It’s a common thing these days: businesses ask their customers or employees to participate in a survey, to which many respond with a groan. The word "survey" has become associated with a nuisance, rather than the positive message of interest as it was intended.

A few years ago, when analyzing customer satisfaction survey results, top box meant that when you asked your customer a question and they responded with a rating, they gave you the highest possible rating. For example, if you used a scale of 1 to 5 in your customer satisfaction survey, it meant that to be top box you had to receive a rating of ‘5’.