Customer satisfaction score (CSAT) explained in plain English
What a satisfaction score is, how to calculate it from smiley ratings, and how to set a sensible target.
Tapp team · 15 Oct 2026 · 1 min read
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A customer satisfaction score, often called CSAT, answers one simple question: out of everyone who answered, how many were happy?
How to calculate it
With four faces (Bad, Okay, Good, Great), count Good and Great as happy:
Happy customers % = (Good + Great) ÷ all answers × 100
If 80 people answered and 60 picked Good or Great, your score is 75%.
Why not an average?
An average score (say 2.9 out of 4) is useful, but percentages are easier to explain to a team: "three out of four customers were happy" is clear to everyone.
How to set a target
- Start by measuring for two to four weeks without a target.
- Set a target a few points above where you are, per workspace.
- Compare like with like: a washroom score and a checkout score are different things.
Read it with context
- Sample size. 20 answers can swing a lot; 200 are more reliable.
- Where and when. An overall score can hide one weak branch or one bad hour.
- Reasons. The score tells you something is wrong. The reasons tell you what.