Form CFI 212 CFI 212 RRB Retirement Annuity questionnaire

2009 Railroad Retirement Board Questionnaire

Railroad Retirement Board

(RRB) Questionnaire

(Items in BOLD are interviewer instructions, and are not intended to be read to the Client)

(Items marked i.e. or e.g. should only be read if respondent needs clarification)

Introduction (Do not read)

INTRO1. Hello. The Railroad Retirement Board has hired my company, PGM, to call on behalf of the Board. My name is ____________________ . May I please speak with __________?

1 Yes > (Continue)
2 Person not available > (Schedule a call back)
3 No Such Person > “Thank you and have a nice day!”
99 Refusal/Hung Up

(Interviewer: When respondent comes to the phone, read INTRO2)

INTRO2. Hello. The Railroad Retirement Board has hired my company, PGM, to call on behalf of the Board. My name is ___________________. We are conducting research on how satisfied users are with services provided by federal government agencies as part of the American Customer Satisfaction Index. The purpose of this research is to help the Railroad Retirement Board improve its services to you. Your answers are voluntary, but your opinions are very important for this research. Your responses will be held completely confidential, and you will never be identified by name. This interview is authorized by Office of Management and Budget Control No. 1090-0007 and will take approximately 10 minutes. Is this a good time?

1 Yes (Continue)
2 No Can we schedule a time that is more convenient for you?

Screening Question (Do not read)

The Railroad Retirement Board has told us that you applied for a retirement annuity within the past 12 months and are now receiving monthly benefits.

QA. Is this correct?

1. Yes (GO TO INTRO before Q1)

2. No (TERMINATE)

98 Don’t Know (TERMINATE)
99 Refusal/Hung up (TERMINATE)

Application Process (Do not read)

Q1. How did you apply for the retirement annuity?

1. In person

2. By phone

Now, think about the application process that you went through to obtain your monthly retirement benefits. On a scale from 1 to 10 where “1” means “Poor” and “10” means “Excellent,” please rate the following:

Q2. Ease of applying for benefits

Q3. Amount of supporting documentation required

Q4. Amount of elapsed time between your last day of work and receiving your first payment

Printed Information Process (Do not read)

Next, consider the written information you received about railroad retirement benefits. Please indicate whether you received information from the following sources. (Interviewer: Read List)

Q5. Website

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

Q6. Award Letter

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

Q7. Printed publications such as booklets

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

Q8. Other written information such as an estimate letter or any other letter. (PLEASE SPECIFY)

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

IF Q5 = YES ASK Q9-11

Think about the website as a source of information. On a scale from 1 to 10 where “1” means “Poor” and “10” means “Excellent,” please rate the website on the following:

Q9. Accuracy of the information

Q10. Usefulness of the information

Q11. Ease of understanding the information

IF Q6 = YES ASK Q12-14

Think about the award letter as a source of information. On a scale from 1 to 10 where “1” means “Poor” and “10” means “Excellent,” please rate the award letter on the following:

Q12. Accuracy of the information

Q13. Usefulness of the information

Q14. Ease of understanding the information

IF Q7= YES ASK Q15-17

Think about the printed publications such as books as a source of information. On a scale from 1 to 10 where “1” means “Poor” and “10” means “Excellent,” please rate the printed publications on the following:

Q15. Accuracy of the information

Q16. Usefulness of the information

Q17. Ease of understanding the information

IF Q8= YES ASK Q18-20

Think about other written information such as an estimate letter or any other letter as a source of information. On a scale from 1 to 10 where “1” means “Poor” and “10” means “Excellent,” please rate the other written information such as an estimate letter or any other letter on the following:

Q18. Accuracy of the information

Q19. Usefulness of the information

Q20. Ease of understanding the information

Customer Services (Do not read)

Now, think about the ways you have contacted the Railroad Retirement Board in the past 12 months. Please indicate whether you have had contact with the Railroad Retirement Board in the following ways. (Interviewer: Read List)

Q21. Organized seminars or meetings

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

Q22. Visiting a field office in person

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

Q23. Meeting a traveling field service representative at a Customer OutReach Program Service Location (e.g., in a place other than the field office.)

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

Q24. Contacting the Railroad Retirement Board by telephone

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

IF Q24=YES ASK Q25 and Q26

Q25. Did you get the information you were looking for from your telephone contact?

