The Customer Service Survey
VocaLabs' weblog providing news and commentary on the challenges of providing good customer service.
Figures Lie and Liars Figure
Wednesday - April 19, 2006 02:31 PM in
Ever heard that old saying? The problem is that it's only half true. Figures don't lie. But data can be manipulated. We see it all the time. Sometimes a study or research report asks biased questions of a biased sample and the result is bad data. And unfortunately, in the case of measuring customer service quality, if the results conform to what management would like to believe, seldom do people look deeper. This is one of the reasons for the disconnect between the quality of service companies think they are delivering and what consumers actually receive. Fortunately, managers are getting wise to biased data, and slowly coming to understand the nuances of question and sample bias. Unfortunately, those that want to manipulate survey results understand it too, and some aren't above chicanery to achieve a goal.
So, is American Idol voting rigged? Unlikely. It is after all a popularity as much as talent contest, and if the various fan clubs are blocked from stuffing the electronic ballot boxes, then the selection is as fair as possible.
But that last can be a big if. As I was getting ready for work this AM, my wife was watching a talk show host comment on a survey of 18,000 people (source unknown) on the question of whether the bad press about Tom Cruise was because of his antics (Oprah, Scientology etc.) or because of some media bias. The survey overwhelmingly blamed the media, but on checking the e-mail addresses of the voters; 14,000 votes came from just 10 addresses with names like Topgun or tcruise@yahoo.com. Hmm...
So, yes liars can figure and manipulate data to self serving ends. That just makes it all the more important to look behind the curtain and avoid being duped by garbage in-garbage out data.
Posted by Rick Rappe
But that last can be a big if. As I was getting ready for work this AM, my wife was watching a talk show host comment on a survey of 18,000 people (source unknown) on the question of whether the bad press about Tom Cruise was because of his antics (Oprah, Scientology etc.) or because of some media bias. The survey overwhelmingly blamed the media, but on checking the e-mail addresses of the voters; 14,000 votes came from just 10 addresses with names like Topgun or tcruise@yahoo.com. Hmm...
So, yes liars can figure and manipulate data to self serving ends. That just makes it all the more important to look behind the curtain and avoid being duped by garbage in-garbage out data.
Posted by Rick Rappe
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