Form 335 GSA State and Local Programs Survey

Federal Acquisition Service

Customer Satisfaction Program State and Local

2010 State and Local Questionnaire – Final

58 Questions (includes 5 open ends and 1 probing question)

• Text that appears in [brackets] is for programming only and will not appear in survey

• DK/NA option will show for all scaled questions

• All questions except open ends are required

Web Introduction

Welcome to the 2010 customer satisfaction survey for the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) State and Local purchasing programs.

The following survey questions are intended to obtain your awareness and assessment of how well the GSA State and Local Programs meet your purchasing requirements.

This survey will take approximately 10 minutes to complete. CFI Group, an independent research and consulting firm, is hosting this survey on a secure server. Your responses will remain strictly confidential and anonymous.

Thank you in advance for completing this survey. Please click on the "Next" button below to begin.

Please note that a response to all survey questions is required.

If you have any problems completing the survey, please send an email message to [email protected] and you will be contacted with assistance.

Introduction Questions

1. Have you purchased from GSA via authorized State and Local Programs in the past 24 months?

1. Yes (Skip to INTRO3)

2. No

3. Don’t Know/Unsure (Skip to INTRO3)

INTRO2. Why haven’t you purchased from GSA via authorized State and Local Programs in the past 24 months? (Select all that apply)

1. Difficult to use

2. Prohibited by Internal policies, regulations, direction

3. Pricing

4. Time to Procure

5. Local sources

6. Unaware that I could use this program

7. Does not have the desired contractor

8. Other (Please specify)

INTRO3. Which of the following factors do you consider to be most important when you make a purchase? Please rank the following list in order of importance with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important. [Randomize order of list]

1. Price

2. Ease of Use

3. Quality of Contractors

4. Time Savings

5. Need for Local Sources

6. Funding

7. Competition

Awareness Questions

Please consider the following scenarios. Please indicate how knowledge of the following scenarios would affect your likelihood to use GSA Schedule contracts. (Select one)

Topic Area	Much more likely to use GSA Schedule Contracts	Somewhat more likely to use GSA Schedule Contracts	Would have no effect on my decision	Less likely to use GSA Schedule Contracts	Don’t Know	I already knew this
INTRO4. GSA Schedule contract prices are ceiling prices – this means that GSA Schedule contractors are not allowed to charge more than the GSA contract price and you are also free to negotiate or conduct a competition among Schedule contractors in order to obtain a lower price
INTRO5. GSA Schedules programs support multiple procurement methods such as direct negotiations, requests for information, requests for quotes or proposals, head-to-head competition and even allow for contractor acceptance of credit cards
INTRO6. All GSA Schedule contractors are pre-vetted/pre-screened by GSA contracting officers to ensure that the contractors are responsible and responsive and that the pre-vetting/pre-screening process includes screening their past performance, financials, and negotiating most favored customer ceiling pricing as well as a basic set of terms and conditions
INTRO7. GSA Schedule programs provide you with a direct relationship with the contractor/supplier
INTRO8. GSA offers electronic tools, such as GSA Advantage, e-Buy, and e-Library, that enable you to conduct all of your market research as well as post solicitations and receive contractor quotes online

INTRO9. (ONLY if INTRO1=NO) Would you like someone from GSA to contact you with information about GSA State and Local Programs?

1 Yes (Capture name, phone number with area code and email address)

2 No

Terminate those who have not purchased from GSA via authorized State and Local Programs in the past 24 months (INTRO1=NO).

Message to terminated respondents:

For more information on programs referenced in this survey, please visit: gsa.gov/stateandlocal

Demographic Questions

1. Which of the following customer types best describes you? (Select all that apply)

1. State Government or entity

2. Local Government or entity

3. Educational Institution

4. Law Enforcement

5. Fire and Rescue

6. Other (Please specify)

DEM2. Please provide the zip code at your primary place of work.

DEM3. Are the purchases you make most often centralized or decentralized? (Select one)

1. Centralized - controlled by a central department of all the purchasing undertaken within an organization

2. Decentralized - is the opposite where each plant or office buys what it needs

3. Other (Please specify)

DEM4. Below is a partial list of the authorized GSA programs for state and local customers. Please indicate whether you are familiar with each of the programs listed. If you are familiar with a program, please rate your level of familiarity on a scale of 1 to 10 where 1 means “not very familiar” and 10 means “very familiar”.

