26 Essential Post-Call Survey Questions to Boost CX

Net Promoter Score (NPS) Follow-Up Survey

Quick Overview

While CSAT asks how happy customers are right now, Net Promoter Score (NPS) digs into loyalty—asking how likely someone is to promote your brand. NPS perfectly fits call environments because you can tie customer sentiment back to specific conversations, making feedback laser-focused. It’s not just about the transaction; it’s about future recommendations.

Why & When to Use

NPS lends itself beautifully to weekly or monthly deployment, sometimes targeting specific groups after critical support or sales calls. It’s about tracking trends in brand advocacy over time, highlighting whether your service is turning clients into fans or foes. Use this when you're ready to zoom out from day-to-day satisfaction and see the bigger brand picture.

5 Call-Focused NPS Questions

1. Based on this call, how likely are you to recommend our company to a friend or colleague?
   
2. What is the main reason for your score?
   
3. How did today’s interaction influence your overall perception of our brand?
   
4. Did the agent do anything exceptional that would make you promote us?
   
5. What could we improve so you’d rate us a 10 next time?
   

Notice how these questions invite both numbers and narratives, combining scale with storytelling—the perfect double-act for a customer service call survey.

Customer Effort Score (CES) Survey

Quick Overview

Sometimes, it’s not only about how happy customers feel but how hard they had to work to get the help they needed. Enter the Customer Effort Score (CES), which measures the ease or friction in the customer's journey. Fewer efforts mean happier customers and fewer churn risks.

Why & When to Use

The best time to snag CES responses? Ideally, within five minutes post-call via IVR or SMS. Quick timing keeps feedback relevant and accurate. Focus on CES when your goal is process optimization—smoothing out the kinks in phone menus, agent explanations, or overall call flow. It’s your secret weapon against making customers work too hard.

5 Straightforward CES Questions

1. The company made it easy for me to resolve my issue—agree or disagree?
   
2. How much effort did you personally put forth to handle your request today?
   
3. Rate the ease of navigating our phone menu before reaching an agent.
   
4. How easy was it to understand the agent’s explanations?
   
5. What could we do to make future interactions easier?
   

These questions keep it simple and functional, guiding where your friction points lie in the customer experience. For anyone serious about post-call survey best practices, CES is indispensable.

First Call Resolution (FCR) Verification Survey

Quick Overview

First Call Resolution (FCR) is the holy grail of call centers. It verifies whether issues were completely solved during the very first interaction. High FCR rates are directly tied to happier customers and lower operational costs—minimizing callbacks means less hassle all around.

Why & When to Use

FCR surveys are prime for technical support or billing teams that want quick validation. When answers are negative, these surveys can trigger quality assurance reviews, snagging underperformance early. Best practice: deploy immediately post-call to catch clear-cut yes/no answers before memory fades.

5 FCR-Specific Questions

1. Was your issue fully resolved during this call?
   
2. If not, what remains unresolved?
   
3. Do you anticipate needing to contact us again about the same issue?
   
4. How confident are you that the solution provided will stick?
   
5. Rate the completeness of information you received.
   

This focused set cuts straight to the chase, helping teams fix erosion points before they grow. FCR surveys are your frontline defense in maintaining call center survey quality.

Agent Performance & Soft-Skills Survey

Quick Overview

Numbers and resolution matter, but behind the scenes, agent demeanor shapes customer impressions. Agent Performance & Soft-Skills surveys dig into courtesy, empathy, communication clarity, and knowledge. They provide rich data for coaching and talent development, rounding out purely quantitative feedback.

Why & When to Use

Deploy these surveys after training sessions or with new hires to measure real-world skill application. The insights feed into coaching sessions, quality assurance scorecards, and even bonus structures. Timing is key—after fresh learning or early calls ensures agent performance measurements are both relevant and impactful.

5 Performance-Targeted Questions

1. How courteous was the agent you spoke with?
   
2. Did the agent demonstrate a clear understanding of your problem?
   
3. Rate the agent’s ability to explain the solution in understandable terms.
   
4. How confident did the agent make you feel about the outcome?
   
5. Would you like to work with this agent again?
   

These questions celebrate the human side of customer support, ensuring your team not only fixes problems but connects with customers.

Product/Service Feedback Survey

Quick Overview

Sometimes your post-call survey should get a bit nosy—specifically about the product or service causing the contact. Whether bugs, feature requests, or confusion bubbles to the surface, a Product/Service Feedback survey captures this fresh, glue-like context to enrich product and marketing strategies.

Why & When to Use

Trigger these surveys following escalation calls, bugs, or billing problems. The feedback funnels valuable insights to your product team, helping shape updates and innovations. It’s also a great way to measure how a recent interaction impacted overall satisfaction with your offering.

5 Contextual Product Questions

1. Does the resolution you received improve your satisfaction with [product/service]?
   
2. Which product feature caused you to call today?
   
3. How well does our product meet your needs after today’s assistance?
   
4. What feature would have prevented the need to call?
   
5. On a scale of 1–5, how likely are you to continue using [product/service]?
   

This survey type turns calls into feedback goldmines, feeding continuous improvement cycles with real-world product insights.

Best Practices: Dos & Don’ts for Post-Call Surveys

Surveying is an art as much as a science. Here are the call center survey dos and don’ts to keep your post-call surveys sharp and sweet.

Dos:
- Keep surveys brief and snappy—under 2 minutes is golden.
- Personalize questions with call metadata to boost relevance.
- Use multiple delivery channels like SMS, email, and IVR for wider reach.
- Close feedback loops within 48 hours, showing customers their voices matter.
- A/B test question order to find the best flow for maximum responses.

Don’ts:
- Avoid double-barreled questions—they confuse and frustrate customers.
- Don’t delay sending surveys beyond 24 hours; freshness counts big.
- Resist bombarding customers with multiple surveys in a short stretch.
- Never ignore open-text comments—they reveal the juicy details behind numbers.
- Don’t rely solely on numerical scores; context gives meaning to data.

Following these post-call survey best practices will not only boost response rates but also ensure your feedback is both actionable and trustworthy.

Conclusion & Next Steps

A layered post-call survey strategy is like having multiple lenses to understand your customers deeply. By mapping KPIs to the right survey types, automating triggers, and iterating questions based on response trends, you create a feedback loop that feeds growth. Use the templates above as your starting blocks to design your very own post-call questionnaire. It’s time to turn every call into a chance to learn, improve, and delight. Ready to get started?