A perfect 10?

After their hotel stays, many guests receive an online survey asking them to rate the service and facilities.

I have a problem with these surveys — they are often too detailed, too long and too time-consuming; they often demand answers to questions that are irrelevant to the respondent; and they require some of us to think in ways we may not normally think.

Nevertheless, I often do fill them out, because I believe in giving feedback to businesses in the (sometimes overly optimistic) belief that the owners will use it to improve what they do.

About a week after I checked out of the Courtyard by Marriott in Bangkok — which I have reviewed here —  I received an online survey, which I filled in to the best of my ability, even though it was flawed in some of the above ways.

As I said in the review, I enjoyed my stay at the hotel, but it seems that my survey responses didn’t reflect that. I got an email from someone I presume to be the manager saying:

As a valued customer, we see that there is room for improvement based on your feedback.  We saw that you rated your overall satisfaction an “8”; however, we also noticed that there were several missed opportunities.

Please accept our apology for not meeting your expectations during your stay. As we strive to deliver a flawless guest experience, we would love to discuss your areas of concerns further. Whenever you have a moment, feel free to contact me directly at the e-mail address below so that we can continue to improve our hotel operations.

This knocked me for six (did you see what I did there?), because I reckon 8 out 10 is a very good score, and I sent a reply saying so.

My presumption in filling out the survey was that 10 is perfect and nothing is perfect. That leaves 9 to cover truly exceptional service, which I imagine is available in the kind of hotels I can’t afford, where guests are carried around on sedan chairs, with butlers and grand pianos in their rooms, and people who throw flowers at them as they pass by.

So, 8 is great, surely.

I gather, however, that they are used to — or expect — higher scores.

Is it because many people are not discerning enough to notice small things that are less than perfect (say, for in this case, the lack of USB connectivity in the room)? Or am I just mean?