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IS YOUR BANK PROVIDING
                                    EXCELLENT SERVICE?

                                             IF YOU SAY IT’S SO…















                                     uring 40-plus years   a checking account. I said I was
                                     in banking, my expe-  moving to town and I also casu-
                                     rience has been that   ally mentioned a $200,000 CD
                                     touting a company’s   coming due at another bank in a
                                    “excellent customer ser-  month. What do you think hap-
                                  vice” is most often mere-  pened?
                            ly a buzz phrase used by market-  The results were not what
                           ing departments without much   they wanted or expected. Al-
                           evidence to back up such a claim.  though their employees were very
                              This was brought to mind re-  friendly, only a few asked for my
                           cently when my company went    name. There was no attempt to
                           through a grueling and tedious   gather information so that they
                           five-year process to achieve the   could follow up with me or ask
                           Arkansas Governor’s Quality    me for my business. This is not
                           Award, modeled after the Mal-  unusual. What normally hap-
                           colm Baldridge Awards for Qual-  pens is that employees will tell
                           ity. In that process, I learned   me what they offer—without real-
                           one very important thing: If you   ly understanding my needs—and
                           stake a claim to something and   when I say I want to think about
                           say that it is true, prove it. So if   it, they smile and say, “Thank
                           your bank touts the best custom-  you, here’s my card, call me if I
                           er service, the friendliest tellers   can help you.” Given that this ap-
                           in town, the most responsive loan   pears to be the norm, how many
                           officers, the best online banking,   millions of dollars have walked
                           etc., can you prove it?        into your lobby and back out the
                              In most cases, as bankers we   door? These are lost opportuni-
                           don’t really know—we just think   ties for the bank because man-
                           we know. If you don’t have pro-  agement doesn’t know what’s re-
                           cesses in place to measure what   ally happening. This isn’t the
                           you’re doing, it’s impossible to   case at your bank, you say? I say
                           know. Case in point: In a recent   prove it! You might be unpleasant-
                           shoppers experience conduct-   ly surprised.
                           ed for a client, I went into each of   So what are the steps for prov‑
                           their branches with the scenar-  ing your bank provides excellent
                           io of being interested in opening   service?



                 28 | THE TEXAS INDEPENDENT BANKER
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