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Businesses can meet demanding customer expectations without overpromising by finding out what customers actually value, committing only to what they can control, explaining conditions and timelines, and keeping customers informed when circumstances change. When something goes wrong, acknowledge it, resolve it fairly, follow up, and fix the underlying process—not just the individual case.
Are customer expectations really rising?
Customer expectations can rise in particular settings, but the evidence cited here does not establish a uniform long-term increase across industries. Ipsos’s 2017 report noted that reliable quantitative evidence about long-term change was remarkably limited. Its survey interviewed 3,001 UK adults online from 22–30 August 2016 and was weighted to the UK adult population by age, gender, and region. That is a useful caution against treating “customers expect more” as a universal, timeless fact.
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More recent surveys do show demanding expectations, but they measure different people, places, and questions. Salesforce Research’s sixth State of the Connected Customer edition surveyed 14,300 consumers and business buyers globally: 79% expected consistent interactions across departments, while 55% generally felt they were communicating with separate departments rather than one company. In the same survey, 71% said they were more likely to trust a company with personal data if its use was clearly explained.
Other 2026 findings offer context, not directly comparable benchmarks. Genesys’s State of Customer Experience report page, based on 5,811 consumers and 1,560 CX and business leaders worldwide, says 92% want organizations to match the best experience they have had, 94% value efficient service as much as empathy, and 85% spent less or stopped purchasing after a poor experience. Verint’s 2026 survey of 5,000 US consumers, conducted online from January 5 to February 13, found that 42% reported increased service expectations; 78% prioritized fastest resolution over their preferred channel; and 69% said they would switch to automated service if it fully resolved their issue. Deloitte Digital’s 2026 B2C research, fielded in February and March among 1,000 consumers and 550 company leaders, reported that 57% of surveyed consumers had spent less over the preceding 12 months, alongside concerns that brands were falling short on basic commerce experiences.
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These figures are not interchangeable: they come from different dates, geographies, samples, and question wording. Verint’s results in particular come from a vendor-commissioned online panel and describe US consumers. Use findings like these to identify questions worth investigating in your own customer base, not to promise a particular outcome or claim that every customer behaves the same way.
Find the expectation that matters to your customers
Before announcing a fix, determine what customers are asking for and where the experience breaks down. A business may assume customers want faster replies when the real frustration is having to repeat information, not knowing who owns the issue, or receiving an answer that does not solve it.
- Review feedback and complaints by journey stage, channel, and type of issue.
- Look for repeat contacts, unresolved cases, failed handoffs, and promises missed—not just overall satisfaction scores.
- Observe the journey from the customer’s perspective, including what happens when an issue crosses teams or channels.
- Check whether a pattern affects a specific group, place, or time period before describing it as a general expectation.
This makes the response more precise: you can address an evidenced customer need rather than inflate a broad claim about what “everyone expects.”
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A trustworthy commitment says what the business will do, what it depends on, and when the customer will hear from you again. Avoid unsupported absolutes such as “instant,” “always,” and “guaranteed.” If a step depends on a delivery partner, a customer action, or an investigation, say so in plain language rather than implying the business controls the entire outcome.
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A useful commitment separates the outcome from the next update. For example: “We’ll check the order status with the carrier and update you by 3 p.m. tomorrow. Delivery timing depends on the carrier’s confirmation.” This does not promise a delivery date the business cannot verify, but it does promise a concrete next action and a time for communication.
- State the action you own, not an outcome outside your control.
- Name relevant conditions, dependencies, and deadlines.
- Give a realistic time for the next update, even when the final answer is not yet known.
- Tell customers promptly if new information changes the plan, and replace a missed commitment with a clear next step.
Make the experience consistent across teams and channels
Salesforce’s survey points to a gap between customers’ desire for consistency and their perception of fragmented departments. A promise made by one team is not reliable if another team cannot see it, contradicts it, or makes the customer start over.
Set clear ownership for each issue and make relevant case context available during handoffs. Teams should know what has already been promised, what remains unresolved, and who is responsible for the next customer update. Keep the wording and conditions of commitments aligned across channels so a customer does not receive a different answer by phone, email, chat, or an automated system.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFor businesses using AI or other automated service, explain what customer data is used for and where human review or support is available. Salesforce’s finding about clear explanations relates specifically to trust in personal-data use; it should not be stretched into a claim about every kind of business communication. Automation is useful when it completes the task, not merely when it handles the first contact. Verint’s 2026 US survey found that 69% said they would switch to automated service if it fully resolved their issue. Verint CMO Anna Convery summarized the company’s view in a May 2026 release: “Customers don’t avoid AI; they avoid AI that doesn’t work.” That is her attributed statement, not an independent research conclusion.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Measure whether the customer’s problem was resolved
Fast responses and automation can improve service, but neither proves that the customer got an answer or outcome. Track measures that expose whether commitments hold up across the journey:
- Resolution at first contact and eventual resolution, defined consistently for the type of service.
- Repeat contacts about the same problem and unresolved cases.
- Missed update times and other commitments.
- Handoff failures, repeated explanations, and inconsistent answers across channels.
- Response time and automation use, considered alongside resolution and customer effort.
Use the pattern of results to decide whether a commitment is feasible, whether staff need clearer ownership, or whether the process itself needs repair. The surveys cited here do not establish one ideal trade-off between speed, consistency, human support, privacy, and operational cost for every business.
Recover well when a promise is missed
A missed expectation is a moment to restore trust through action, not to make a larger promise. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) offers a six-step service-recovery approach for healthcare settings: acknowledge or apologize; listen, empathize, and ask open questions; fix the problem quickly and fairly; offer atonement; follow up; and remember promises. Its guidance is healthcare-focused, so adapt any remedy to the sector, the circumstances, and applicable obligations.
- Acknowledge the failure. Be clear about what did not happen and avoid shifting blame to the customer.
- Listen before prescribing a fix. Ask open questions to understand the impact and what remains unresolved.
- Offer a fair, practical remedy. Explain what can be done, who will do it, and when the customer will hear from you.
- Make amends where warranted. Match the remedy to the harm and your policies rather than offering a token gesture automatically.
- Follow up. Confirm whether the solution worked and complete any remaining promised action.
- Address the cause. Use complaint patterns to identify process failures and prevent recurrence.
AHRQ quotes service author Leonard L. Berry: “When it comes to service recovery, there are three rules to keep in mind: Do it right the first time. Fix it properly if it ever fails. Remember: There are no third chances.” The practical point is not that no customer will ever forgive a second failure; it is that recovery cannot substitute for learning and making the service dependable.
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