A survey on user reception of simultaneous interpreting (SI) was carried out in Italy from October 1993 to May 1994, based on a method already applied in a previous study in Finland. A sample of five from a total of fourteen meetings is analyzed in this paper in order to define a profile of specific SI users, their communication needs, their judgment on, expectations about and attitude towards SI. Their opinions on ‘correct terminology’ – a quality criterion common to many SI user surveys – are compared with those of other studies. Methodological and practical problems in realizing and elaborating surveys, as well as the future use of studies such as this, are also discussed.