1. Cooperative Purchasing Program (technology products/service and security/law enforcement)

2. Disaster Recovery Purchasing Program

3. 1122 Program (Counter-Drug)

4. Federal Grantee Access To Schedules in Response to Public Health Emergencies (PHE) (i.e., pandemic flu)

DEM5. Which of the following GSA state and local purchasing authorities have you used in the past 24 months? (Select all that apply)

1. Cooperative purchasing (information technology products/service and security/law enforcement)

2. Disaster Recovery Purchasing Program

3. 1122 Program (Counter-Drug)

4. Federal Grantee Access To Schedules in Response to Public Health Emergencies (PHE) (i.e., pandemic flu)

DEM6. What type of products and services have you purchased via GSA State and Local Programs? (Select all that apply)

1. Desktop Computers

2. Laptop Computers

3. Servers

4. Monitors

5. Software Licenses (i.e., operating system, application, EDI translation)

6. Software Maintenance

7. IT Professional Services

8. IT Systems Development

9. IT Backup and Security

10. IT Network Management

11. Alarm and Signal Systems

12. Access Control Systems

13. Facility Management Systems

14. Firefighting and Rescue Equipment (Urban and Wildland)

15. Law Enforcement and Security Equipment, Supplies and Services

16. Special Purpose Clothing

17. Medical/ Rescue Kits

18. Flood Control Equipment

19. Marine Craft and related equipment

20. Emergency/Disaster Response

21. Other (please specify)

22. No products purchased

DEM7. What is/are your reason(s) for choosing to purchase from GSA’s Schedules-based State and Local Program? (Select all that apply)

1. Ability to procure from single source

2. Price

3. Time Savings

4. Ease of use

5. e-Tools for research and purchasing

6. Availability of small businesses

7. Choice of contractors, vendors, suppliers

8. Quality of contractors

9. Availability of Local sources

10. Recommended by customer/supervisor

11. Environmental Products/Services available

12. Ability to add non-conflicting terms and conditions

13. Ability to create multi-jurisdictional blanket purchase agreements (BPAs) term contracts

14. Other (please specify)

DEM8 When determining procurement approaches, what factor(s) most influence how a product or service will be procured? [Select all that apply]

1. Best value

2. Cooperative purchasing preference

3. Competition requirement

4. Ease of use

5. Funding source rule

6. Product availability

7. Price

8. Quality and selection of contractors

9. Time Savings

10. Other

DEM9 Which single sources comes to mind first when you first consider making a procurement? [Capture open end]

DEM10 Which factors led you to mention these sources as your first choice? [Capture open end]

DEM11. Which of the following best describes your position? (Select one)

1. Department/Agency Head/Administration

2. Treasurer, Comptroller, Executive Director

3. Department/Agency Management

4. Office/Program Management

5. General/Administration Operations

6. Contracting Officer

7. Contract Specialist

8. Purchasing Agent

9. Administrative Support/Assistant

10. Other (Please specify)

DEM12. Please indicate the approximate dollar amount your contracting office spends with GSA State and Local programs per year.

1. Less than $3,000

2. $3,000 - $14,999

3. $15,000 - $49,999

4. $50,000 - $99,999

5. $100,000 - $999,999

6. $1,000,000 and above

DEM13. How long have you been purchasing commercial products or services from GSA State and Local Programs? (Select one)

1. Less than 1 year

2. 1 year to less than 2 years

3. 2 years to less than 5 years

4. 5 years or more

Price/Value

Please compare the price and time spent purchasing products and services through GSA’s Cooperative Purchasing Program with the price and time required to purchase them through your traditional procurement programs. Using a scale where 1 means “poor” and 10 means “excellent,” please rate the Cooperative Purchasing program on…

1. The total price paid compared to the price of the products and services paid using your traditional programs

2. The total time spent compared to the time spent purchasing products and services using your traditional programs

3. The value received in comparison to the price paid

4. Degree to which GSA’s Cooperative Purchasing Program provides an efficient and effective way to buy a wide variety of products and services at competitive prices

5. Are you aware that you can request an additional discount off the GSA Schedule ceiling contract price?

1. Yes

2. No

Information/Communications

6. Which of the following GSA e-tools have you used or accessed in the past 24months? (Select all that apply)

1. GSA eLibrary (research)

2. GSA Advantage(research/purchase)

3. e-Buy (research/solicit/purchase)

4. I am not aware of GSA e-tools (Skip to Q11)

5. None of the above (Skip to Q11)

On a scale of 1 to 10, where 1 means “poor” and 10 means “excellent,” please rate your overall experience using these GSA e-Tools.

Q7 [Only if Q6=1] GSA eLibrary

Q8 [Only if Q6=2] GSA Advantage

Q9 [Only if Q6=3] E-Buy

Q10 Using a scale where 1 now means “not at all interested” and 10 means “very interested,” how would you rate your level of interest in seeing a demonstration of GSA e-tools, regardless of whether you have already received a demonstration?

