How to run an NPS survey by phone: the question, the calculation and handling detractors
Sado AI team · · 4 min read
In short
NPS is one question: how likely a customer is to recommend your company to friends, on a scale of 0 to 10. On the phone, ask it and then ask “Why that score?”. Customers who give 9–10 are promoters, 7–8 passives, 0–6 detractors. NPS = share of promoters minus share of detractors: for example, 55% − 20% = 35. What matters most is not the number but the detractors: have a manager call them the same day. One call takes a minute or two.
What NPS is and why to ask by phone
The NPS question is always the same: “On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to friends or acquaintances?” It isn’t about one purchase but about how the customer feels about the company as a whole.
You can ask by text or Telegram, but not everyone replies, and even fewer answer “why?”. On the phone you hear the reason in the customer’s own words and can apologise to an unhappy one straight away.
How an NPS call goes
- Who to call: for example, customers who bought or used the service 7–14 days ago. Don’t call the same customer for NPS more than once every three months.
- Greet them, name the company and ask permission: “May I take a minute of your time?” If they’re busy, agree on a better time.
- Ask the question word for word every time. If the wording changes, you can’t compare scores month to month.
- After the score, ask one open question: “Why that score?” Don’t interrupt; hear them out.
- Record the score as a number and the reason as a short note. Pass detractors to a manager the same day.
- Thank them and say goodbye. Don’t argue and don’t try to sell anything on this call.
A sample call
Sado: Assalomu alaykum, this is Malika from the Texno Uy store. Last week you bought a washing machine from us. May I take a minute of your time?
Caller: Yes, go ahead.
Sado: On a scale of 0 to 10, how likely are you to recommend us to people you know?
Caller: Six or seven… let’s say six.
Sado: Thank you. Why six? What didn’t you like?
Caller: The machine is fine, but it came two days late and nobody called to warn me.
Sado: I’m sorry, that shouldn’t have happened. I’ve noted it, and our manager will call you today. Thank you for your time!
The operator didn’t argue with the score or say “but everything was fine”. She noted the reason and named the next step, which is how a call with a detractor should go.
What to do with each score
| Group | Score | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Promoters | 9–10 | Thank them; if they agree, send a link to leave a review |
| Passives | 7–8 | Note the answer to “what was missing for a 10?” and compare month to month |
| Detractors | 0–6 | A manager calls the same day, apologises and fixes the problem |
The maths: for example, 200 answers in a month, with 110 promoters (55%), 50 passives and 40 detractors (20%). NPS = 55 − 20 = 35. Passives aren’t in the formula, but their reasons are useful. These numbers are only an example. Compare your NPS with your own past months, not with someone else’s.
Handing NPS calls to an AI operator
Hundreds of calls a month take up a whole employee. With Sado’s auto-calls you upload the customer list to the portal as an Excel file or send it from your CRM. The AI operator talks with each customer live in Uzbek or Russian, asks the question the same way every time and listens to the answer to “why?”.
The score and the reason land in the portal as separate fields for each call. You download the results to Excel and work out the NPS yourself. A number that says “don’t call me” isn’t called again, and you set the calling hours. You pay only for talked minutes: pricing. Try it live.
Questions
How many customers do you need to ask for NPS?
For a stable number you need at least a few dozen answers a month, and more than a hundred is better. With few answers, one score moves the result a lot.
What is a good NPS score?
There is no single right number for every industry. What matters is that your own NPS grows month to month and detractors give fewer reasons.
Can you run an NPS survey by text message?
You can, but not everyone replies to a text, and getting an answer to “why?” is hard. On the phone you hear the reason in the customer’s own words.