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Can you think of a service in India that can be similarly revitalized to provide outstanding service
quality? Explain how this can be done after describing the service you have in mind.
Good customer service is the heart of banking service delivery. Banking is predominately a customer
oriented business and good customer service is the key to banks growth and stability.
The importance of extending speedy, efficient, fair and courteous customer service in banking
industry is being regularly emphasised by the Government of India (GOI) and Reserve Bank of India
(RBI). They have set up various high level Working Groups and Committees which led to
considerable improvement in customer service in banks.
Any business that interacts with non-employees needs good customer service. Whether it is a small
restaurant in the middle of the desert or a massive corporation that employs thousands, the way
customers are treated will keep them coming back for more, or running away as fast as they can.
Poor customer service usually stems from misunderstandings between the customer and the
employee and it can cripple even the best business.
Let us take the example of the way a bank that I work functions. I used to handle dispute
resolution for the credit card systems. Once the customer files a dispute, we review the entire
dispute documentation that has been filed by the customer. In case there is any missing
documentation which could lead to the resolution of the dispute, the staff can contact the customer
and seek for further documentation. This is how the system should work.
However there are some employees who lack the sincerity and commitment towards their work
which prompts them to handle the process inefficiently and also display a fair amount of negligence.
They simply lack the empathy for the customer's problems.
Sometimes we are confronted with disputes where the customer could dispute as many as 100
transactions. This means he is literally disputing the entire statement that has cycled. This entails a
lot of work from the bank's perspective.
Few employees, who receive such disputes, do not take any action due to the complexity that is
involved and they just leave some unrelated comments on the system blaming the non-performance
of the system and the kind. They just pend the dispute without providing any resolution to the
customer.
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The customer in the meanwhile keeps sending several communications to the bank enquiring about
the status of the dispute resolution process. The employees lack empathy towards the customer.
Customer in the bargain gets frustrated and agitated. The customer can even go to the extent of
publishing his/her bad experience with the media which has happened many times. This will lead to
loss of reputation to the bank.
Even the simplest thing like updating the customer information in the system pertaining to the
account opening process has many flaws. The customer always gets the run-around from one desk
to the other.
If a company provides poor customer service, it will have many disgruntled customers. Many
companies have gone out of business because of poor customer service. More than ever, customers
want to be treated with respect.
The following could be some effects that result due to poor customer service:
Lost Market Share
When you provide poor customer service, you will lose market share. Your competitors will begin to
take over your customers. A disgruntled customer will quickly spread the word about the poor
service he received from your company.
Decreased Profits
Bad customer service can lead to decreased company profits. When profits tumble, stock value can
decrease as well. This will adversely affect shareholders.
Low Morale
Your customer service department will become inefficient and ineffective. They will spend the
majority of their time on the phone arguing with customers. This can lead to low morale and high
turnover. No one wants to work for a company that is not top-notch.
Change in Management
Poor customer service can lead to a change in management. Sometimes a new leader can exercise a
certain amount of discipline, which will turn things around.
Increased Training Expenses
If a company provides poor customer service, it will incur expenses to train employees on new
techniques and procedures for customer service. The company will also have to train new
employees as a result of the turnover. Expenses will increase, and sales will decrease.
According to a survey conducted, the following factors could be attributed to poor customer service:
Stress
Stress is a factor in everyone's daily adult life. The smallest issue can set off an explosion of anger
and tears from stress building up during a particularly bad day. Poor customer service can be caused
by stress from both the customer and the employee's end. The customer may shout or get angry
with the customer service representative due to the issue at hand, usually things the customer
service employee has nothing to do with and is not at fault for. The customer may be frustrated
directly with the company or another employee. The employee may be stressed due to personal
problems or work-related problems and snap or become sarcastic with a customer with a difficult
problem due to stress.
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Lack of Motivation
Lack of motivation within the company, or the employee simply not caring about the job of helping
the customer may become a fault with the customer service department. In some cases customer
service representatives may have their hands tied by company policy and may not be able to grant a
customer's request. Many customer service representatives know their company's policy inside- out,
but some do not care what the policy says and will deny a customer's requests just because they can
or because it would be easier to hand off a customer to a supervisor or manager rather than deal
with it themselves. They may think dealing with the customer is not worth their pay check or their
time.
