Having launched my first blog poll in late February (See my post of Feb. 26, 2009: Vizu poll on overall percentage reduction in bills reviewed in past six months.), having summarized the results a week later (See my post of March 6, 2009: “nearly a dozen responses”), and having left the poll open, I can now update the findings.
Six weeks ago, the dozen respondents produced these results: 0-2 percent reduction (41%); 6-8 percent (8%); 9-11 percent (16%); and 12+ percent (33%). As of April 22, 2009, 38 people had completed the poll. The new results show 0-2 percent reduction (36.8%); 3-5 percent (26.3%); 6-8 percent (2.6%); 9-11 percent (23.76%); and 12+ percent (10.5%). Hence, two-thirds of the respondents knocked off five percent or less of the total billed amount, which includes disbursement write-downs. At the other end, the other third reduced bills by nine percent or more.
The other lessons learned are that (1) readers will respond to polls and (2) I need to give them more time to do so.