In the recent Institute of Service Excellence at SMU (ISES) quarterly Customer Satisfaction Index of Singapore survey, it was discovered that service quality met or surpassed the expectations of local customers of retail and infocommunications companies, although the quality of products did not. ISES Director Caroline Lim is of the opinion that product quality falling short of customers' expectations – when service quality did not – serves as a "useful reminder" to businesses to look beyond customer service and frontline employees when thinking about the customer.  However, SMU Assistant Professor of Marketing and ISES Academic Director Marcus Lee said that the latest findings do not necessarily suggest that Singapore's companies are neglecting product quality. "We believe companies consider both product and service quality when designing their customer experiences," he said.