New consumer research shows that when people are told in advance that they will be asked to respond to a survey, they look for problems more actively. The researchers found that people who expect to evaluate are decidedly more negative. They also discovered that merely asking people to state their expectations before they receive a service made people more negative—even though their predispositions may have been quite positive. These findings are quite relevant in this increasingly survey-happy world.

Understanding the needs and wants of customers in an ever-more competitive economic environment is critical. But Professor Itamar Simonson warns that information gleaned from some widely used types of customer surveys can be misleading and even counterproductive.