What a star rating question is good for
Stars need no instructions: everyone has rated a taxi ride or a parcel. That makes a star question the fastest way to grade one whole thing right after it happened: an order, a support chat, a webinar, a delivery. People answer in a second, so response rates stay high even at the end of a long form.
What stars do not give you is a diagnosis. A three tells you something went wrong, not what. Pair the rating with a short open question.
How to calculate CSAT
Some teams report the average rating instead (here 4.1 out of 5). The average moves more slowly and hides polarisation; the top-2 share is easier to explain and to set a target for. Pick one method and keep it, or the trend line will lie to you.
CSAT = (ratings of 4 and 5) / all ratings × 100%
Example: 300 ratings after support chats
5 stars: 150, 4 stars: 81, 3 stars: 36, 2 stars: 18, 1 star: 15
CSAT = (150 + 81) / 300 × 100% = 77%CSAT vs NPS
| CSAT | NPS | |
|---|---|---|
| Question | How satisfied were you with…? | How likely are you to recommend…? |
| Scale | 1–5 stars or points | 0–10 |
| Measures | One interaction | The whole relationship |
| When to ask | Right after the touchpoint | Periodically, e.g. quarterly |
They do not compete. CSAT tells a support lead how today went; NPS tells the company where the relationship is heading.
Star rating question examples
- How satisfied are you with your delivery today?
- How would you rate the help you got from our support team?
- Rate today’s workshop.
- How easy was it to find what you were looking for?
When stars are the wrong choice
- You rate several aspects at once (speed, price, politeness). A matrix does that on one screen.
- You measure agreement with a statement. That is a Likert item.
- You need a loyalty benchmark comparable with other companies. Use NPS.
Mistakes with CSAT surveys
- Asking days later. Satisfaction with one interaction fades fast; ask while it is fresh.
- Changing the number of stars between waves. A 4 out of 5 and a 4 out of 7 are different answers.
- Showing the survey only to people who finished the flow. Those who gave up are the ones with the most to say.
- Reporting CSAT without the number of answers. 90% of 10 people is an anecdote.
Where to put a CSAT question
As close to the moment as possible. On a website that means the thank-you page after an order; in a product, the screen right after the task is done. A link in a message sent the next day still works, but expect fewer answers and more extreme ones, because people who felt nothing in particular do not bother.
Keep the survey to two questions: the stars and «What could we have done better?». Everything else can wait for a longer study.
Star rating block in Askyo
The block shows five stars by default, and the count can be set anywhere from 3 to 10. For CSAT keep five: the top-2 calculation assumes it. While hovering, respondents see the stars light up, and after the tap a caption confirms the choice, for example «4 of 5».
Results show the average rating drawn as stars and the distribution per star, so you can count the 4s and 5s straight from the chart. If you need the rating to open a follow-up only for unhappy customers, add a single-choice or yes/no question as the branching point, since star blocks always lead to the next question in line.
What you can set
- how many stars