Should There be Controls for Street Surveys?
Someone wrote in to the Straits Times forum to complain about his bad experience with being asked to complete survey forms. The letter wasn’t published in the print version but came out in the online version.
I think this problem of fake survey applies not only in the insurance industry, but also in other sales industries as well. The people who conduct the surveys do not actually want the survey data, but are only interested in the contact information for marketing purposes.
Most of the time, I will not participate in these surveys. Even if I did, I would not provide my contact details.
The other day, I received a phone call which was obviously a fake survey. I can’t remember the exact words but the phone call went something like this:
Caller: Hi, I’m calling from Company X to conduct a survey for customer feedback. Do you have an existing representative from our company serving you? (The giveaway question. If it was a official survey from the company, they would have known whether I was being serviced.)
Me: Yes, I do.
Caller: When was the last time your agent has contacted you?
Me: Less than a year ago.
Caller: Is the agent your personal friend or someone you met outside?
(enough is enough)
Me: What exactly is the feedback you are looking for?
(They are obviously fishing for information about my current agent in order to get an entry point for their own)
Caller: (realises the game is up) Actually, we would like to ask whether you would be interested in meeting up with …blah blah
Actually, the best way of weeding out all these fake surveys is not to fall prey to them. If there are no takers, the practice will naturally die down over time.
Of course, there are also legitimate people who are paid to conduct real surveys where the data is being utilized.