I was bored the other day so I decided to fill in the Skoda customer questionnaire they send when you buy a new car. We got 4 I think, 2 of them  being reminders. They all came after about 3 months of ownership. One was from Ipsos Mori in Germany, the other were from a UK company but I can't remember its name. I filled them online, although all of them sent a paper copy along with free post envelope.

 

I was too late for the german Ipsos Mori one. I actually got a message saying the questionnaire had already been filled, I know we didn't fill it so I suppose it was more a case of the log in details having timed out. This questionnaire was only 4 pages long and I noticed the questions were all about the car.

 

So I went onto the UK one, which was 8 pages long. This is what's prompted me to open this thread.

 

How intrusive are the questions they ask? And how pertinent are they to the subject?  The poll is meant to be about the quality of the car and how happy, or otherwise, you are with it.

 

Do they really need to know how you paid for your previous car? or the current one for that matter. Or whether you own the house you live in  and if it is a semi or detached one? 

 

How can it possibly affect my opinion of the car if I have x amount of children or I earn  x amount?.

 

Needless to say I only replied to questions relevant to the car. Since unanswered questions weren't flagged, I assume the questionnaire went through. It does feel thought, as if they are more interested in mining personal data.

 

Anyway, rant over but I still can't get over how intrusive they are.

 

What do you all think?

I suppose that the questionnaire had to be signed with your name? Because if it was anonymous I can't see how it affects your privacy.

 

The financial status of a car owner is very strongly correlated with the decision to buy the car. So I think it is normal for a car company to gather statistical data for it.

The question about the house should have to do with the ease of parking the car.

 

The questionnaire of a serious company is very thoroughly planned and all of its questions are there for a reason, and usually the reason is to better understand the behaviour of the public.

I wouldn't have a problem answering these questions, as long as they were anonymous.

Edited 30 April, 201610 yr by eyegr

They wish to know the demographics of their buyers and who to target next. If it's anonymous why worry?

I don't know, I remain unconvinced. The poll is anonymous in name only.

 

The questionnaire comes by normal post, so they have the owner's name and address. You can either fill the paper copy and send it back to them or do it online. On the paper copy, there's a sticker with the car number plate, affixed to it.  So they have your name, address and car number plate, that's your anonymity gone.

 

Online it's pretty much the same. On the letter which accompanies the paper copy, there's a set of instructions to fill the poll online. You are given unique log in details, so again they have your name, address and a unique online code which can easily link you to it, so again, that's your anonymity gone.

 

The questionnaire is meant to be about the car quality and performance, I can't see how my financial status or the size of my house could possibly affect the way the car drives or if i'm happy with the trim level and quality of plastics.

 

For me, it's a very thinly disguised marketing questionnaire with a very strong feel of data mining. 

You are right, the way they do it it's not anonymous. I wouldn't have answered it either.

 

However, your financial status is important to them. They need to know WHO buys their cars. Are they selling to lower or higher income people? Do their customer live in the city or in rural areas? Do they buy as a second car or as their first? Is the car size a problem with these people? How all these parameters correlate with each other?

 

It may seem weird, but it is valuable information for them, as for anyone that sells anything: knowing their target group.