Customer Experience Survey Questions and Template
Customers rate each stage of their journey with you, from first look to staying, then name the worst one.
- 16questions
- About 4 minto complete
The 16 customer experience survey questions
A customer experience survey asks customers who have been all the way through with you to rate each stage of that journey, from finding you to deciding whether to stay. Comparing the stages shows where to act first. All sixteen are already built in the survey maker online; drop any stage your customers never pass through.
Finding you
The stretch before the customer paid you anything.
- Before buying from you, it was clear to me what you offered.
- By the time I decided to go ahead, I knew what I would get.Low here means the product and its description drifted apart.
Buying
The purchase itself, kept apart from everything after it.
- Once I had decided, buying from you was straightforward.
- The price I paid was the price I had been shown.Points to fees or add-ons that appeared late.
Getting started
The first days, which decide whether the rest gets used.
- Getting started took about as long as I thought it would.
- I could work out how to get started without asking anyone.Low here with high help scores: support is covering for setup.
Living with it
The long middle, where customers spend most of their time with you.
- Since then, it has done the job I got it for.
- It has become easier to use the longer I have had it.
Getting help
Optional, because only customers who needed help can answer them.
- When something went wrong, I could reach a person to help me.
- My problem was fixed without me having to chase it.
Staying
Whether the relationship holds from here.
- I have had no reason to look at other options since.
- If I were deciding today, I would choose you again.
The worst stage, in their words
The customer names one stage outright, then says why. The survey closes on one statement.
- Which stage of your journey with us was the worst?Compare it with the lowest-rated stage pair.
- What is the one thing you would change about how this went?
- What went better than you thought it would?Shows what to protect as you change the rest.
- Taking all of it together, this went the way I hoped it would.A high close over one weak stage means customers forgave it.
How to send it and read the stages
Send it to customers who have been all the way through in the last month or two. Ask while it is fresh: people recalling an older stretch lean on a few moments, mostly its peak and its end.[2]
Read question 13 first, because it is your customers ranking the stages. Then average each stage's pair and set the six side by side: the end-to-end journey that Harvard Business Review authors call the bigger and more important picture.[1] Where the named stage and the lowest pair agree, start there.
That stage then earns a survey of its own. After a purchase, send a post-purchase survey. After a support request, send the customer service survey. When a customer leaves, the cancellation survey asks why. For one visit to one shop, use the store survey questions.
Customer experience survey FAQ
How do you design a customer experience survey?
List the stages your customers pass through, write one or two statements for each on the same agree scale, then ask which stage was worst and why. Keep one closing statement apart from the stages so it can check them.
How do you measure customer experience with a survey?
Average the statements inside each stage and compare the six side by side. Fix the lowest stage, then send the same survey to the next group to see how far it climbs. For a steady quarterly read, add the voice of the customer survey.
How many questions should a customer experience survey have?
Enough for two statements per stage plus the worst-stage question: sixteen here, about four minutes. A survey that stays at one stage needs only that stage's pair and a comment box.
Michael Hodge, survey methodology · Updated 26 September 2026 · How templates are reviewed
Sources (2)
- Rawson, A., Duncan, E. and Jones, C. "The Truth About Customer Experience." Harvard Business Review, September 2013. hbr.org
- Schwarz, N. "Retrospective and Concurrent Self-Reports: The Rationale for Real-Time Data Capture." In A. Stone, S. Shiffman, A. Atienza and L. Nebeling (eds.), The Science of Real-Time Data Capture: Self-Reports in Health Research, 11-26. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. dornsife.usc.edu
Ask about the whole journey in four minutes
Twelve stage statements, the worst-stage question, two optional comment boxes and one closing statement.
Use this template