Customer effort score (CES) survey
People rarely leave because you failed to delight them. They leave because something was harder than it should have been. The Customer Effort Score asks how easy one specific task was, like getting a ticket solved or finishing checkout. This template asks that question about one recent task, then asks where it got hard.
Best for: Support, CX and product teams who want to know which step in signup, checkout or support makes people work too hard.
Use this template freeWhich interaction is this about?
A live preview of this template. Click through it. Nothing gets sent.
The questions
- 1Which interaction is this about?Single selectTie the score to one recent task, such as a support ticket, signup, checkout or one feature, so it measures something concrete.
- 2How easy was it to get what you needed in that interaction?Opinion scaleThe CES question, from very difficult to very easy. Keep the wording about the task, not the product as a whole.
- 3What made it that easy or that hard?Long textTurns the score into a cause you can fix: the exact step where it got hard.
- 4How many steps or contacts did it take to resolve?Single selectOne / Two / Three / More than three. Every extra contact is more work for the person asking.
- 5Did you have to repeat yourself or switch channels to get it done?Single selectYes / No. Explaining the same problem twice is a common source of effort.
- 6What would have made that easier?Long text
Sample replies, counted
These replies are made up to show the method.
Asked: What made it that easy or that hard?
I explained the billing problem in chat, then had to explain it all again when they moved me to email.
Had to repeat myselffound the cancel button in like 10 seconds, no tricks
Easy to findThree different people asked for my order number. It was in my first message.
Had to repeat myselfThe help article said click Settings then Billing but there's no Billing tab on my plan
Help docs out of datewaited 2 days for a reply to a one-line question
Slow replygot passed from the bot to a person to a different person and each time started from zero
Had to repeat myselfThe screenshot in the guide matched what I saw. Done in two minutes.
Easy to find
| Label | Replies |
|---|---|
| Had to repeat myself | 3 |
| Easy to find | 2 |
| Help docs out of date | 1 |
| Slow reply | 1 |
Three of seven had to explain their problem more than once, usually after a handoff. Pass the conversation history along when a ticket moves between chat, bot and email before you rewrite anything else.
How to run it well
- Send the survey right after the task it asks about. A CES question with no task behind it measures a mood, not effort.
- Word the question around what the person was trying to do ("how easy was it to change your plan"), not around your process.
- Look at the easy scores too. They show you the flows worth copying elsewhere.
- Count repeat contacts and channel switches alongside the score. They point to the exact handoff that went wrong.
- Reply to high-effort responses quickly. A hard experience nobody answers is easy to walk away from.
When not to use this: CES only works when there is one task to ask about. For a general read on how people feel about you, use an NPS survey, and for a single support ticket's quality use a support satisfaction survey.
FAQ
How is CES scored?
Why measure effort instead of satisfaction?
When should a CES survey fire?
Where the method comes from
Related templates
- Lead qualification formAsk what changed and who signs off, then call the ready buyers first.
- Beta feedback surveyFind the one fix to make before launch, and how much testers would miss it.
- Market research surveyCheck the problem is real: today's workaround, past spend, how often, how bad.
- Exit interview surveyHear the real reason someone left, not the resignation-letter version.