This paper recalls the debate on innovation in services and examines the structure of the (pilot) questionnaires circulated in Italy within the second round of the 'Community Innovation Survey', specifically concerned with innovation in the service sector. The quality of the Italian survey is also assessed through the analysis of the response rates to the different questions asked. Such an analysis gives rise to two main results: on the one hand one can understand some of the difficulties encountered by the respondent firms, while on the other hand some hints on possible questionnaire improvements can be obtained. The conclusions also stress more general lessons that can be drawn from these early experiences.