Five Quanitative Customer Satisfaction Surveys

RATE SOCIAL SECURITY’S SERVICE

ABOUT OUR SURVEY
Social Security would like to know how well we served you when you wanted to create an online
account to do business on our website. This survey asks about the service we provided you in the office
and on the telephone. It also asks about your experience completing the online account pages on our
website. The survey should take less than 10 minutes to complete.
•

Answer all questions as directed. The instructions may tell you to skip over some questions. When that
happens, you will see an arrow with a note telling you what question to answer next:
Example:

 Yes
 No  SKIP to Question 1

•

Please use the space provided on the last page to explain any of your answers, especially any reasons for
dissatisfaction, or to offer any other comments you may have about creating an online account.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR MARKING YOUR ANSWERS
• Use a pen with blue or black ink or a number 2 pencil.

• Make no stray marks.

• Do not use a pen with ink that soaks through the paper.

• Keep all entries within the appropriate boxes.

CREATING AN ONLINE ACCOUNT WITH SOCIAL SECURITY
1. Social Security records show that your recent visit to one of our offices involved creating an online account
for doing business on our website. Which of the following best describes your situation?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

□ I wanted to create an online account without extra security added.
□ I wanted to create an online account with extra security added.
□ I wanted to add extra security to an online account I had created earlier.
2. How did you hear about creating an online account to do business on Social Security’s website?
Mark [X] ALL that apply.

□ From Social Security’s website
□ From an Internet search engine or website other than Social Security’s
□ From a Social Security employee or written material sent by Social Security
□ From traditional media (newspaper, magazine, TV or radio, etc.)
□ From online social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
□ From a family member or friend
□ Somewhere else
Please explain:____________________________________________________________________
3. Why did you want to create an online account with Social Security? I wanted to:
Mark [X] ALL that apply.

□ View my Social Security Statement (record of my earnings and estimate of my future benefits)
□ Change my address/telephone number (I already receive benefits)
□ Add or change my direct deposit information (I already receive benefits)
□ Get a proof of income letter verifying the Social Security benefits I receive
□ Get a replacement SSA-1099 mailed to me (statement of total benefits paid for tax purposes)
□ Get a replacement Medicare card mailed to me
□ Check information about the Social Security benefits I receive, e.g., see the date my payment is sent, the
bank it goes to, etc.

□ Just curious; wanted to see how it worked, see what I could do with an online account
□ Some other reason
Please explain:____________________________________________________________________
2

VISITING SOCIAL SECURITY

Excellent

Very
Good

Good

Fair

Poor

Very Poor

Please rate the service you received when you visited the Social
Security office about your online account.

Office hours

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

6.

Signs/instructions explaining how to check in when you got to
the office

□

□

□

□

□

□

7.

Office comfort (seating, temperature, etc.)

8.

Office appearance (clean, pleasant, etc.)

9.

Office privacy

11. Helpfulness of the staff in resolving your online account business

□
□
□
□
□

□
□
□
□
□

□
□
□
□
□

□
□
□
□
□

□
□
□
□
□

□
□
□
□
□

12. How knowledgeable the staff was about your online account
business

□

□

□

□

□

□

13. How clearly the staff explained what you needed to do for your
online account

□

□

□

□

□

□

14. Waiting time to be served in the office

□

□

□

□

□

□

Mark [X] ONE answer for every item.
4.

Office location

5.

10. Courtesy of the staff

Mark [X] ONE answer.

Less than
10 minutes

Between
10 and
30 minutes

Between
31 and
60 minutes

More than
60 minutes

□

□

□

□

15.

How long did you wait to be served?

16.

Did you have to visit the office more than once about creating your online account?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

□ Yes

 Continue with question 17.

□ No

 Skip to question 18.

17. During your previous visit, did the office staff explain that they were going to correct information on your
Social Security record so you could try to create your online account?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

□ Yes
□ No
3

Very
Good

Good

Fair

Poor

Very Poor

18. Overall, how would you rate the service you received when
you visited the office?

Excellent

Mark [X] ONE answer.

