You want me to take a survey? How about you say "pretty please?"

Hello all!

Well, I'm getting ready for the Oscars, how about you?  I'm going to my very first Oscar party with my critique partner, Linda, and I can't wait!

I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems like everyone we come in contact with needs us to do a survey.  Now, I'm an American, I'm used to getting surveyed for political issues.  (Okay, I'm not.  I've never ONCE been polled for anything.  Seriously, I'm right here.  My number is listed.  Everyone seems to be able to find me when they want me to vote, how about asking me my opinion on something...anything?)

Wait, I'm getting off track.

I think I really started noticing this survey mania when Kohl's  employees held up my receipt and said, "On the bottom is a web site where there's a survey.  Please let us know how we did today."

I smile, and say, "Sure!"

I never do the surveys, of course.  Who has the time?  Okay, reality, who keeps the receipt long enough to have the website at hand when you are at the computer to do the survey.  Taking this one step further...it's Kohl's.  Why do they even bother printing a receipt?  They'll take anything back, as long as you will accept store credit, so why bother?

Again, I'm getting off topic.

Fast food places started doing it, and they were offering free stuff.  I actually took an on the spot survey at Culvers  (If you don't live in a place that has a Culvers, you need to move.)  I won a free drink!  Whoo hoo!

That awakened me to just how many times a day I'm asked to take a survey.  The big capper came yesterday.  Hubby and I were at Sam's Club  (Think Costco...only more like Walmart.)  and the woman at the door  (you know, the person who has to make sure than in the ten feet from the register to the door you didn't lift something and put it in your cart) circled a web address at the bottom of the reciept and said, "take the survey."

Wait.  "Take the survey?"  No "please?"  No, "Win a free lunch?"  Just "Take the survey?"

I was so insulted, I wanted to go home and take everyone else's survey just to make the Sam's Club survey feel bad!

On the way home I looked over my work life and recalled the times I've had to beg people to take a survey.  I briefly worked for a car dealership who had me calling warranty customers and asking them if they were "mostly satisfied, fully satisfied, or completely satisfied."

I lasted about two weeks in that job.

In my current position I call customers we've installed and asked them to take a two question email survey that coporate may, or may not have, put in their email in boxes.  I beg, plead, appeal to their better nature, implore them to help us evaluate that ever so nice young man who came and installed the item.

I rock at getting people to take the survey.  I know I rock because I have a 96% positive response to corporate surveys.  Before I took over, that number was 14%.  (But Elsie is the one getting the bonuses.)

Wait, I'm off track again.

Anyway, I realize that that businesses need feedback from their customers and apparently just having us continue to shop in the store isn't enough.  So, we must do the surveys.  I get it.

But maybe use a magic word...you'd be surprised just how well "please" and "Thank you" work.