1525-0012-0154 US Mint Quantitative Consumer Research (Wave 39) and 1525-0012-0155 US Mint Quantitative Consumer Research Lapsed Customer Survey

United States Mint Lapsed Customers Survey

January 21, 2011

Note to reader: Bold lines in between questions signify page/screen breaks.

Welcome to the United States Mint’s survey.

This survey is designed to help the United States Mint understand how it can improve the way it provides service and value to its customers. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1525-0012-####. Your participation in this survey is ENTIRELY VOLUNTARY and should require approximately 10 minutes of your time.

All of your responses will be kept completely confidential.

We will not use this information to contact you or attempt to sell you any products or services.

If you have any questions or problems while completing the survey, please call Jill Weisenfeld weekdays from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM ET at 1-800-342-9102, or send an e-mail to info822@nationalanalysts.com

Please click the Forward button to begin the survey.

To begin, we will first take a few minutes to familiarize you with our survey.

The survey will NOT ALLOW YOU TO SKIP A QUESTION. If you do not know an exact answer, then please give your best estimate.

You may click on the STOP button to pause the program to take a break. When you re-enter the survey you must use the same User ID and Password; the survey will return to the screen where you clicked Stop.

Please click the FORWARD button to begin.

Screening Criteria

S-1 What is your age in years?

Age (in years)

_______

______________________

Programming:

• Send to terminate screen if under 18

• Maximum allowed is 120

S-2 Have you ever purchased any coins or other merchandise from the United States Mint?

Yes	
No	

______________________

Programming:

• Send to terminate screen if “No”

S-3 When was the last time you made a purchase from the United States Mint?

Last Purchase from United States Mint
In the past year (2010 or 2011)	
2 years ago (2009)	
3 years ago (2008)	
4 or more years ago	

______________________

Programming:

• Send to terminate screen if “In 2010 or 2011” or “4 or more years ago”

S-4 To the best of your recollection, how many separate orders did you place with the United States Mint within the past 5 years?

1	
2	
3-5	
6 or more	

______________________

Programming:

• Classify as “One and Done” if they answer “1”

Programming: Ask All, Rotate 1-3, 3-1

S-5 Were the products you purchased from the United States Mint…

1	For you	
2	Gifts for someone else	
3	Mix of purchases for self and for gifts	

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All, Rotate 1-3, 3-1

Programming: Ask All, Rotate 1-3, 3-1

S-6 Do you consider yourself to be…

1	A serious collector of coins (or other United States Mint items)	
2	A casual collector of coins (or other United States Mint items)	
3	Not a collector of coins (or other United States Mint items)	

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All, Rotate 1-3, 3-1

Programming: Ask All

Q1 Overall, how satisfied were you with the purchases you made from the United States Mint?

	Not At All Extremely Satisfied Satisfied
	1 2 3 4 5 6
Overall satisfaction	     

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All

Programming: Ask All

Q2 Thinking about the last item you received from the United States Mint, would you say the quality was…

1	Excellent	
2	Good	
3	Fair	
4	Poor	
5	Terrible	

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All

Programming: Ask if Q2 = Poor/Terrible

Q3 Please explain why you feel the quality was [insert “poor”/”terrible”].

______________________

Programming:

• Ask if Q2 = Poor/Terrible; do not force an answer

Programming: Ask All

Q4 Thinking about the last order you placed with the United States Mint, would you say your experience with the ordering process was…

1	Excellent	
2	Good	
3	Fair	
4	Poor	
5	Terrible	

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All

Programming: Ask if Q4 = Poor/Terrible

Q5 Please explain why you feel your experience with the ordering process was [insert “poor”/”terrible”].

______________________

Programming:

• Ask if Q6 is Poor/Terrible; do not force an answer

Q6 Thinking about the last order you placed with the United States Mint, would you say your experience with customer service was…

1	Excellent	
2	Good	
3	Fair	
4	Poor	
5	Terrible	
9	Had no interaction with customer service	

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All

Programming: Ask if Q6 = Poor/Terrible

Q7 Please explain why you feel your experience with customer service was [insert “poor”/”terrible”].

______________________

Programming:

• Ask if Q4 is Poor/Terrible; do not force an answer

Programming: Ask All. Randomize Rows within each heading

Q8 Which of the following are important reasons why you have not purchased from the United States Mint since [insert “2008” or “2009”]?