□

□

□

□

□

□

CALLING SOCIAL SECURITY
19. In addition to visiting an office, did you ever speak to Social Security staff on the telephone about creating
your online account?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

□ Yes

 Continue with question 20.

□ No

 Skip to question 28.

20. Did you call Social Security’s National 800 number (1-800-772-1213), a local office or both?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

□ National 800 number
□ Local office
□ Both
□ Not sure
Excellent

Very
Good

Good

Fair

Poor

Very Poor

Please rate the service you received when you called Social
Security about your online account.

22. Courtesy of the telephone staff

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

23. How helpful the telephone staff was in responding to your
question

□

□

□

□

□

□

24. How knowledgeable the telephone staff was about your online
account business

□

□

□

□

□

□

25. How clearly the telephone staff explained what you needed to do
for your online account

□

□

□

□

□

□

Mark [X] ONE answer for every item.
21. How long it took you to reach the telephone staff

4

26. Did you have to make more than one call to Social Security about creating your online account?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

□ Yes

Fair

Poor

Very Poor

Overall, how would you rate the service you received when
you called Social Security?

Good

27.

Very
Good

Mark [X] ONE answer.

Excellent

□ No

□

□

□

□

□

□

LETTERS FROM SOCIAL SECURITY
28. Social Security provided a letter that explained what you needed to do to finish creating your online account.
The letter contained special codes to enter on Social Security’s website. How did you receive your letter
from Social Security?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

□ I was handed a letter in the office and I received one in the mail.  Continue with question 29.
□ I received a letter in the mail only.

 Continue with question 29.

□ I received a letter in the office only.

 Skip to question 31.

□ I did not receive a letter yet.

 Skip to question 32.

□

Please rate the letter(s) you received from Social Security with
instructions for creating your online account.
Mark [X] ONE answer for each item.
30. How long it took to receive the letter(s) in the mail
31. How clearly the letter(s) explained what steps you had to take

5

Very Poor

□

Poor

□

How soon after your visit to the office did you
receive the letter in the mail?

Fair

More than
2 weeks later

Good

Between 1 and
2 weeks later

Very
Good

29.

Less than
1 week later

Excellent

Mark [X] ONE answer.

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

CREATING THE ONLINE ACCOUNT ON SOCIAL SECURITY’S WEBSITE
32. At this point, have you already finished creating your online account on Social Security’s website?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

Very Poor

Skip to question 51.

Poor



Fair

□ No

Good

Continue with question 33.

Very
Good



Excellent

□ Yes

33. Ease of finding the pages to create your online account

□

□

□

□

□

□

34. Appearance of the online account pages (amount of information,
how the information is arranged, etc.)

□

□

□

□

□

□

35. Ease of answering the questions on the online account pages

□

□

□

□

□

□

36. Helpfulness of the explanations provided in the links, instructional
video, etc.

□

□

□

□

□

□

37. Explanations of the security and privacy policies

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

□
□

Please rate the online account service on Social Security’s website.
Mark [X] ONE answer for every item.

38. Length of time it took to complete the online account pages

□

□

□

Mark [X] ONE answer.

40. Overall, how would you rate Social Security’s website for
creating your online account?

Mark [X] ONE answer.
41.

After creating your online account, how confident
are you that your information is secure on Social
Security’s website?

6

Very Poor

□

39. How long did it take to complete the online
account pages?

Poor

More than
20 minutes

Fair

16 to
20 minutes

Good

10 to
15 minutes

Very
Good

Less than
10 minutes

Excellent

Mark [X] ONE answer.

□

□

□

□

□

□

Very
Confident

Somewhat
Confident

Not very
Confident

Not at all
Confident

□

□

□

□

Mark [X] ONE answer.
43. How likely are you to recommend that others create
an online account with Social Security?

