German Institute for Service Quality
| German Institute for Service Quality | |
|---|---|
| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| founding | 2006 |
| Seat | Hamburg |
| Branch | Market research |
| Website | www.disq.de |
The German Institute for Service Quality (DISQ) is a commercial market research institute that carries out so-called service studies. The clients are various media companies . Previous customers have included n-tv , Computer Bild and the Handelsblatt .
Test work
The DISQ analyzes the quality, services and prices of providers through consultations, test purchases , test calls and test emails ( mystery shopping ). Accessibility, competence and quality of the company are examined. The focus is therefore on the service offered by the company. Based on previously defined test criteria, the tested service providers are then ranked and the results are made available exclusively to the client. The test winner is awarded a seal of quality . The DISQ has carried out over 200 tests since 2006. The companies tested include a. Insurers , retailers , banks or online portals . Furthermore, customer surveys are carried out.
Test results on the internet
The results of the studies and customer surveys from 2006 to the present day are offered online. Summaries of the tests and surveys, overall placements and results of individual research areas are publicly available and free of charge.
German service award
The DISQ awards the German Service Prize with the news channel n-tv .
criticism
In 2008, the DISQ came under fire for a study on electricity providers. Arbitrary test methods and the fact that the test winner had paid a fee for the subsequent use of the test result in its advertising were criticized. The test itself, on the other hand, was not paid for by the test winner, according to the DISQ, since the DISQ does not accept any orders from companies to be tested. The test victory of the study on electricity providers in 2008 was no longer advertised after the public discussion in the taz .
In 2010, the institute's methods were criticized in a study on cruises because the institute had focused on the Internet as a sales channel, although three quarters of the cruises are booked through travel agencies. An investigation into drugstores may no longer be disseminated after the drugstore chain Rossmann successfully defended itself against the test at the Hanover regional court . Rossmann accused the testers of "methodological imprecision".
In a judgment of May 6, 2011, the Potsdam Regional Court prohibited a furniture store from advertising with the test result “best furniture store” from DISQ in the first instance. On the one hand, the court found it misleading that the test seal is in the national colors of the Federal Republic of Germany and is labeled with the designation "Deutsches Institut", so that many customers could believe that the DISQ is a public or under public supervision (scientific) Facility. On the other hand, according to the court, the investigation had considerable methodological deficiencies. The award “1. Platz, Best Möbelhaus “, that the quality of the furniture store (overall) had been tested. The core area, i.e. the purchase and delivery of a piece of furniture, had not been adequately examined. The DISQ, on the other hand - as already follows from the name - focused primarily on service quality and focused on the consultation. In addition, half of the test items would be based on a subjective assessment. The Federal Association of Consumer Organizations had sued .
A detailed test result of the studies and the applied test criteria are not available to consumers, only total and partial results are published.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ https://disq.de/lösungen.html
- ↑ https://disq.de/unternehmen.html
- ↑ References , DISQ.
- ↑ Methods , DISQ.
- ↑ Company , DISQ.
- ^ Studies , DISQ.
- ↑ "German Service Prize 2016" awarded , n-tv . Retrieved October 5, 2016
- ↑ How does Vattenfall get the seal of approval? In: taz , July 30, 2008.
- ↑ Vattenfall gives up controversial seal . In: taz , November 7, 2008.
- ^ Cruise: Criticism of DISQ study . ( Memento of the original from January 23, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. From: travel-one.net, December 21, 2010, last accessed January 23, 2016
- ^ Axel Schulz, Josef Auer: Cruises and ship traffic in tourism . Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2010, ISBN 978-3-486-59645-8 , p. 126.
- ↑ Rossmann sinks drug store test ( page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. .
- ^ LG Potsdam, judgment of May 6, 2011 , Az. 51 O 65/10, full text.
- ^ Stiftung Warentest: Court prohibits Möbel-Höffner advertising - misleading with private test judgment . test.de, June 5, 2011, accessed February 4, 2013.
