NorthstarMLS Service Quality: Moving in the Right Direction
by John Mosey, RMLS President
If you have comments on the Survey results or would like to carry on a conversation that began with written comments on a Survey response, please contact me directly via my Customer Service E-Mail pres-talk@northstarmls.com. I look forward to learning more.
In late 2006, RMLS conducted its first survey of NorthstarMLS subscribers to measure our Service Quality. While the results were positive and gratifying in that they told us we were essentially doing things right, we found them more valuable in how and where they told us we could improve.
Last Fall, we conducted our second annual survey. With the 2006 results as a benchmark, the 2007 survey could tell us whether we were trending up or down in Customer Satisfaction. An independent Marketing firm mailed the questionnaire (identical to the one used in 2006) to a random sample of 1,200 NorthstarMLS users, statistically representative of our approximately 19,700 total users. As with our first survey in 2006, we received an extraordinary response rate of 45% with over 40% of respondents providing additional written comments.
The Marketing firm told us that the response rates were not only incredible but indicative of a high level of trust that we would use the information to make changes where needed and focus our resources on the things that matter most to our customers. The graph shown in Figure 1 tells a story that I hope shows we aim to live up to that trust.
Figure 1:
Figure 1: Scale indicates level of customer satisfaction. The higher the point on the graph, the higher the level of satisfaction. Compares satisfaction level in 2006 (red line) to that in 2007 (green line) based on survey questions of key services.
The first item (first point on left of graph labeled Q4 Overall Satisfaction) is probably the most important in that it tells us on an overall basis how we are doing in terms of your satisfaction with what we do on your behalf. We’ve gone from 71% who believe we are worthy of a 4 or 5 rating (on a 5 point scale with 5 being excellent) to 79%. A 1 or 2 point year-over-year improvement is good, so trending is not only in the right direction, but also moving rapidly. Great news!
Most of the rest of the ranking questions are more specific to various aspects of our services. In all cases except “Understanding of Rules and Regulations” (which remained the same), we rated better in 2007 than in 2006. In some cases such as “Tax – Rate the Tax Data function on the NorthstarMLS system (accuracy, completeness, functionality, etc)”, you evaluated the improvement as BIG!
We found the response to the Tax function a very positive reflection on the RMLS Board of Governors’ decision in 2004 to acquire PLAT System Services, the provider of our Tax data. RMLS has continually been making the necessary investments in terms of resources and dollars to increase the quality of the information from County sources and its value to you in your daily business. You can look forward to a further leap forward in the quality and value of Tax Data in the second Quarter of this year when access to the GIS data and PLAT maps that are included in the REsearch™ Minnesota product become available as part of your basic core services.
We are disappointed in not having been more effective in growing the general understanding of the Rules and Regulations of the MLS and how to stay in compliance. The Rules and Regulations exist to reinforce cooperation between the professionals who use the system. It is simply a matter of being considerate of others to keep the information that you put into the system current, complete and accurate. We will be working on getting this message of mutual courtesy and consideration out more regularly and more effectively.
The lowest point shown in Figure 1 is occupied by Home Base, the RMLS Listing Maintenance System where additions and edits to listings and Subscriber information are made. However, there was significant improvement between the 2006 and 2007 results telling us that what we learned from the ’06 Survey was addressed in some fashion that was felt by you in the field.
Although the new Auto-fill capability in Home Base (where key address/data fields and mapping coordinates are pulled from the public tax records) was delivered after the 2007 survey, almost all feedback indicates that this enhancement has been very well received, especially by those who enter a lot of listings. For agents, Auto-fill has made the accuracy and consistency of the listings much better, yielding more complete and reliable matches. Additions such as Postal City and Agent-Controlled Map Positioning have further improved data accuracy and search capability.
The Survey is an extremely valuable tool helping us at RMLS to focus our energy and resources on things that make a positive difference in your day-to-day business lives. Our purpose is to provide information, tools and services to help you be more valuable to buyers and sellers. Helping us and the Board of Governors identify what we can do to be of even more value to you include: your REALTOR® Associations, the Agent Advisory Council, members of the Board, our Help Desk (at mlshelp@northstarmls.com) and me.
My job is to run a business whose customers would characterize us to others as a service that is truly an asset and exceeds their expectations every day. You can help me achieve this objective. If you have comments on the Survey results or would like to carry on a conversation that began with written comments on a Survey response, please contact me directly via my Customer Service E-Mail pres-talk@northstarmls.com. I look forward to learning more.