Key to happier customers: get them to expect more of you

THE most demanding customers need not be the hardest to please - they could in fact be the best allies of a business, according to a study by the Institute of Service Excellence at Singapore Management University (ISES).

ISES's analysis of data collected in its latest poll of retail and infocommunications customers found that those who were most contented with what a company offered them also tended to be those with the highest expectations of the company.

What's more, they reported being more satisfied than those who started out expecting less from a given retailer or telco - even when their elevated expectations were not met. The flipside held true too: dissatisfied customers tended to hold relatively lower expectations of the company to begin with.