1. Yes

2. No

98 Don’t Know
99 Refusal/Hung up

Q26. How satisfied were you with your experience with the telephone service you received? Use a 10-point scale on which "1" means "very dissatisfied" and "10" means "very satisfied” to rate your satisfaction with the Railroad Retirement Board’s telephone service.

IF Q26 IS LOWER THAN 6 ASK Q27

Q27. What was the reason for your rating? (Capture verbatim response)

Now, consider the communication both on the telephone and in person that you’ve had with the Railroad Retirement Board in the past 12 months. On a scale from 1 to 10 where “1” means “Poor” and “10” means “Excellent,” please rate the Railroad Retirement Board on the following:

Q28. The courtesy of its personnel

Q29. The professionalism of its personnel

Q30. The accuracy of information provided to you

Q31. The clarity of information provided to you

Q32. The ease of getting in touch with the Railroad Retirement Board

Overall Quality (Do not read)

Q33. Now, please consider all your experiences and impressions in the past year regarding the Railroad Retirement Board. Using a 10-point scale, on which “1" means "not very high" and "10" means "very high," how would you rate the overall quality of the programs and services provided by the Railroad Retirement Board?

[RECORD RATING 1-10]
98 Don't know (Don’t read)
99 Refused/Hung up

Prior Expectations (Do not read)

Q34. Now, think about your expectations about the Railroad Retirement Board before you began receiving benefits. Using a 10-point scale, on which “1" means "not very high" and "10" means "very high," how would you rate your prior expectations of the overall quality of the programs and services provided by the Railroad Retirement Board?

[RECORD RATING 1-10]
98 Don't know (Don’t read)
99 Refused/Hung up

ACSI Benchmark Questions (Do not read)

Q35. Using a 10-point scale on which "1" means "very dissatisfied" and "10" means "very satisfied,” how satisfied are you with the programs and services provided by the Railroad Retirement Board?

Q36. Using a 10-point scale on which "1" now means "falls short of your expectations" and "10" means "exceeds your expectations," to what extent have the programs and services provided by the Railroad Retirement Board fallen short of or exceeded your expectations?

Q37. Forget for a moment your experience with the Railroad Retirement Board. Now, imagine what an ideal organization that pays retirement benefits would be like. (Interviewer: Pause momentarily.) How well do you think the Railroad Retirement Board compares with that ideal organization? Please use a 10-point scale on which "1" means "not at all close to the ideal," and "10" means "very close to the ideal."

Outcome Measures (Do not read)

Next, I want you to think about your interaction with the Railroad Retirement Board over the past 12 months.

Q38. Have you complained to the Railroad Retirement Board about its service within the past 12 months?

1 Yes (GO TO Q39)

2 No (SKIP to Q40)

98. Don't know (SKIP TO Q40)

99. Refused/Hung up (SKIP TO Q40)

Q39. Using a 10-point scale on which “1” means “handled poorly” and “10” means “handled very well,” please rate how well your complaint was handled.

[RECORD RATING 1-10]

98 Don't know (Don’t read)
99 Refused/Hung up

Q40. Using a 10-point scale on which “1” means “not at all confident” and “10” means “very confident,” how confident are you that the Railroad Retirement Board will do a good job?

[RECORD RATING 1-10]

98 Don't know

99 Refused/Hung up

Q41. Using a 10-point scale on which “1” means “not at all willing” and “10” means “very willing,” how willing are you to say positive things about the job the Railroad Retirement Board does?

[RECORD RATING 1-10]

98. Don't know

99. Refused/Hung up

Epilogue Question (Do not read)

Consider the value you place on the various ways the Railroad Retirement Board provides its services. Rate the following services using a 10-point scale where “1” means “no value at all” and “10” means “very valuable.” If you do not use a particular service please say “not applicable.”

Q42. Agency website (rrb.gov)

Q43. Services at its field offices

Q44. Telephone service

Q45. Customer OutReach Program service (e.g., meeting a traveling field representative in a place other than a field office)

Demographic Questions (Do not read)

D1. [RECORD GENDER BY OBSERVATION; DO NOT READ]

1. Male

2. Female

3. Unsure

(Closing Statement)

Thank you for your time. The Railroad Retirement Board appreciates your views and will use them to better serve its customers. Have a nice day!

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Questionnaire –RRB Draft Page 7