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How Banks are Failing in Customer Service
- By Bukola Idowu
- Published May 3rd, 2010
- MoneyWorld
- Unrated
A creative television advert shot by the then Universal Trust Bank (UTB) in the 1980s featured a well known comedian who came early to the banking hall with a mat wrapped under his arms. His intention was to beat the queue. It was at the time when banking transactions were being done manually and it took almost a whole day to conduct a transaction. In the advert, the comedian rushed to the bank clutching a sleeping mat and asked to be given a tally number. Of course, he was made to understand that transactions move fast at the legacy UTB and never needed a tally number or sleeping mat to conduct.
Anybody that ever did banking transactions prior to the introduction of the real time online banking system will readily recite agony tales of long waits in the banking halls. At times, customers get prompt attention only when they know somebody in the bank. It was the days when armchair banking reigned supreme. No bank battled for deposits while over head costs were at the minimum.
A major feature of banking those days was long queues of customers either making deposits or withdrawals. As transactions were done manually, a lot of man-hours were usually spent in dealing with transactions hence customers usually come to wait, pick tallies and submit the instruments for their transactions. However, the situation began to change following the introduction of information technology tools into banking. Banks began to computerise their operations and lines started disappearing from banking halls.
The introduction of information technology (IT) in banking dramatically changed the face of the financial services sector. Banks which deployed IT facilities in their operations obtained a head-start over others who still operated the old way. With IT facilities, branches became interconnected to one another making it possible for account owner to conduct transactions from any branch regardless of where the account is domiciled. The innovation brought hordes of upwardly mobile young men and women as customers to such banks. The innovation enabled account owners to operate their accounts and conduct transactions with relative ease from any branch. The days of forming endless queues gradually came to an end as more and more banks embraced IT facilities in their operations. In order not to be left behind, banks began massive investments in information technology facilities. These facilities helped almost all of them began online-realtime operations. The day of automation has arrived and customers were enjoying value added services. People started moving about with less cash as transactions could be made from any branch of the bank irrespective of where the account is domiciled. Another innovation in this era which covers the consolidation era in the banking industry was the introduction of automated teller machines (ATM). The introduction of ATM was designed to reduce the long queue in the mortar and brick branches. Following the introduction of ATMs, banks began to encourage their customers to make use of ATM points for transactions.
However, the bubble seems to have burst as long queues are back in front of bank buildings as well as banking halls. Most banking halls especially in densely populated areas are bursting at the seams with long winding queues. Investigations carried out by BusinessWorld indicated that many banks located in areas like markets usually long queues.
Why queues returned
Customers always line up in long queues at First Bank branch located on Ojo-Igbede road (Ojo Alaba Electronics Market). The queue spills beyond the perimeter metal railing that separates the bank compound and road. The banking hall is not better as it is very small.
Customers always mill around and shove each other in a bid to gain the attention of the bank staff. The long queue at the entrance is caused by what a customer termed ‘use of wrong technology’. The wrong technology here is the type of security door installed at the branch.
Customers usually queue for a long while waiting for the security door to admit them inside the banking hall. The problem posed by security doors is not peculiar to First Bank. A customer said “the security doors most of these banks use are a major source of headache. It is either they doors are of the wrong specification or they are faulty.
They can’t seem to properly identify metals that may be potentially dangerous. So, they beep for the wrong reasons thereby causing unnecessary delays and long queues.” At the First Bank branch mentioned above, the door at times reject as many as five customers at a stretch who will now come out and wait to take another turn at the door. The crowd inside the banking hall is usually caused by inadequate number of banking staff to attend to customers.
The sparse number of staff especially tellers attending to customers results in delays as they are always overwhelmed by the sheer number of customers demanding attention.
Another bank branch known for long queues is United Bank for Africa (UBA) branch located on the same Ojo Igbede road. Customers usually mill and crowd the banking hall which is not spacious. When BusinessWorld visited the branch for a transaction, only a few tellers were attending to the crowd of customers. Tempers often rise as customers jostle for attention. At times, the branch complains of network failure which contributes to the number of people waiting for attention in the banking hall. Oceanic Bank branch located on near St Patrick’s Catholic Church Ojo Alaba is another bank branch where customers mill around waiting for attention. From the customer care centre located downstairs to the first floor where the banking hall is located, crowds of customers are always seen begging for attention.
Some of them spend hours moving slowly in a line before the tellers could attend to them. A branch of the same bank located on Olojo drive is no different as customers form long queues to enter the banking hall.
When BusinessWorld visited Fidelity Bank located in the same market, a mild drama ensured as the security door refused entrance to a young man. The young man practically stripped at the entrance of one of the branch. The revolving door kept beeping even after he dropped every thing on him including handsets, wristwatch and keys. It only admitted him when he removed his belt.
The long queues and declining customer care is not limited to banks located in markets. There are usually long queues at other bank branches within Lagos metropolis. For example, there are queues at a First Bank branch located on Opebi-Allen axis.
Scores of bank customers interviewed said, apart from the delays caused by the security doors, also blame poor customer service relations and inadequate staff for the human traffic in banking halls. They said most banks, following the introduction of modern information technology platforms, now rely on it and relegate customer care services to the background. They now employ a few hands to attend to customers believing that ICT platforms would make the job easier.
