Like in credit card business, in many competitive service businesses, service business seek to stay ahead in attracting customer by raising the level of service above that of competing businesses.  However, because of a highly competitive and rapidly changing business customer service expectations can raise quickly, businesses need to monitor customers' services expectation in order to maintain customers' satisfactory services expectations.  In recession, the more satisfactory services expectations are needed in order to maintain expectation of customer. In this context, a business goal is to meet customers' expectation better than its competitors.

 In addition to availability of service options from other businesses, the satisfactory service level reflects the minimum performance level expected by customers after they consider a variety of both personal and external factors.  The five factors that influence satisfactory business include predicted service, situational factors, customer self-perceive service role, temporary service and perceived service alternatives.

Predicted service, this is the level of service customers believe in their expectation and can be viewed as predictions made by customers about what they expect in service.  For example, full-time residents in a university town frequently predict faster restaurant service when students are in holidays thus when they are not on campus.

Situational factors viewed as service performance conditions that customers assess as beyond the control of the business service.  Customers view the situational factors as not the fault of the service business and may accept lower levels of service because they understood the origin of the problem.

Customer self-perceive service role is viewed as how customers expect the service.   A customer who wants his steak to be no overcooked he will probably be dissatisfied if the steak comes to the table overcooked.

Temporary service involves personal in short-term services that make customers more of the need for service in time of emergency.

Perceived services alternatives are other service businesses that provide the services customers want.  Their level of service are satisfactory than those of customers believe that are not satisfactory.

Businesses whose service performance falls short of the satisfactory level are definitely at a competitive disadvantage.  In this regard, customers are ready to take their business elsewhere or their purchasing power when they identify an alternative.

Businesses performing in the areas of competitive advantage must stay alert to the need for service increases to meet competition. Business need perform above the satisfactory service level in order to stay in service business competitive areas.