Select one answer for each row

		Not at All a Reason I Haven’t Purchased Recently	A Minor Reason Why I Haven’t Purchased Recently	A Major Reason Why I Haven’t Purchased Recently
	Lack of Interest
1	I am just not interested in buying the types of products the United States Mint sells			
2	I was only interested in one specific product (and not interested in any others that the United States Mint sells)			
	Poor Communications
3	I didn’t really have a good understanding of the different products offered by the United States Mint and which ones would be best to purchase			
4	I was not made aware of new products that were introduced			
5	Poor communications from the United States Mint regarding product release dates			
	Poor Product Availability/Access
6	United States Mint discontinued products I wanted to buy			
7	I had difficulty getting access to products I wanted to buy (e.g., products were sold out to quickly, etc.)			
8	United States Mint started offering too few products			
9	United States Mint started offering too many different products			
10	I want to be able to see the products before I order them			
	Poor Product Quality
11	My products arrived damaged			
12	Poor quality of product packaging			
13	Poor quality of external (shipping) package			
	No Longer Give as Gifts
14	My purchases were for gifts (and I no longer wish to give these items as gifts)			
	Spending
15	I felt I was spending too much on coins			
16	The amount of money I am able to devote to coin collecting decreased			
17	Prices are too high			
	Poor Service or Problems
18	Ordering process was too difficult			
19	Poor United States Mint customer service			
20	I had problems with shipping			
21	There were problems with my order(s)			
	Other Sources
22	I prefer to buy United States Mint products from other sources (coin shops, etc.)			
	Other
23	Other (please specify)			

_____________________

Programming:

• Ask All

• Randomize rows within each heading except under poor product quality

Programming: Ask if Q8 row 11 is a major or minor reason

Q8a You mentioned earlier that your product arrived damaged. Do you believe the cause of the damage was due to…

Production by the United States Mint	
Issues that occurred while the coins/items were in transit (i.e., shipping problems)	
Both were likely factors	
Not sure	

_____________________

Programming:

• Ask if Q18 row 11 is a major or minor reason

Programming: Ask All

Q9 How likely are you to purchase from the United States Mint in the next 12 months?

	Not At All Extremely Likely Likely
	1 2 3 4 5 6
Likelihood to make purchases from the United States Mint in the next 12 months	     

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All

Programming: Ask All

Q10 How likely would you have been to order from the United States Mint in 2010 if they …

	Not At All Extremely Likely Likely
	1 2 3 4 5 6
Sent you a catalog	     
Sent you information to help you better understand the different types of products they offer	     
Offered free shipping	     
Offered products at the same time each year (e.g, annual clad proof set in January, American Eagle Silver Proof coin in February, etc.)	     
Sold their products at a nationally well-known retailer	     
Offered a subscription program to automatically re-order a previously purchased product	     
Offered occasion-based products like a set for a baby’s birth or a birthday set	     
Provided discounts on volume purchases (e.g., $10 off purchase of $100)	     

______________________

Programming: Ask All

Programming: Ask All

Q11 What is the single most important action, if any, the United States Mint could do to encourage you make purchases from them again in the future? Please be as explicit as possible.

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All

Programming: Ask if row 6 selected in Q8

Q12 Earlier you said that the fact that the United States Mint discontinued certain products was a reason why you had not purchased since [insert “2008” / “2009”]. What product(s) did you want to buy that was (were) discontinued?

Select all that apply

1	American Eagle Silver Proof coin	
2	Ultra High Relief coin	
3	American Eagle Gold Uncirculated Coin fractional sizes (1/2 oz, ¼ oz, 1/10 oz)	
4	American Eagle Gold Uncirculated Coin 4 coin set	
5	American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin fractional sizes (1/2 oz, ¼ oz, 1/10 oz)	
6	American Buffalo Gold Proof Coin 4 coin set	
7	American Buffalo Uncirculated Coin fractional sizes (1/2 oz, ¼ oz, 1/10 oz)	
8	American Buffalo Gold Uncirculated Coin 4 coin set	
9	American Eagle Platinum Proof Coin fractional sizes (1/2 oz, ¼ oz, 1/10 oz)	
10	American Eagle Platinum Proof Coin 4 coin set	
11	American Eagle Platinum Uncirculated Coin fractional (1/2 oz, ¼ oz, 1/10 oz)	
12	American Eagle Platinum Uncirculated Coin 4 coin set	
13	Other (please specify)	

______________________

Programming: Ask if row 6 selected in Q8

Programming: Ask if Row 1 is selected in Q10

Q13 Were you aware that the United States Mint offered the 2010 American Eagle Silver Proof coin in November, 2010?

1	Yes	
2	No	

______________________

Programming: Ask if Row 1 is selected in Q12

Programming: Ask if Q13 row 1

Q14 Did you purchase the 2010 American Eagle Silver Proof coin from another source?