Conclusion
As most of bank branches are presently understaffed, those in charge of customer service should endeavour to see that more hands are recruited to strengthen teller points in banks. Also, there are numerous cases of branches suffering from internal network outages leading to disruptions in attending to customers. Banks should ensure that they are efficient and reliable backups to take care of such situations as soon as they arise. User friendly security doors should be installed at entrances of banking halls to reduce time spent by customers in accessing banking halls.
Anybody that ever did banking transactions prior to the introduction of the real time online banking system will readily recite agony tales of long waits in the banking halls. At times, customers get prompt attention only when they know somebody in the bank. It was the days when armchair banking reigned supreme. No bank battled for deposits while over head costs were at the minimum.
A major feature of banking those days was long queues of customers either making deposits or withdrawals. As transactions were done manually, a lot of man-hours were usually spent in dealing with transactions hence customers usually come to wait, pick tallies and submit the instruments for their transactions. However, the situation began to change following the introduction of information technology tools into banking. Banks began to computerise their operations and lines started disappearing from banking halls.
The introduction of information technology (IT) in banking dramatically changed the face of the financial services sector. Banks which deployed IT facilities in their operations obtained a head-start over others who still operated the old way. With IT facilities, branches became interconnected to one another making it possible for account owner to conduct transactions from any branch regardless of where the account is domiciled. The innovation brought hordes of upwardly mobile young men and women as customers to such banks. The innovation enabled account owners to operate their accounts and conduct transactions with relative ease from any branch. The days of forming endless queues gradually came to an end as more and more banks embraced IT facilities in their operations. In order not to be left behind, banks began massive investments in information technology facilities. These facilities helped almost all of them began online-realtime operations. The day of automation has arrived and customers were enjoying value added services. People started moving about with less cash as transactions could be made from any branch of the bank irrespective of where the account is domiciled. Another innovation in this era which covers the consolidation era in the banking industry was the introduction of automated teller machines (ATM). The introduction of ATM was designed to reduce the long queue in the mortar and brick branches. Following the introduction of ATMs, banks began to encourage their customers to make use of ATM points for transactions.
However, the bubble seems to have burst as long queues are back in front of bank buildings as well as banking halls. Most banking halls especially in densely populated areas are bursting at the seams with long winding queues. Investigations carried out by BusinessWorld indicated that many banks located in areas like markets usually long queues.
Why queues returned
Customers always line up in long queues at First Bank branch located on Ojo-Igbede road (Ojo Alaba Electronics Market). The queue spills beyond the perimeter metal railing that separates the bank compound and road. The banking hall is not better as it is very small.
Customers always mill around and shove each other in a bid to gain the attention of the bank staff. The long queue at the entrance is caused by what a customer termed ‘use of wrong technology’. The wrong technology here is the type of security door installed at the branch.
Customers usually queue for a long while waiting for the security door to admit them inside the banking hall. The problem posed by security doors is not peculiar to First Bank. A customer said “the security doors most of these banks use are a major source of headache. It is either they doors are of the wrong specification or they are faulty.
They can’t seem to properly identify metals that may be potentially dangerous. So, they beep for the wrong reasons thereby causing unnecessary delays and long queues.” At the First Bank branch mentioned above, the door at times reject as many as five customers at a stretch who will now come out and wait to take another turn at the door. The crowd inside the banking hall is usually caused by inadequate number of banking staff to attend to customers.
The sparse number of staff especially tellers attending to customers results in delays as they are always overwhelmed by the sheer number of customers demanding attention.
Another bank branch known for long queues is United Bank for Africa (UBA) branch located on the same Ojo Igbede road. Customers usually mill and crowd the banking hall which is not spacious. When BusinessWorld visited the branch for a transaction, only a few tellers were attending to the crowd of customers. Tempers often rise as customers jostle for attention. At times, the branch complains of network failure which contributes to the number of people waiting for attention in the banking hall. Oceanic Bank branch located on near St Patrick’s Catholic Church Ojo Alaba is another bank branch where customers mill around waiting for attention. From the customer care centre located downstairs to the first floor where the banking hall is located, crowds of customers are always seen begging for attention.
Some of them spend hours moving slowly in a line before the tellers could attend to them. A branch of the same bank located on Olojo drive is no different as customers form long queues to enter the banking hall.
When BusinessWorld visited Fidelity Bank located in the same market, a mild drama ensured as the security door refused entrance to a young man. The young man practically stripped at the entrance of one of the branch. The revolving door kept beeping even after he dropped every thing on him including handsets, wristwatch and keys. It only admitted him when he removed his belt.
The long queues and declining customer care is not limited to banks located in markets. There are usually long queues at other bank branches within Lagos metropolis. For example, there are queues at a First Bank branch located on Opebi-Allen axis.
Scores of bank customers interviewed said, apart from the delays caused by the security doors, also blame poor customer service relations and inadequate staff for the human traffic in banking halls. They said most banks, following the introduction of modern information technology platforms, now rely on it and relegate customer care services to the background. They now employ a few hands to attend to customers believing that ICT platforms would make the job easier.
Conclusion
As most of bank branches are presently understaffed, those in charge of customer service should endeavour to see that more hands are recruited to strengthen teller points in banks. Also, there are numerous cases of branches suffering from internal network outages leading to disruptions in attending to customers. Banks should ensure that they are efficient and reliable backups to take care of such situations as soon as they arise. User friendly security doors should be installed at entrances of banking halls to reduce time spent by customers in accessing banking halls.
