Free CES Survey
50+ Expert Crafted CES Survey Questions
Measuring your Customer Effort Score (CES) pinpoints exactly where customers struggle, so you can streamline interactions, cut support costs, and boost loyalty. A CES survey asks people how easy it was to complete a specific task - grab our free template, fully loaded with example CES survey questions, and start gathering actionable insights in minutes. If you need more customization, head over to our online form builder to design the perfect survey from scratch.
Trusted by 5000+ Brands
Top Secrets to a High-Impact CES Survey
A CES survey is your secret weapon for spotting friction in your customer journey. It asks how easy interactions feel, not just if they're satisfying. Companies that succeed zero in on effort, making every step effortless.
Designing a great CES survey starts with timing and clarity. According to SurveyMonkey, surveys sent right after a service moment capture accurate feedback. Keep questions crisp, choose a simple 1 - 7 scale, and deploy on the channels your customers love. For mobile screens, test before you send.
Tailor each question to a real touchpoint. For an online checkout, ask "How easy was it to complete your purchase?" Immediately after customer service chats, try "What do you value most about our support?". This targeted approach delivers clear action items. A retailer we know saw CES jump by two points in one month.
Start small and iterate. Embed your CES survey in quick poll widgets or atop receipts. Experiment with follow-ups like open-ended prompts for deeper insights. Combine effort scores with satisfaction for a full view in your Customer Experience Survey dashboard.
Every data point counts, but aim for a CES above 5 on the 7-point scale. Industry guides like Survicate report that scores in this range signal loyal, repeat buyers. And with consistent improvement, friction fades - and loyalty soars.
5 Must-Know Mistakes to Avoid in Your CES Survey
Even seasoned teams slip up. Common CES survey mistakes include sending too many surveys, vague wording, and wrong timing. Bombarding customers with multiple effort questionnaires leads to fatigue and low response rates. Identifying these pitfalls is the first step to better insights.
Mixing up CES with satisfaction survey questions muddies your data. If you ask "How happy are you?" instead of effort-focused queries, you won't know where friction hides. In a SaaS trial, a company learned the hard way: they fixed smiles but never the steps that confused users. In contrast, clear effort questions light the path forward.
Skip long surveys and jargon. According to Qualtrics, concise, targeted surveys boost completion by up to 40%. HubSpot notes that emoticon-based ratings can boost response rates by 20% in CES contexts.
Make your CES survey mobile-friendly, trigger it automatically after key actions, and limit frequency to avoid overload. Automated triggers ensure you catch customers at the perfect moment. Fewer touchpoints can yield richer, higher-quality feedback.
Watch your wording closely. A good ces survey question feels like a natural check-in: "Was it effortless to update your billing?" drives clarity. And always include at least one open field: "What slowed you down today?" These two simple prompts capture both the score and the story behind it.
Finally, avoid siloed reporting. Share CES insights across teams in your Customer Satisfaction Survey review sessions. Merge them with NPS and CSAT to spot trends and prioritize fixes. With these precautions, your CES survey becomes a powerful tool for friction-free experiences.
Core CES Survey Questions
Understanding the core customer effort score is essential for identifying friction in service delivery and guiding process improvements. This category measures how effortlessly customers complete tasks and interactions, helping you prioritize areas that need simplification. For a broader framework, check our Customer Experience Survey .
-
How easy was it to achieve your goal with our service today?
This question directly measures the overall effort customers perceive, making it the cornerstone of any CES-based assessment.
-
How straightforward was the navigation to the information you needed?
Focusing on navigation reveals if customers struggle to find key resources or instructions within your platform.
-
How much effort did you feel you put into completing your request?
Asking customers to self-report effort highlights processes that may be overly complicated or time-consuming.
-
How clear and concise were the instructions provided during your interaction?
Assessing clarity ensures that guidance and messaging do not become hidden barriers to task completion.
-
How responsive was our system or representative when you reached out?
Response speed is a key factor in perceived effort and can indicate bottlenecks in support channels.
-
How intuitive did you find the overall process flow?
Intuitiveness reflects the design quality of workflows and whether they align with customer expectations.
-
To what extent did you feel frustrated at any point during the process?
Capturing frustration levels helps you pinpoint exact steps where customers may abandon or complain.
-
How seamless was the handoff between different service channels?
Channel handoffs often introduce friction; this question reveals whether transitions are smooth or problematic.
-
How consistent were the steps you needed to follow from start to finish?
Consistency checks uncover if customers experience varying procedures that can increase effort.
-
How would you rate the overall simplicity of our service today?
A summary rating helps you track aggregated ease-of-use trends over time for continuous improvement.
Service Touchpoint Questions
Evaluating each interaction point provides granular insight into where effort spikes and satisfaction dips. These questions uncover the smoothness of specific channels, from self-service portals to live support, enabling targeted fixes. Consider pairing this with a Typical Customer Service Survey for deeper diagnostic data.
-
How easy was it to find our help center or FAQ section?
Identifies if self-service resources are readily accessible or buried under menus.
-
How simple was the process of submitting a support ticket or request?
