VA’s National Cemetery Administration Continues High Customer Satisfaction Scores

In recent years, no organization in the country has been able to top the National Cemetery Administration in delivering customer satisfaction, and new internal survey data concludes the small agency within the Veterans Affairs Department continues to deliver superior results.

On Oct. 4, results from the National Cemetery Administration’s Survey of Satisfaction with National Cemeteries indicated more than 98 percent of its customers agreed or strongly agreed they were satisfied with their experiences.

The numbers are similar to the agency’s performance in 2016, when it topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index, achieving the highest score ever in the third-party organization’s customer satisfaction rankings.

“National Cemetery Administration staff continue to provide world-class burial and memorial services at VA cemeteries, delivering, earning and sustaining the trust of Veterans and families,” VA Secretary Robert Wilkie said in a statement. “The employees’ commitment to excellence in customer service results in an experience that is consistently positive for Veterans and their families in terms of ease, effectiveness and emotional resonance.”

The survey was mailed to more than 52,000 next of kin who interred a loved one in 2017 in one of the more than 120 cemeteries the National Cemetery Administration maintains. In addition, more than 12,000 funeral directors who worked with the national cemeteries over that time also received the survey.  

Among the other notable results:

• 98.7 percent of respondents said they could recommend VA national cemeteries to veteran families in their time of need.
• 99 percent of respondents said the appearance of their VA national cemetery was “excellent.”
• 96.9 percent of all respondents agreed or strongly agreed the quality of service they received from cemetery staff was “excellent.”
• 98.4 percent of respondents agreed or strongly agreed they are willing to rely on VA and the National Cemetery Administration to maintain national cemeteries as national shrines in the future.
• 96.8 percent of respondents reported they were very or somewhat satisfied with the information they were provided throughout their experiences with their national cemeteries. The same percentage agreed or strongly agreed the appearance of their loved one’s grave site was excellent.