I recently had my car serviced and left the dealership satisfied with the work and the interaction with the service advisor. But what followed next–well, that's where the drama began. And I wish they hadn't dragged me into it.
Part of that first message:
“Please note that scores of 10 or 9 reflect perfection in our system, while anything below is unfortunately considered a 0.”
Moments after the routine “thank you” email from the service manager, I got another message, this time from my service advisor–one of the frontline workers in this system:
“Also I wanted to ask you for a huge favor. The brand sent out a survey to your email… If you think I deserve a good rating, would you please mind filling it out for me with all 10's? Anything below a 9 is considered a 0, which affects me and only me. These surveys are extremely important to me and the brand as they are my personal report card.”
Let's pause here. I had no complaints about the advisor. He was great. But this message? It's not great. It's uncomfortable–for him and for me.
I don't blame him. I blame the system.
This isn't just about one dealership. Hotels do it. Hospitals do it. Organizations of all kinds put more effort into manipulating the scores than understanding what the scores actually tell them.
This is what Dr. W. Edwards Deming would call “tampering.” Coaching–or guilt-tripping–customers into giving 10s isn't improvement. It's distortion. It's turning feedback into fear-based performance management.
Deming didn't mince words. He called this kind of metric-driven behavior “hogwash.”
He taught us to focus on the system. He reminded us that most problems–94% by his estimate–are caused by the system, not by the people within it. When leaders weaponize customer feedback to judge individuals, they create a culture where the number matters more than the experience.
And let's be honest: it's not just a car dealership problem. In healthcare, we see similar dysfunction. Patient satisfaction scores are tied to individual providers, sometimes influencing pay and promotions. It's not unusual for staff to hint–directly or indirectly–that a score of 8 will hurt them. This, too, is not improvement. It's pressure. It's fear.
A better system would take variation into account. A better system would focus on listening to customers, not coaching them. A better system would treat feedback as a learning opportunity, not a job threat.
If we're truly aiming for quality and continuous improvement–whether in healthcare, auto service, or hospitality–we need to stop gaming the scores and start improving the systems. Because that's where the real leverage lies.
Deming gave us that blueprint decades ago. Too many organizations still haven't read it.
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