Rhetoric vs reality in service

02.01.08

Here's a puzzle. Most banks' annual reports quote high levels of customer satisfaction. At the same time, customers relate horror stories about that same service on a regular basis. Newspapers generally seem to be on the side of the customers. A leader in the Sunday Times in late 2007, titled Oh for a nice bank you could trust, criticised banks for failing to pass on cuts in loan rates.  The author commented " .. if we (customers) got the idea that you banks were even vaguely on our side, we might give you more of our business."

So where is the truth in all this? Are the horror stories just the grumbles of a vociferous minority? Are financial journalists interested only in critical stories because they make better copy?

Joe Liddane, Setanta's CEO, is one of a long list of impressive speakers from across Europe at EFMA's conference on Customer Service in Lisbon on 28-29 February 2008. According to EFMA, for many banks in Europe the key to developing competitive advantage is to have superior customer experience. This is the reason why many banks are appointing heads of customer experience.

 For more insights into the rhetoric vs reality gap visit http://www.efma.com/events_detailevent.php4?ref=1-DBX1R&rub=efma_events.gif