User Experience?

I've been tasked with developing a proposal for a 'User Experience' department/initiative within my company. Our trusted friend, Wikipedia, defines 'User Experience' as such: a term used to describe the overall experience and satisfaction a user has when using a product or system.

My first thought was, we don't do this already?? I mean I work out at client sites and I listen to the users in terms of their questions/frustrations, and then report back any enhancements related to such comments. As I quickly researched the topic, I found not only the definition of user experience but also the 'User Experience Network' , strategy surrounding user experience, and even tips on how to quantify such experience.

My strategy without even continuing with the research was basically just to interact with as many users as possible, documenting their own processes in relation to the software tool. Also documenting where inside the tool they are entering data and how they are looking to review the outputs of such data. After gathering this data in some sort of fancy consolidated spreadsheet, I plan on scoring each area relative to others, categorizing the feedback and usage per each user, and then reporting the data back to my bosses for analysis purposes. Problem is I am working with a client of over 250 users, in at least 4 different locations around VA/DC, and I need this data by the end of next week. Either I get a really fast car, or I set a goal for hitting only half the users. Any suggestions from the crowd as to how to handle this investigation a bit more efficiently and effectively?