Why 5-Star Ratings Don’t Give You Usable Data

Published: 31 May 2025

We’ve all seen them: the 5-star ratings that pop up after you’ve received a service or bought a product. Customer feedback is crucial—but what does a 5-star rating actually tell your company?

From the customer’s side, the score often comes down to a simple question:
Did I get what I wanted or not? That usually means a 1 or a 5. So why not just ask for a Yes/No? At least then, you’d get a clear answer—good or bad, go or no-go—without the confusion of 2s, 3s, and 4s.

But does less really mean more? Not quite.

Ask for Actionable Data, Not Opinions

Objective, specific answers always beat opinion-based ratings. Instead of asking for a vague score, ask clear questions that produce actionable data:

  1. Were you offered support within 5 minutes?
  2. Was the service specialist friendly and helpful?
  3. Were we able to resolve your issue?

Now, you have three variables that can pinpoint exactly where your process needs work:

Were you offered support within 5 minutes?
  • Are we understaffed?
  • Are there peak times when we need more people?
  • Was there a technical issue?
Was the service specialist friendly and helpful?
  • Do we have behavioral issues?
  • Is there a training gap?
Were we able to resolve your issue?
  • Is there a product fault?
  • Are there compliance or third-party issues?
  • Do we have resource shortages?
  • Was there a technical error?

Start Asking the Right Questions

If you want feedback that actually helps you improve, move beyond the 5-star rating. Start asking the right questions.

www.gonogo.co.uk

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