Customer Effort Score (CES) is a simple way to measure friction: how easy it was for someone to get something done. Below are copy‑paste templates, follow‑ups, and a few practical tips for making CES surveys actually useful.
The most common CES format is an agreement statement (strongly disagree → strongly agree), often on a 1–7 scale.
Use this right after a ticket is marked resolved or a chat ends.
Question
“[Company] made it easy for me to resolve my issue.”
Answer options (1–7): Strongly disagree → Strongly agree.
This is useful when the process itself is the thing you’re testing (returns, onboarding, checkout).
Question
“How much effort did you personally have to put in to get this done?”
Scale idea (1–7): Very high effort → Very low effort.
Good for onboarding steps and key workflows where friction causes churn (e.g., “import contacts”, “publish survey”).
Question
“[Product] made it easy for me to [complete task].”
Example task: “create my first survey”, “connect my email”, “export results”.
Use this after a delivery confirmation or after a refund is completed to spot “hidden friction”.
Questions
“[Brand] made it easy for me to track my order.”
“[Brand] made it easy for me to return an item.”
“[Brand] made it easy for me to get a refund.”
CES tells you “friction exists”; the follow‑up tells you where it lives. Keep it optional and short.
Follow‑ups (pick one)
“What made this feel easy or difficult?”
“What was the hardest part?”
“What could we change to make this easier next time?”
Many CES implementations use a 1–7 agreement scale (strongly disagree → strongly agree). Some teams prefer 1–5 for simplicity; the key is consistency so you can trend over time.