11. Which of the following is your primary source of information about GSA State and Local Programs? (Select all that apply)

1. GSA Representative (e.g., Customer Service Director, National Customer Service Center)

2. Associations

3. Consortia

4. GSA Training

5. GSA Events

6. Publications

7. Contractors/Vendors

8. E-Buy

9. E-Library

10. GSA Advantage

11. www.gsa.gov

12. www.gsa.gov/stateandlocal

13. Social Media

14. Other (please specify)

15. None of the above
    
    
    

Q12 (ONLY if Q11=6) Which publications do you read? [Capture open end]

Now, thinking about your primary source(s) of GSA State and Local Program information, and using the 1 to 10 scale, how would you rate

Q13 Ease of finding the GSA State and Local program information you need

Q14 Usefulness of information provided

Training

Q15 Have you participated in any GSA state and local program training in the past 12 months?

1. Yes

2. No [skip to next section]

3. Don’t know [skip to next section]

16. Please identify the program(s) for which you received training in the past 12 months. (select all that apply)

1. Cooperative Purchasing Program

2. Disaster Recovery Purchasing Program

3. 1122 Program (Counter Drug)

4. Federal Grantee Access to Schedules in Response to Public Health Emergencies (PHE) (i.e., pandemic flu)

5. All of the above

Thinking about the most recent training session you attended and using the scale where 1 means “poor” and 10 means “excellent,” how would you rate…

17. Course content

18. Instructor’s knowledge of the GSA state and local program

GSA Customer Service Representatives and Schedules Contracting Office

17. Have you had any contact with a GSA representative, such as your local GSA Customer Service Director or a national point-of-contact in the past 12 months?

1. Yes

2. No

3. Not sure

17. Do you know how to contact your local GSA representative?

1. Yes (Skip to Q22)

2. No

Q21. If you knew how to contact your local GSA representative, how likely would you be to contact them for assistance when evaluating the use of the GSA State and Local Schedules programs for a procurement? Please use a 10-point scale where 1 means “not at all likely” and 10 means “very likely”.

Think about your most recent contact with a GSA representative. Using a scale from 1 to 10, where 1 means “poor” and 10 means “excellent,” how would you rate…

22. The representative’s willingness to resolve your issue

23. The representative’s ability to answer your questions

24. The relevance of the information provided by the representative

22. Did the GSA representative offer to demonstrate e-tools for you?

1. Yes

2. No

ACSI Benchmark Questions

The following questions address your satisfaction with the GSA State and Local programs.

26. Please consider all of your experiences utilizing GSA, under the available State and Local programs to purchase products and services. Using a 10-point scale where 1 means “very dissatisfied” and 10 means “very satisfied,” how satisfied are you with the GSA State and Local programs?

27. Using a 10-point scale where 1 now means "falls short of your expectations" and 10 means "exceeds your expectations," to what extent has GSA, under the available State and Local programs program fallen short of or exceeded your expectations?

28. Now, imagine how an ideal GSA procurement program, under the available State and Local program would meet your needs. How well do you think GSA meets your needs compared with the ideal program you just imagined? Please use a 10-point scale where 1 means "not at all close to the ideal," and 10 means "very close to the ideal."

Outcome Measures

26. Using a scale where 1 now means “not at all likely” and 10 means “very likely,” how likely are you and your organization to use GSA under the State and Local programs in the future?
    [RECORD RATING 1-10, 11: DK/NA/Have no choice]

27. Using a scale where 1 means “not at all likely” and 10 means “very likely,” how likely are you to recommend GSA Schedules, under the State and Local programs to others?

H. Sustainability Question

Q31. Are you or your organization interested in Green purchasing (purchasing and using organic, recycled content, Energy Star, and other environmentally responsible goods or services)? (Check all that apply)

Interested (but not currently active)	Engaged in (current actions or efforts)	Identified as priority area (focus for municipal progress)	Need to gain experience, knowledge	Have experience, knowledge to share

I. Closing Questions

32. Thinking about the types of products and services available to eligible customers under the GSA State and Local programs, use the following questions to explain how you make your purchases:

1. Purchase from the Schedules program

1. None

2. 20% or less

3. 21-50%

4. 51-80%

5. 81-100%

2. Browse GSA Schedules, under State and Local programs, then purchase through your established program

1. None

2. 20% or less

3. 21-50%

4. 51-80%

5. 81-100%

3. Purchase from traditional programs without consulting GSA Schedules, under the State and Local programs.

1. None

2. 20% or less

3. 21-50%

4. 51-80%

5. 81-100%

32. Why would you purchase from GSA rather than established sources? [Capture open end]

32. If you have you experienced any recent change in direction from your organization’s management regarding use of GSA’s Schedules, under the State and Local programs, please describe the change. [Capture open end]

32. Would you like someone from GSA to contact you with information about GSA’s State and Local Programs?

1 Yes (Capture name, phone number and email address)

2 No

32. Finally, what specific things can GSA do to increase your understanding of and satisfaction with GSA Programs? [capture open end]

For more information on programs referenced in this survey, please visit: gsa.gov/stateandlocal

Thank you for your time.
GSA appreciates your input and will use this feedback to better serve its customers.
Please click on the “Finish” button below.

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