An interesting post today by Guy Kawasaki on the art of customer surveys.  He shares some of the insight from Dave Wanetick, managing director of Incremental Advantage.  It is well worth a read, though I don't agree with all the points.  Specifically.....

Customers do not want spend time answering surveys. Completing a survey that takes longer than the delivery of the service in question is annoying. The mere act of sending a customer a survey can so greatly annoy some people that it tarnishes the company’s brand. Thus, customers often race through surveys to get them over with, and their haphazard responses are a precursor to the collateral damage that will result from relying on such information.

I certainly agree that this is a concern with customer surveys.  However, in a professional services, or B2B environment, when the relationship is one-to-one, personalized and ongoing, we find respondents make a tradeoff between the time they spend answering the questions and their perceived future value (based on whether they believe their feedback will invoke changes in the company).  In fact, if done correctly, it should increase loyalty and retention, as indicated in this short Harvard Business Review article.

Excessive soliciting of feedback will inevitably result in criticism. Unwarranted criticism is most likely to be evoked when people believe that their ability to criticize is a sign of their intelligence. A serious problem arises when this criticism shakes the employees’ confidence. This criticism can demotivate sales people and render them less effective.

We find just the opposite, and I feel that this is addressing the exception - not the rule.  In regards to this we have far more instances where our clients have felt the feedback helped the employees take pride in their service delivery, and the results have even been utilized to help recognize outstanding service delivery, where it wasn't recognized prior.

Some customers are not worth having. The peril in soliciting extensive feedback is that the most critical and demanding suggestions are likely to come from customers who offer the company diminishing prospects for profitable returns.

This can be true - and should be considered outside of the context of customer surveys as well.  That being said, we have found that when given the opportunity, more than one-third of professional service firm clients will opt out of anonymity.....providing the opportunity to weigh the concerns against the value of the client and make an informed decision about how to proceed.

Customers who are only moderately disappointed with a company may become irate when their concerns are not addressed. Thus, companies that rely on extensive surveys are faced with a dilemma: either bend to the customers’ wishes or suffer their wrath when failing to do so.

This point I agree with wholeheartedly.  While we have found that customers don't always expect EVERY concern they have to be addressed, they absolutely expect (and deserve) to have their concerns heard and acknowledged.  Don't ask the question if you don't want to know the answer, or aren't prepared to take action to address the concerns.  This often overlooked piece alone can change a traditional survey into a true retention and loyalty improvement.