Good

Fair

Poor

Very Poor

42. From start to finish, how would you rate your entire experience
creating an online account with Social Security?

Very
Good

Mark [X] ONE answer.

Excellent

YOUR OVERALL OPINION

□

□

□

□

□

□

Very
Likely

Somewhat
Likely

Not Very
Likely

Not at all
Likely

□

□

□

□

Listed below are various types of online services Social Security now offers or may offer in the future on our
website. You may have already used one of these services. In the future, how likely would you be to use
our online services for the following:
Very
Likely

Somewhat
Likely

Not Very
Likely

Not at all
Likely

44. View a statement of my earnings

□

□

□

□

45. View an estimate of my monthly Social Security
benefit

□

□

□

□

46. Replace my Social Security card or change my
name on my card

□

□

□

□

47. Apply for Social Security benefits

□

□

□

□

48. Ask a question and receive personal information
about my Social Security benefits

□

□

□

□

49. Report a change to my Social Security benefit
record, such as new direct deposit information

□

□

□

□

50. Report the death of someone who receives Social
Security benefits

□

□

□

□

Mark [X] ONE answer for every item.

7

IF YOU HAVEN’T FINISHED CREATING YOUR ONLINE ACCOUNT
Question 51 should only be answered by people who have not yet finished creating their online account.
All others should skip to question 52.
51. We’d like to know why you haven’t finished creating your online account on Social Security’s website yet.
Mark [X] ALL that apply.

□ Haven’t had a chance to do it
□ Didn’t receive the letter with the code I needed
□ Tried to do it but had problems (e.g., error message, computer or Internet access issues)
□ Decided I didn’t want an online account because of security/privacy concerns
□ Decided I didn’t want an online account for some other reason
Please explain : ___________________________________________________________________

□ Decided I didn’t want to add extra security
□ No longer need online account; took care of my business when I visited/called Social Security

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT YOU

Mark [X] ONE answer.

Very
Experienced

Somewhat
Experienced

Not very
Experienced

Not at all
Experienced

□

□

□

□

52. Please rate your level of experience as an
Internet user.

Mark [X] ONE answer.
53. What is your age?

18 - 24

25 -34

35 - 44

45 - 54

55 - 64

65 and over

□

□

□

□

□

□

8

54. What is the highest level of education you’ve completed?
Mark [X] ONE answer.

□ Not a high school graduate
□ High school graduate or GED
□ Trade/technical or vocational school
□ Some college
□ Undergraduate degree
□ Graduate degree or postgraduate training
55. Please use this space to explain any of your answers, especially any reasons for dissatisfaction, or to provide
any other comments you may have about creating your online account.

Thank you for your time and attention with this survey. Social Security will use your answers to improve
our services! Please return the completed questionnaire in the postage-paid envelope as soon as possible
to:
Social Security Survey
Westat
1600 Research Boulevard, Room RC B16
Rockville, Maryland 20850

PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT

The Social Security Administration is authorized to collect the
information for this survey under Executive Order 12862,
“Setting Customer Service Standards.” Your response to
these questions is strictly voluntary. The information you
provide will be used to help us improve the service that we
give you. Your response will not be disclosed to any other
government or private agency.

This information collection meets the requirements of
44 U.S.C. § 3507, as amended by Section 2 of the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995. You do not need to answer these
questions unless we display a valid Office of Management
and Budget control number. We estimate that it will take
about 10 minutes to read the instructions, gather the facts and
answer the questions. You may send comments on our time
estimate above to: Social Security Administration,
6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235-6401.

OMB Control No: 0960-0526
Expiration Date: November 2015

Send only comments relating to our time estimate to this
address, not the completed form.

