WHY do we buy from the same suppliers again and again? Why do we return to the same shops, restaurants, pubs and hotels? Why do we become loyal customers? We do it for one reason and one reason only: we like those places in which we are treated as though we're VIPs.

VIP doesn't just stand for Very Important Person. Those three letters add up to excellent customer service in other ways too. V is for valued customer. We feel valued if someone is willing to go out of their way to help us, or if someone recognises us or remembers our name, Most of us (although few would readily admit it) have very large egos. These egos need to be massaged regularly. When this happens, we feel good. When we feel good, we want to experience it again - so we return to the same place.

Our egos can easily be damaged. We will always avoid returning to companies where this happens. For instance: over a period of lime, I stayed in a hotel in the southern part of the country. Each time I returned, the hotel receptionist asked me to complete my registration card, handed me my key and then asked me politely and in a very welcoming manner, "is this your first time to stay here?" What a put down! It's forgiveable once, but this happened every few weeks for three months. What did I do? I simply voted with my feet.

There was another hotel close by whose staff recognised me each time I arrived, who remembered my name and my needs and treated me as though they really valued me and my business. Why should I go back to the first hotel? They gave me no reason, they didn't value me as a customer.

I is for information. We like to know what's going to happen next. When we don't, we feel frustrated and uncertain.

Customers feel frustrated and impatient when they don't know what's happening with an enquiry or delivery, or when suppliers make too many assumptions about knowledge of systems and ways' of working. If we feel like this, we're likely to seek out a supplier who can keep us better informed.

P is far Positive attitude. As customers, we often don't mind when a company can't give us what we ask for. We do mind how they tell us.

Some service givers are extremely positive and offers alternatives in a friendly and helpful way. Others give us the bald "no".

Imagine yourself in a shop, trying to buy a sweater. After searching through the sweaters on the counter you realise that there are none in your side. You ask the sales assistant for help. When you finally get her attention, she looks up and says "if they're not out there, we don't have them" and looks away again. This is a negative attitude and doesn't endear you to that person or that shop. A positive person would have explained the situation nicely and offered you an alternative.

Customers can recognise a person with a positive attitude a mile away. They want to help. They like people. They are invaluable to your business.

We are all human. We have human wants and needs. We all love being treated as though we're VIPs. Businesses which recognise this and, even better, know how to act accordingly will win our custom.