1	Yes	
2	No	

______________________

Programming:

• Ask if Q13 row 1

Programming: Ask All

Q15 Since 2009/2008, have you purchased any coins or other merchandise that is sold at the United States Mint (other than the American Eagle Silver Proof coin), from another source?

1	Yes	
2	No	

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All

Programming: Ask if Q15 is “Yes”

Q16 From which organization(s) did you purchase any coins or other merchandise that is sold at the United States Mint from another source?

Sources/Organizations	Yes	No
The United States Mint		
The Franklin Mint		
Regional or local coin dealers		
Local auction or estate sale		
Unicover Corporation		
Home Shopping Network or QVC		
Other TV shopping program		
The American Historical Society		
eBay or other Internet auction sites		
Antique dealers		
Flea markets		
Other companies or mints offering coins in direct mail/newspaper/magazine ads		
Amazon.com		
Bradford Exchange		
Danbury Mint		
Littleton Coin Company		
GovMint.com		
National Collector’s Mint		
World Reserve Monetary Exchange		

______________________

Programming:

• Ask if Q15 is Yes

Q17 What made you purchase United States Mint coins or other merchandise from a source other than the United States Mint?

Select all that apply

1	Better prices	
2	Better quality of product packaging	
3	Larger variety of products	
4	Better customer service	
5	Better quality of coin products	
6	Better communications about products and release dates	
7	Faster shipping	
8	Easier ordering process	
9	Wanted to see product before purchasing	
10	Free shipping	
11	Better return process/policy	
12	Special promotion (e.g., free gift with purchase, coin/item storage/display with purchase)	
13	Other (please specify)	

______________________

Programming:

Ask if Q15 is “Yes”, Randomize Rows except Other is always last

Programming: Ask All, Cannot select do not recall and another row

Q18 Please indicate what types of items you purchased from the United States Mint in the past 5 years.

Select all that apply

Annual Coin Sets
Annual Clad Proof Sets (Full set, Quarters, Presidential $1 Coin)
- Full set	
- Quarters set	
- Presidential $1 Coin set	
Annual Silver Proof Sets (Full set, Quarters)
- Full set	
- Quarters set	
Uncirculated Sets	
American Eagle Coins
American Eagle Silver Coins	
American Eagle Gold Coins	
American Buffalo Coins
American Buffalo 24K Gold Coins	
First Spouse Coins
First Spouse 24K Gold Coins	
Commemorative Coins
Gold, Silver or Clad Commemorative Coins	
Commemorative Coin Sets	
Other Coins and Merchandise
Other United States Mint Products	
Do not recall	

______________________

Programming:

• Ask All, Cannot select do not recall and another row

Demographic Information

QD-1 What is the highest level of education you have attained?

Grade school (8th grade or less)	
Some high school	
High school graduate	
Some college, no degree	
Vocational training/2-year college	
4-year college/bachelor’s degree	
Post-graduate training/degree	

QD-2 Which of the following best describes your current employment status?

Full-time	
Part-time	
Retired	
Not employed or student	

QD-3 Are you Hispanic or Latino?

Yes	
No	

QD-4 Do you consider yourself to be…

American Indian or Alaska Native?	
Asian?	
Black or African American?	
Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander?	
White?	
Other (Specify) ________________	

QD-5 What is your gender?

Male	
Female	

QD-6 Which of the following best describes your occupation?

Managerial or professional	
Technical, sales, or administrative	
Service occupations	
Precision products, crafts or repairs	
Operators, fabricators, or laborers	
Farming, forestry, or fishing	
Other (Specify) _____________________________	

_____________________

Programming: Skip QD-6 if QD-2 is Row 3 or 4

QD-7 Which of the following categories best describes your total household income before taxes in 2010? Your best estimate is fine.

Less than $10,000	
Between $10,000 to $19,999	
$20,000 to $29,999	
$30,000 to $39,999	
$40,000 to $49,999	
$50,000 to $74,999	
$75,000 to $99,999	
$100,000 or more	

QD-8   May we contact you if we have any follow-up questions?

1	Yes	o
2	No	o

Programming:

• If Yes to question above ask for the information below, otherwise skip to the thank you text.

Please give us your name, telephone number, and e-mail address so that we may contact you if we have any follow-up questions.

Name_________________________

Telephone number_________________________

E-mail address _________________________

Programming:

• Name is required but can fill in telephone or e-mail address or both.

Thank you for participating in this survey.

Please press the STOP button to finish the survey.