Time Constraint
Poor customer service may be a secondary issue to something like time constraints. In many
customer service phone lines, employees must finish a call within a certain amount of time. Finishing
early may put an employee on the fast track to bonuses, raises or other rewards within the
company, whereas finishing late may earn him a trip to the manager's office or the unemployment
line. As the time limit draws closer, some customer service representatives get nervous and may
start to try to push a customer off the phone as quickly as possible. Whether it is the customer's
fault, the employee's fault or a third party's fault (a computer running slow, for instance) this should
never be done because it reflects very poorly on the customer service area.
Suggestions to revitalize the service:
Bank customer service is normally very efficient, however when you notice that your bank has
become the butt of jokes and other snide remarks, it is time to revamp and pull in your customer
service reps for the much needed training.
Notify present and new customers of your continued commitment to helping with any
service concerns by posting signs in bank windows, drive-through areas and in on-hold
phone messages. The signs can be as simple as a short slogan thanking the customer for
their business and a telephone number for customer service assistance. When customers
feel that your bank tellers and other service personnel are accessible, the customers will be
more amenable to coming to you with their service concerns instead of switching banks.
Happy customers are usually loyal customers.
Make an effort to engage the customers in some form of chit-chat at each meeting. If a
customer walks up to a teller to make a deposit, thank the customer for choosing the bank
again (they could have very well placed that money under their bed cushion instead of
depositing it into the bank). Make a point of asking an open-ended question to the
customer to elicit any information about their daily life. If the customer mentions they are
having a bout with the flu, you will have a loyal customer the next time they visit if you have
a pack of cough lozenges ready for them along with their regular transaction receipt. The
next time that cold rears its head and they happen upon your care pack while searching for
cold medicine, the bank will be remembered and appreciated.
Notify all customers immediately anytime a serious mishap appears with the normal
business activities by text message or any other instant tool. Should a glitch happen that
could cause customer accounts to be affected right at the weekend, the customer will be
glad they were notified and able to make arrangements to secure their money.
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Have a quality monitoring system in place. Do timely checks on the levels of service that the
staffs are offering to the customers. This way the staff will be wary of any kind of negligence
that they might want to show towards the work they do and will be cautious at all times.
Make the staff accountable for poor quality of customer service and link this to the appraisal
process. Make the staff accountable for any kind of customer complaints received for the
bank. This will ensure that they are more accountable for the work they do and the kind of
service they deliver.
Educate the staff about the best practices followed in different banks and have a daily
devotional every day to discuss such points. Make it a point to keep the staff motivated at
all times. This reflects directly on their customer service and can create a positive impact.
Explicit Services:
Increase the daily limit of ATM transactions for a customer.
Try not to charge the customer for cash transactions or transfers.
Do not charge the customer for over the counter credit card payments
Not charging the customers for branch visits.
Implicit services:
Hire a courteous and friendly relationship manager who will make the entire process of
banking a joyful and memorable experience.
Serve refreshments to the customers who are waiting their turn for making their
transactions
Have a magazine stand so that customers could read magazine/newspapers while awaiting
their turn
Have a slideshow running which gives some good banking tips and investment options to the
customer.
Do you think a concept of superior service will work in India? What will accelerate it and what will
work against it?
Yes, the concept of superior service will work in India. Major portion of India's GDP is through the
Services Sector.
The following factors could accelerate the superior service:
Speed of Service – ensuring that when a customer contacts the organization, the inquiry or
problem is handled timely, efficient and during the first contact.
Personalized service based on the customer profile and customer segmentation rules.
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We need to bring about a paradigm shift in the way we provide our services. We need be
more customer-centric and proactive in addressing the customer issues. Always put the
customer first among all your priorities.
Have flexible business processes that respond to customer demands and the range of
requests.
Examples include:
Service based on customer segmentation.
Providing the perception of dedicated support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week of customer
service availability.
The customer contact personnel are the most critical factors affecting success. An efficient structure
supports associates in meeting customer needs – with the necessary investment in the environment,
skills and knowledge of associates.
The following factors could decelerate the superior service:
Lack of well-trained staff: When an organization does not spend the time to fully train their
people the consequence is poor service.
High internal costs could also deter us from providing good quality customer service.
Lack of sufficient infrastructure to carry on the day to day activities in our offices could also
be an impediment for good customer service.
