I only fill them out if I’m giving five stars, and I only do that to offset the cranks. It’s totally fine to ignore.
posted by mochapickle at 1:05 PM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

A very small part of my job involves dealing with this feedback (on others, not me) - and even I think you should skip it. I am like many others who will only use those links to praise a good worker when they need it. I can see providing this type of free work to an organization you value, or if they are really offering you something for free. If you have a problem with the company, use other feedback routes that cannot be tied to the innocent front line worker that you interacted with.
posted by soelo at 1:21 PM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

So yes, agreeing that it’s fine to ignore them. It makes me so sad when an employee has begged me upfront to only give them five stars on one of these things, and if I actually did have an issue to let them know directly so they could work with me to solve the problem- anything would be better than giving them a less than perfect rating on the corporate followup survey.

I am so sick of these emails asking me if I’d recommend their product to a friend. I think that’s a bad question. Why not just ask if I am satisfied, without bringing my communication with friends into it?

Anyway yeah, I figure the more people simply ignore those surveys, the less weight they will carry and ideally the sooner they will go away.
posted by wondermouse at 1:23 PM on March 7, 2023 [4 favorites]

I’ve taken business courses where they suggest asking for users’ honest testimonials essentially for a discount when you are working on research and development for your product. If they’re not giving me a discount, I’m not filling out their fucking survey.

When it comes to “click one through five stars” for a service worker who has just performed a service for me, sure, I’ll click five stars so they don’t get fired. Anything beyond that, fuck off.
posted by stoneandstar at 1:34 PM on March 7, 2023

I look forward to the day when I'm asked to give feedback on my experience giving feedback…
posted by adamrice at 2:54 PM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I know my problem is with ownership/management, not the workers themselves--who likely see benefits from good reviews, or can otherwise face consequences if they don't get enough positive feedback?

This is the only time I ever fill them out - wherein it's been a known trend that the giant corps are treating anything less than enthusiastic 5 stars as evidence that the store is "underperforming", and then may penalize the workers. Which is utter bullshit, but just to fuck with the fuckers I will 5 star, like, "my experience" at CVS even when I just walked in, grabbed a thing, and used the self-checkout. So when it's a big corp I will (sometimes) go all Oprah and be "You get 5 stars!! And you get 5 stars!! Everybody gets 5 stars!!"

But I'm an ornery cuss, and you totally have my permission to ignore them all. Absolutely do not try to give a nuanced detailed rating, it's not worth your time and it's only used to penalize people. Better to say nothing at all.

I will definitely give positive reviews & ratings when I know I'm dealing with an individual or a small company, like on Etsy or Reverb.

I did send an email to a hair salon recently after a particularly good haircut, because I wanted my stylist to get proper credit. But I declined their text follow-up asking me for one minute of my time to complete a poll.

Perfect. You gave credit where credit is due, given that it's probably a small business the actual owner/manager knows the stylist did a good job, and you ignored the useless followup.
posted by soundguy99 at 3:20 PM on March 7, 2023 [2 favorites]

want to chime in to say i was absolutely fired from a csr job when on-average only 89 out of 100 survey-contactees gave me a 10 out of 10. this really does happen (in case anyone was in doubt).
posted by glonous keming at 3:21 PM on March 7, 2023 [8 favorites]

I will (sometimes) go all Oprah and be "You get 5 stars!! And you get 5 stars!! Everybody gets 5 stars!!"

Hahahah, I see I am not the only one to have this thought. I really feel like we're forced to do that now.
posted by jenfullmoon at 4:16 PM on March 7, 2023 [1 favorite]

I don't submit feedback unless I can submit perfect feedback
posted by potrzebie at 6:03 PM on March 7, 2023

People in call centers get penalized for less than perfect feedback, and it's stupid. Don't participate. As far as I can tell, feedback is often used punitively, and I don't want to play. I think some of it is a ploy to make you feel connected to the vendor, just a meaningless waste of time.

When I have feedback or concerns and try to proactively convey them to a company, it's extraordinarily difficult. There are walls against customers, because they genuinely do not give a fuck. you have no obligation to participate in their charade.
posted by theora55 at 7:40 PM on March 7, 2023 [3 favorites]

If you've been treated poorly

by a
doctor;
hospital;
university;
restaurant;
hotel;

because you are one of:

Disabled;
Deaf;
Blind;
Have a Guide Dog;
Are a person of colour;
Are LGBTQ

it's good to provide that feedback if you have the energy, because it will hopefully make the people who come after you have a better experience.

Other than that, ignore feedback forms with a clear conscience!
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 3:46 AM on March 8, 2023 [3 favorites]

I worked for a company doing analysis of customer surveys. Only something like 5% of people ever filled them out, so please feel free to ignore them. I would say to only fill them out if you had an exceptionally good or exceptionally bad experience with a specific person. Even if you don't remember their name -- they're tracked by interaction ID so they can always link it back to the customer service rep you spoke to.
posted by little king trashmouth at 8:26 AM on March 8, 2023 [1 favorite]