Customer satisfaction measures in transport: recommendations from SAC
Published 13 October 2016
© Crown copyright 2016
This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gov.uk.
Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.
This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/dft-science-advisory-council-customer-satisfaction-report/customer-satisfaction-measures-in-transport-recommendations-from-sac
The challenges and recommendations highlighted here emerged from discussions following a presentation to the SAC by DfT’s social research team and their preparation of supporting background briefing.
In identifying these challenges and proposing solutions, the SAC acknowledges that customer satisfaction is an important driver of improving performance by operators and delivery agents. And recognises that such measures need to be viewed within the context of objective performance measures and expectations, and should be part of a broader suite of social and behavioural evidence used to inform policy and delivery.
1. Challenge - consistency and co-ordination of surveys
There is a considerable amount of activity, across DfT, its agencies and other organisations, concerned with measuring customer satisfaction by mode of transport. The paper recognised that different modes captured different drivers of satisfaction and that there was a wide range of insights provided. However, as the different actors often operate independently, so data collection can be uncoordinated and can be inconsistent in quality and coverage across different surveys. This can make it difficult for policymakers to reliably compare customer satisfaction across different transport modes, and to decide strategically where to prioritise policy action and investment.
Recommended solution: DfT should commission a review of the portfolio of customer satisfaction surveys conducted in different part of the department, its agencies and the operating companies, with a view to identifying inconsistencies and scope for quality improvements and coordinated working; this might also deliver some efficiencies. Wider stakeholder consultation in developing and refining customer satisfaction measures and peer review to quality assure measures would be an important part of this process.
2. Challenge - a door-to-door perspective
Most customer satisfaction data is collected on a modal basis, whereas passengers are concerned with making door-to-door - not station to station – journeys. So there is a need to examine the total journey experience, across modes and any associated interchanges. As people switch from single-stage car journeys, to multi-stage multi-modal public transport journeys, this issue becomes more important.
Recommended solution: DfT should explore mechanisms to capture information on customers’ satisfaction with their total, door-to-door multi-modal journey experience.
3. Challenge - knowledge management and retention
The management of the knowledge generated from the department’s customer satisfaction research appears to be ad hoc, with the result that information may be lost over time, gaps are not easily identified, and it is difficult to make optimum use of the information that has been obtained.
Recommended solution: The valuable work that has been done to identify what is known about customers should be assembled to become a resource across the department, its agencies and beyond, to enhance institutional knowledge and memory. Better sharing of information might avoid the risk of duplication of effort, or of research findings being overlooked, and help to increase consistency and raise standards.