Survey · Customer satisfaction
Customer effort score survey template
Asks the standard effort question about one named task, on a seven-point agree scale. Customers who found it hard are asked what got in the way, how many times they had to get in touch and which step they would remove; customers who found it easy just say what helped.
Try it live
Try it as a respondent
Every question, and where it leads
The conversation
What a respondent is asked, in order.
Quick one about what you just did with us. It takes under a minute.
What were you trying to do?
How much do you agree with this: it was easy to get that done with us.
What made it harder than it should have been?
How many times did you have to get in touch with us about it?
If you could remove one step from what you just went through, which would it be?
What made it easy?
Roughly how long did it take from start to finish?
How long have you been a customer?
Can we contact you if we have a question about your answers?
What's the best email for that?
Ends with
Thanks for telling us
The flow
Where each answer leads. Every route here is editable once the form is yours.
Single select
Opinion scale
Multi select
Single select
Long text
Long text
Single select
Dropdown
Yes / No
What this template uses
- Single select
- Opinion scale
- Multi select
- Long text
- Dropdown
- Yes / No
- 3 branches
Questions to consider
- Which single task is this survey about, and can you name it in the question instead of asking the customer?
- Where does a score of 4 belong for you: with the struggles, or with the neutral middle?
- Who owns each step a customer might name, so a complaint about billing reaches the billing team?
- How soon after the task can you send it, while the customer still remembers the steps?
How to use the responses
Track the average effort score per task, not across everything, because setup and refunds are never going to feel the same. For low scores, count which friction reasons come up most and read the answers about the step people would remove: that is your shortlist of fixes. Customers who had to get in touch three times or more are worth a personal reply.
How to customize and share it
- 1Replace the options in the first question with the tasks you actually measure, or remove it and send one survey per task.
- 2Adjust the friction reasons to the steps in your own process, such as identity checks or delivery booking.
- 3Send the link right after the task finishes, for example at the end of a support chat or setup flow.
Frequently asked questions
What is a customer effort score (CES) survey?
It asks customers how easy it was to get something done with you, usually on an agree or disagree scale. It measures friction in one task rather than how the customer feels about you overall.
How is customer effort score different from CSAT?
CSAT asks how satisfied someone is, while CES asks how easy it was. A customer can be satisfied with a friendly agent and still have had to work far too hard to get an answer.
What scale should a CES survey use?
A seven-point agree scale is common, from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Whatever you pick, keep it the same every time so the scores can be compared.
When should I send a customer effort score survey?
Straight after the task, such as closing a support ticket or finishing setup. The longer you wait, the less detail people remember about which step was hard.