Editor’s note: Lindsey Dickman is a vice president of market research firm Market Strategies International. This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared here under the title, “A researcher’s moral dilemma with unrealistic goals.”
January was a glory month for people like me: Type A, perfectionist and other less-appealing descriptors. I will exercise more. I will eat better. I will perfect things that I thought I might have perfected last year, only to realize more perfection was possible. My tendencies don’t drop away completely after January but fortunately the fire isn’t always fanned by countless articles emphasizing ways to do better. Unfortunately, not everyone has this reprieve after January and a recent experience reminded me of the goal-setting perspective I aspire to this year.
The following examples 
took place years apart but seem eerily similar: my husband and I purchased a car, had a good experience with the salesman and were advised that we would be asked to complete a survey. And when we complete that survey, we should give all 10s because otherwise the salesman would not get a bonus. More recently a salesman even went so far as to note that we would be asked if we had been encouraged to give certain responses, and we had to say “no” to ensure this bonus.
As a researcher, this presents a moral dilemma. Am I willing to move what would have been a nine one notch to a 10 in order for this helpful salesman to get a bonus? Probably. Should I be feeling the weight of that responsibility while answering a survey question? No. Can I honestly say that I was not encouraged to give certain responses? Probably not.
As a person, this decision pains me because requiring all 10s is an unrealistic goal. This salesman did a good job, and someone in his organization has decided that only a job of all 10s was a bonus-worthy job. Some folks simply do not give 10s. Apparently these folks are stymying car salesmen everywhere. And if you’re using a scale that includes 11 points, it seems like cruel punishment to say that getting 10 out of 11 isn’t worthy of a bonus, especially when that performance ended with the successful purchase of a car.
I’ve been collecting and morally weighing similar instances for years:
- “It is important to all of us here at <
> that you feel 100 percent comfortable rating us a “9” or “10” on the survey question about your overall experience as a guest in our hotel. If your visit with us is anything less than perfect, please let us know so that we may be able to correct your issue right away. Any other rating such as “8” and below on this question is considered below expectation by our own < > standards.” - “Our goal is to make sure your stay is worthy of a “10.” If you have any issues or challenges during your stay that prohibit you from rewarding us with a “10,” we want to know about it.”
- “We want you to be ‘highly satisfied.’”
I will continue to weigh my reaction to these experiences but they do teach me two lessons that I aim to carry through this year:
- Set achievable goals. As a core goal-setting principle, this isn’t a groundbreaking idea but it’s easy to get carried away with lofty goals, especially when there is a lengthy time frame for achieving them or you are far removed from the day-to-day that is contributing to them. This applies not just to personal lives and overall business goals but to advising our clients on where to set thresholds for research metrics, such as customer satisfaction scores. It’s a good reminder to not lose sight of what is attainable and worthy of being called “good” or even “great” at the individual level instead of just at the aggregate level.
- Leave room for dialogue. The more comfortable examples above do not dictate what rating should be given per se; they ask to talk it out if there is hesitation about giving a top rating. Personally and professionally there are ample opportunities to do this, using the scores as tools just as much for the rater as for the one being rated and encouraging us to speak up as soon as “performance” strays from a nine or a 10.
I’ll need to set up a checkpoint for myself mid-year to ensure I’m following through but these are my goals for goals. And for those waiting nervously for the outcome of the salesman and his bonus: this time my kind husband let the salesman know that it’s in the salesman’s best interest to keep me out of the survey part of the program, which I am pleased to assume means the salesman has a bonus on the way.