Happenings Around the House: Visitor Feedback Survey Results

        If you have visited the President Woodrow Wilson House in the past month, you probably noticed the surveys placed at the front entrance. For a total of thirty days, the President Woodrow Wilson House guides administered a comprehensive visitor feedback survey. All visitors to the House between October 7, 2014 and November 9, 2014 were asked to complete the survey. We are happy to report that we received a total of 124 completed surveys, which well exceeded our initial goal of 100 responses.

         Before administering the survey, the staff spent a long period of time analyzing the design, delivery, and objective of the survey. After several revision periods, the staff settled on a survey that was three pages long and consisted of fourteen questions. The survey was administered after guests had completed the tour and consisted of all, but one, multiple choice questions. When developing this design, the President Woodrow Wilson House consulted the previous surveys that had been conducted (the most recent being from 2008). Administering visitor surveys is a common museum practice and allows museums to receive feedback directly from their patrons. 

        This survey was designed to help the President Woodrow Wilson House answer three main questions: who is our “typical” visitor, are we achieving the goals set forth by our mission statement, and what impression of Woodrow Wilson are guests leaving with. By answering these questions, the staff will be able to better cater the tour to visitors’ needs. The results were extremely interesting and will be put to work to improve the experience of all returning and future visitors to the home. 

Here are some of the results:

A majority of the visitors during this time period were from California!

Most people thought the library was the most interesting room in the house!

  

Most people visited the Woodrow Wilson House because they were interested in learning 

more about American history. 

Thank you to all of our visitors that took the time to fill out the survey. We greatly appreciate your feedback and are working to implement your suggestions. The President Woodrow Wilson House also hopes to continue administering surveys of this type for years to come!

-Madison Keller, Fall 2014 Intern