Customer effort score asks people about the effort involved in an interaction, such as resolving a problem or completing a purchase. Qualtrics describes scales running from easy to difficult. The question concerns a particular experience, rather than a general willingness to recommend the business. Source: Qualtrics: Customer effort score

Choose one task to examine

Ask about a specific activity, such as uploading a document or requesting an amendment. Invite a short explanation of the answer. This helps the team identify the step that caused difficulty instead of guessing from a broad satisfaction score.

Keep the direction of the scale clear

Record the exact question, response options and which end means less effort. Use the same method when checking a revised process. This makes the comparison understandable and helps prevent a higher number being presented as an improvement when the scale means the reverse.

Written and updated by Travelgenix. Sources checked on 19 October 2026. Practical advice and examples are Travelgenix editorial guidance.