Measures barriers in the initial outreach step and reveals form complexity.
-
How clear were the automated prompts in our chatbot or IVR system?
Assesses whether automated flows guide customers efficiently or cause confusion.
-
How quickly did you connect with a live representative when needed?
Highlights potential delays in live support that can increase customer effort.
-
How straightforward was the checkout or transaction process?
Evaluates e-commerce steps that often generate the highest drop-offs due to complexity.
-
How easy was it to update or change your account information?
Reveals if account management features are intuitive and user-friendly.
-
How seamless was the experience when switching between devices?
Checks for consistency across desktop, mobile, and app interactions.
-
How simple was it to find a product or service recommendation?
Assesses the effectiveness of search and filtering tools in guiding customers.
-
How effortless was returning or exchanging an item through our portal?
Returns often create friction; this question surfaces any cumbersome steps.
-
How clear were the follow-up instructions after your inquiry was resolved?
Ensures customers leave with complete understanding and no further effort is needed.
Experience Improvement Questions
Gathering improvement suggestions helps shape actionable roadmaps for reducing customer effort. This set invites direct feedback on process enhancements, revealing pain points and creative solutions. You may also want to integrate results with our Customer Satisfaction Survey for a holistic view.
-
Which step in your experience felt most complicated?
Pinpoints the single biggest obstacle customers face, guiding your simplification efforts.
-
What additional features would have made this process easier?
Uncovers desired functionality that could streamline future interactions.
-
How could we improve communication during your service journey?
Identifies gaps in updates or notifications that may leave customers uncertain.
-
What alternative channel would you prefer for this interaction?
Surfaces channel preferences to allocate resources where they reduce effort most.
-
Were there any unnecessary steps you'd like us to remove?
Encourages customers to point out redundancies that inflate perceived effort.
-
How can we make our instructions or guidelines clearer?
Helps refine documentation and on-screen prompts to lower cognitive load.
-
What could speed up the response or resolution time?
Gathers ideas on staffing, automation, or workflow tweaks to enhance efficiency.
-
Which self-service tool did you struggle with the most?
Reveals underperforming resources that may need redesign or additional support.
-
How might our website layout reduce the effort required?
Solicits layout and UI recommendations directly from users to optimize design.
-
What would make you more likely to use self-help resources?
Captures incentives or improvements that encourage customers to self-serve.
Post-Interaction Feedback Questions
Capturing reflections immediately after service completion ensures insights are fresh and accurate. These questions explore satisfaction, resolution clarity, and emotional response, enriching your data when combined with an Employee Customer Service Survey for cross-perspective analysis.
-
How satisfied are you with the resolution provided?
Directly links satisfaction with effort, indicating if low effort led to better outcomes.
-
How clear was the explanation of next steps?
Ensures customers leave with a precise understanding of follow-up actions.
-
How confident are you that your issue is fully resolved?
Measures residual doubt, which can prompt unnecessary repeat contacts.
-
How courteous and professional was the representative?
Assesses agent demeanor, which influences perceived effort regardless of efficiency.
-
How likely are you to reuse our service based on today's experience?
Links ease-of-use with loyalty intentions, a key marker for future engagement.
-
Were all your questions answered in one interaction?
Evaluates first-contact resolution rates and highlights repeat-effort scenarios.
-
How timely was the follow-up communication, if any?
Assesses responsiveness post-resolution to prevent lingering issues.
-
How well did we manage your expectations throughout the process?
Measures expectation alignment to avoid surprise delays or unmet promises.
-
How would you describe your emotional state after the interaction?
Captures sentiment that quantitative scores might miss, adding depth to your analysis.
-
Do you have any additional comments or suggestions?
Opens the floor for free-form feedback, often revealing insights not covered elsewhere.
Benchmark Comparison Questions
Comparing your effort scores against competitors or past performance uncovers competitive gaps and progress trends. These questions contextualize customer effort data, helping you understand where you stand in delivering the Best Customer Experience Survey in your industry.
-
How does the effort required here compare to other similar services?
Provides a relative measure to understand competitive positioning.
-
How have your effort levels with us changed over time?
Reveals whether process changes have successfully reduced customer effort.
-
Compared to your last experience, how much easier was this interaction?
Tracks directional shifts in effort to validate recent improvements.
-
How does our response time compare to industry standards?
Benchmarks speed against market expectations, identifying service lags.
-
How would you rank our simplicity relative to competitors?
Encourages customers to assess ease-of-use in a broader context.
-
How does our support channel availability stack up against others?
Highlights potential gaps in service coverage compared to peers.
-
How does the clarity of our communication compare with other brands?
Helps you gauge if messaging stands out or blends in with the competition.
-
How do our self-service options compare to platforms you've used before?
Benchmarks tool effectiveness and encourages platform comparisons.
-
How would you rate our overall effort level versus your expectations?
Aligns perceived effort with anticipated standards to spot over- or under-delivery.
-
Based on your experience, how likely are you to recommend us over rivals?
Transforms comparative effort findings into a recommendation metric.
