The history of Focus Feedback

‘If you go out of your way to make guests happy, they come back.’ Dave and Mary Wurms learned that lesson early on in the international hotel industry. It still holds true for every organisation.

It started with handwriting

After various roles around the world, Dave and Mary ended up in the hotel industry in Luxembourg, where Dave kept track of the guest reviews. A striking number of glowing review cards turned out to be written in the same handwriting. And the team? They only heard something when a guest was unhappy. Dave and Mary felt this could be done more honestly. Their mission was born: making organisations better with honest input from their customers.

From complaints to feedback

In 2003, together with their colleague Jos, they founded Welcome Customer Care Solutions, a complaint management system. At an industry seminar in 2009, a guest speaker talked about the Net Promoter Score (NPS). And that changed everything. Instead of waiting for complaints, you continuously measure how enthusiastic your customers are. That way you hear straight away what is going well and what could be better. It gives a whole team energy. They changed course. In 2019, that way of working got its own name: Focus Feedback.

A new chapter with Miles Research

Since 1 September 2026, Focus Feedback has been part of Miles Research, a Dutch research agency with twenty years of experience in strategic research. Dave and Mary are passing the baton.

Together we make each other stronger, and we refer customers to one another. Continuous feedback shows what is going on. Strategic research shows what to do about it. Spotted a trend in your feedback that you want to understand better, or facing a big decision? Then Miles Research is only a small step away.