DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

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National Cemetery Administration (NCA)

Customer Satisfaction Survey

Situation

In January 2021, Vistra was re-awarded the NCA’s Customer Satisfaction Survey, which surveys approximately 125,000 individuals each year. This satisfaction survey collects feedback from next-of-kin and funeral directors on how well burial and memorial services and products met the needs and expectations of family members whose loved one was interred in one of the VA’s 300 national, state or tribal cemeteries. This survey is critical for the NCA to measure its performance across several areas. Vistra had also served as the prime contractor for the project from 2015-2019.

English and Spanish versions of the surveys are completed either via paper response or online. Response rates for the surveys are consistently between 40%-50%. Vistra also maintains a survey-specific, toll-free Survey Help Line and email address where a live agent returns all survey-related calls and emails within 24 hours or the next business day. These response rates and customer satisfaction scores are some of the highest across the federal government survey space and the NCA is consistently recognized as the highest-rated organization, public or private, in customer satisfaction according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index.

Results

Through our support, Vistra was able to implement several program enhancements, which included:
  • First-ever quarterly fielding of the NOK surveys
  • Statistical significance testing and extensive redesign of the National and District Reports
  • Innovations to data modeling and analyses
  • Increased survey frequency from annually to quarterly to minimize recall bias and increase overall response rates