The furniture segment's score on the annual Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore (CSISG) surged 7.2 points to a record high of 74.9, beating the wider retail sector's score of 72.2. Analysis conducted by the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES), which compiles the annual index for eight sectors - two in a quarter - showed that all drivers of customer satisfaction improved strongly. "We do note that perceptions of service quality improved by a larger margin than product quality," said ISES Academic Director Assistant Professor Marcus Lee. Concurring with Assistant Prof Lee’s views, ISES Director Caroline Lim also believes that furniture retailers' service quality is now catching up with product quality, thanks to earlier investments to boost service levels.