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Survey shows majority of Incline residents pleased with IVGID

Kayla Anderson
Special to the Bonanza
A skier slashes through fresh powder at Diamond Peak in January. Survey-takers ranked the ski area as one of IVGID’s best venues
Courtesy Diamond Peak |

CORRECTION

This story has been updated from an earlier version to correct the statistics reported with the survey question, "Incline Village/Crystal Bay is positively perceived as a place to live full-time and own property."

The correct information is as follows: "... there are 3.6875 people (59%) happy with Incline Village, for every one person (16%) unhappy."

The earlier story incorrectly reported those statistics indicated survey-takers were happy with "IVGID," rather than "Incline Village." This was a mistake made in the editing process, and the Bonanza regrets the error.

BY THE NUMBERS

Out of the 842 responses, here are some key findings:

58% of the survey-takers were male

Average age of the respondents was 61

97% live in Incline Village, 3% from Crystal Bay

45% positively perceive IV/CB as a place to live full-time, 33% neutral, and 23% disagree

16% disagree that IV/CB is a great place to own property Amenities receive a healthy NPS rating of 59%, while 27% were neutral and 14% disagreed

MORE ONLINE

Visit http://bit.ly/2kta32F to download the entire F’inn presentation.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — A majority of IVGID residents and property owners are happy with the current state of district affairs and would recommend others to live in Incline Village, a recent survey concluded.

At the Jan. 18 IVGID Board of Trustees meeting, trustees received results of the inaugural “Community Services Survey,” conducted by F’inn, a consulting group based out of Half Moon Bay, Calif., via a $12,850 contract with the district.

The survey was distributed to Incline Village/Crystal Bay residents from Sept. 20 through Oct. 31, 2016, and 842 people responded.



F’inn conducted the survey using the “Net Promoter Score,” a widely used management tool that gauges the loyalty of an agency’s customer relationships.

In IVGID’s situation, the NPS was used to gain insight into general attitudes about the district and its amenities.



Asking people questions on a 0-10 scale, those who respond in a 0-6 range are generally unhappy with an agency’s service and can damage its reputation through negative word-of-mouth, according to the presentation from F’inn Co-Founder Stephen Bohnet and F’inn Innovation Specialist Sara McCann.

These people are known as “Detractors.”

People who score on the 7-8 scale are considered satisfied but unenthusiastic and are labeled “Passives,” whereas respondents who score on a 9-10 scale are labeled “Promoters” — deemed loyal customers who share positive word-of-mouth about a brand, or in this case, IVGID.

A POSITIVE PERCEPTION

At the Jan. 18 meeting, Bohnet reviewed the detractor statements — which he said accounted for about 16 percent of the respondents — with the IVGID board.

“There is a group of constituents who are very vocal, and we need to put that in perspective,” Bohnet said, later adding that “the promoters are more likely to be open and engaged, while the detractors desire more exclusivity and reduced fees.”

Breaking things down further, here’s how residents responded to the question about how “Incline Village/Crystal Bay is positively perceived as a place to live full-time and own property”:

Place to live full time: 45% Promoters, 33% Passives, 23% Detractors

Place to live full time (as answered by full-time residents): 52% Promoters, 30% Passives, 18% Detractors

Place to own property: 59% Promoters, 28% Passives, 16% Detractors

In other words, taking the “Place to own property” result, there are 3.6875 people (59%) happy with Incline Village, for every one person (16%) unhappy. For the “Place to live full time” question, that’s closer to a 2:1 ratio.

Bohnet said he believes NPS is a good model to gather data for a government agency like IVGID.

“The NPS provides a single question that in turn can produce multiple points in observation, but I feel it is useful in being able to gauge perception,” he said. “A lot of it has to do with how you phrase the question, too. I don’t know of a better model or one that’s different in finding out how satisfied and engaged people are.”

Bohnet said he only sees the NPS being misused when people who are unfamiliar with the brand or business (or government, in this case) take a survey.

“How can you recommend something that you know nothing about?” he said.

OTHER KEY TAKEAWAYS

Here are some other takeaways from the survey, according to F’inn, regarding all 842 responses:

49% feel strongly IVGID should invest more to enhance existing amenities.

47% feel IVGID amenities don’t influence how much time they spend in IV/CB.

Summer activities appear to be more important, although a large group thinks both summer and winter are important.

Aside from skiing, walking trails are the most frequently used amenity, while the skate park is least used.

The Village Green is one of the district’s largest opportunities for improvement.

Diamond Peak is the highest-recommended amenity to friends and family.

The Championship Course is the highest-recommended amenity among users.

53% feel they get a fairly good or very good value out of their recreation and beach fees.

In terms of communication, 63% are satisfied with IVGID’s efforts to keep them informed, while 20% are neutral and 16% are dissatisfied.

1 in 8 IV/CB homeowners rent out their home.

Zero responses came from the 20-29 age group, while only 3 percent came from those between 30 and 39 years old.

“This is one set of data — use this in conjunction with what you already know about your community,” Bohnet told the board. “And it’s actually not good to get a 100 percent positive response, as that means you’re most likely priced too low. This is a baseline set of measures, and I think the intention is to track these and see if they’re improving their services.”

MOVING FORWARD

IVGID staff plans to assess the survey results and look for opportunities to improve, officials said.

“We used F’inn because they are a local, independent, neutral third-party consulting firm who has experience with conducting surveys in communities similar to ours,” IVGID Communication Coordinator Misty Moga said in an interview for this story.

Bohnet added that using a consultant outside of the IV/CB area can be beneficial when seeking a clean perception to survey data.

“When you’re too close to it, you may have a distorted view,” he said.

F’inn has managed surveys and marketing services for Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, and organizations including Mazda, Skype, Stanford University, American Heart Association, and more.

“They were very professional and we would use them again,” says Moga. “As far as the findings, we have posted the results online to share with the community, as well as use the survey findings as a baseline for our annual Community Survey.

“We are pleased with the positive 84 percent score we received. But nevertheless, we will review, listen and work to improve our services to reach those who reported in the 16 percent detractor.

Kayla Anderson is an Incline Village-based freelance writer. Email her at kaylaanderson1080@gmail.com. Bonanza Editor Kevin MacMillan contributed to this report.


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