Banking, whilst trying to masquerade as people centric, fails and fails and fails. Less hype more help (listening, caring, blah blah blah, they should spend more time and money delivering real service and less on marketing slogans)
We can live without the gag inducing smarmy adverts. Overseas call centres aside (it's so entertaining trying to understand their highly cost effective yet often unintelligible telephone operatives, it's a bit like an interactive audio word puzzle) even the UK call centre operatives are shackled by the inflexible choices they are able to offer to customers. Some companies declare “We have UK call centres!” they're just as bad but at least you can understand the equally unhelpful information they read off the screens in front of them.
If you use intelligent minds to play at being call centre drones, pressing the keys on a computer and offering the dumb advice an IT project has produced, you're wasting money, people and time.
My most recent disappointment is with THE ROYAL BANK OF SCOTLAND. (70% state owned a sure reflection of gross mismanagement beyond their competitors during the recent world financial recession).
I took out home insurance with my high street bank because I thought I could trust them and would be rewarded by my loyalty. I purchased and online policy that provided a very high level of cover. This “Elite” cover was far too much for my needs after moving to a new property and I decided to call RBS and downgrade to a more suitable policy.
To perform this, I took out my schedule documents, and called the number indicated. To cut a long story short I was passed from pillar to post (5 or 6 separate conversations) only to find out because I had made claims on my policy (one of the incidents a fire in which I was injured whilst reducing the overall damage) then the reduced policy would in fact cost me more. £5 more a month for half the cover and a hefty increase in excess.
I despaired at the telephone operative and informed them that a company in their group (Churchill) could provide the cover I wanted for half the monthly cost. The disparity is ridiculous. It highlights one of biggest failings of the organisation (customer retention) and sadly displays to me the “bigger picture” the bank can't or won't see.
This one example highlights a worrying trend that impacts us all. If the banks are getting it so wrong, and they are central to our (personal and national) financial well being, then they are costing us more in our everyday lives than they should. What's more worrying is that we accept it and bear the burden of their fat cat failures.
It is my intention to create a revolution of sorts. I implore all of you out there to support a very simple initiative. Adopt a “complaint culture”. These organisations are all playing a “numbers game”. In many respects they recognise that problems exist but have “accounted” that the cost to fix them is greater than the cost of managing the small proportion of people who bother to speak up. Apathy is their friend and they, not us, profit from it.
Make them earn money the right way not the easy way, the customer is always right!
Make a call today! If its your bank ask them if the account you hold is the best one for you. Suggest you have seen the advertisements of television offering a £100 golden hello and a easy switch serviced to join their bank, ask them what they will offer you to not switch. If you don't get a good enough response ask to speak to a supervisor or manager. If its your insurance provider, ask about loyalty deals and no claims bonus. With a high enough influx of calls the industry will have to change for the better.
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