9

Online Authentication Survey - Prenotice Postcard

Dear Social Security Customer:
Social Security believes that conducting surveys is one of the best ways to find out how well we
are serving you. That’s why we will soon be asking you to give us your opinion of the service
we provided for your recent business.
In a few days, you will receive a short questionnaire in the mail from [Contractor], who is
conducting this survey for Social Security. When you receive their envelope, we hope that you
will take the time to answer our questions and tell us what you think of our service.
We look forward to hearing your opinions.
Stephanie Hall
Deputy Commissioner for Quality Performance
Social Security Administration

Online Authentication Survey – Initial Cover Letter

Dear Social Security Customer:
As noted in our recent postcard, Social Security is conducting a survey to find out how well we
served you when you wanted to create an online account on Social Security’s website. We ask
that you take a few minutes to fill out the enclosed questionnaire and return the form as soon as
possible in the postage-paid envelope provided. (Please do not put any information related to
Social Security business in the envelope with your completed survey.)
Please be assured that [Contractor], who is conducting this survey for us, will only give your
responses to my staff here at Social Security and will not use them for any other purpose. Social
Security will report the survey results by summarizing the answers of everyone who takes the
survey; we will not report any individual responses.
If you have a question about Social Security benefits, please visit our web site
at www.socialsecurity.gov or call our toll-free information line at 1-800-772-1213.
We appreciate your taking time out of your busy schedule to answer our survey.
Sincerely,

Stephanie Hall
Deputy Commissioner for Quality Performance
Social Security Administration
Enclosures

Online Authentication Survey – Privacy Act

PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT
The Social Security Administration is authorized to collect the information for this survey under
Executive Order 12862, “Setting Customer Service Standards.” Your response to these
questions is strictly voluntary. The information you provide will be used to help us improve the
service that we give you. Your response will not be disclosed to any other government or private
agency.

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT STATEMENT
This information collection meets the requirements of 44 U.S.C. § 3507, as amended by
Section 2 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. You do not need to answer these questions
unless we display a valid Office of Management and Budget control number. We estimate that it
will take about 10 minutes to read the instructions, gather the facts, and answer the questions.
You may send comments on our time estimate above to: Social Security Administration,
6401 Security Blvd., Baltimore, MD 21235-6401. Send only comments relating to our time
estimate to this address, not the completed form.

Online Authentication Survey – Follow-up Postcard

Dear Social Security Customer:
About a week ago we sent you a survey form asking for your opinion of the service you received
for your recent business with Social Security.
•
•
•

If you have already mailed back your completed survey, thank you for your
quick response.
If not, please take 10 minutes now to complete and return the survey in the
postage-paid envelope provided.
If you no longer have the survey, you don’t need to do anything. [Contractor],
who is conducting the survey for us, will be mailing another form to you shortly.

Thank you for your help with this survey.
Stephanie Hall
Deputy Commissioner for Quality Performance
Social Security Administration

Online Authentication Survey – Follow-up Cover Letter

Dear Social Security Customer:
A few weeks ago we sent you a survey form to find out how well we served you when you
wanted to create an online account an online account on our website. We haven’t yet heard from
you and it’s important that we gather opinions from as many people as possible. If you have
already mailed in your completed survey form, please discard this letter. We sincerely
appreciate your help and we look forward to receiving your response.
However, if you have not yet had time to fill out and return your survey, please take a few
minutes right now to do that. The form is short and takes less than 10 minutes to complete. In
case you misplaced the survey, we have enclosed another copy along with a postage-paid return
envelope. (Please do not put any information related to Social Security business in the envelope
with your completed survey.)
Please be assured that [Contractor], who is conducting this survey for us, will only give your
responses to my staff here at Social Security and will not use them for any other purpose. Social
Security will report the survey results by summarizing the answers of everyone who takes the
survey; we will not report any individual responses.
If you have a question about Social Security benefits, please visit our web site
at www.socialsecurity.gov or call our toll-free information line at 1-800-772-1213.
We would appreciate receiving your completed survey as soon as possible.
Sincerely,

Stephanie Hall
Deputy Commissioner for Quality Performance
Social Security Administration
Enclosures