No — it's a false good idea that almost always backfires. Promising a short (or over-optimistic) deadline to please in the moment brings temporary relief, but if you miss it, you create far greater disappointment and break reliability — the foundation of trust. A customer promised "tomorrow" and delivered "in three days" is far more unhappy than one honestly told "three to four days" and delivered on time. The golden rule is the "under-promise and over-deliver" principle: better to announce a realistic, even cautious deadline (with a small margin) and meet it (or do better — which creates a pleasant surprise) than to promise the impossible and disappoint. A deadline kept, even a slightly longer one, builds trust; a short deadline missed destroys it. Customers hugely value reliability: knowing they can count on what you say. A company that systematically keeps its commitments, even modest ones, inspires more trust than one that promises the moon then disappoints. So resist the temptation to "please" with an unkeepable deadline: be honest about what you can really keep, and keep it. When unsure about a deadline, better to announce a cautious range and, if you do better, delight the customer. Trust is built on kept promises, not on seductive but hollow promises. It's a simple but fundamental customer-relations rule.

Because silence is one of the worst enemies of customer relations, especially when something drags on or runs late. A customer left without news while waiting for an answer or a resolution doesn't stay neutral: they worry, imagine the worst ("I've been forgotten", "my case is stuck", "they're not handling it"), get annoyed, and end up chasing — sometimes repeatedly, with growing frustration. Proactive information means taking the lead: spontaneously keeping customers informed of progress, before they have to worry and chase ("your request is well received, I'm handling your case and will get back to you by Friday"). It radically changes the experience: an informed customer, even of a delay or a slipping deadline, stays calm and confident, because they know they're being looked after and haven't been forgotten — uncertainty, more than the wait itself, is what distresses and irritates. In practice: acknowledge a request, flag that you're handling it, warn before a deadline is missed (rather than letting customers discover it), keep them posted at key stages. It takes a little organisation (logging commitments, remembering to call back) but it pays off enormously in satisfaction: a customer kept in the loop feels considered and reassured, and forgives hiccups far more easily. Conversely, leaving customers in silence lets them imagine the worst and turns an ordinary wait into a major irritant. Proactive information is one of the most appreciated marks of attentive customer service: it turns endured waiting into mastered waiting. Taking the lead to inform shows you're in control and care about the customer.