Do you really want to know?

I had lunch at a nice Brasserie in Amsterdam today. The meal was OK. Not good. Just OK. Anyway, at the end of our meal a young woman came to clean up our table. In a sweet voice she said "was everything OK?" or something like that. But she said it in a perfunctory sort of way. It said "I want to display the basic courtesy of letting you know we care, but I don't really want your feedback."

I think it might be better not to ask at all.

Ask yourself: do I really want to know what my customers think? If so, ask them and make sure to get an answer. Most people will want to tell you. And make sure you respond to their feedback. Right there on the spot and then later on by addressing it if need be.

And if you don't really want to know what they think, think again! You're going to find out one way or another. Unless you have a monopoly on a basic necessity, you will find out what your customers think when you look at your declining sales. I submit to you that this is not the best way to get feedback.