What is good service??Working in a job like mine has given me opportunities to experience the service provided by the different banks. By service, i don't mean the normal run of the mill services that a normal retail consumer requires from the bank. Maybe it's the same service, but we have more unusual circumstances.
Some may have heard me complain about a certain local bank which requested for the directors of the holding company go down to the bank personally to sign the account opening papers, requested for the photocopy of the IC/passport of the shareholders of the parent company which i explained was totally impossible.But, I was met with the same response no matter how much I explained, how long I spent at the counter, how many different officers I spoke to. I had to have those things that they wanted before an account could be opened.No room for negotiation.Period.That certainly left me fuming mad.After spending hours at the counter, and several phonecalls made to their compliance department, nothing was accomplished, no solution was provided. What left me thinking was, if the parent company had been a listed company bsed overseas, are they going to request for the directors to fly in? Are they going to get the IC/passport copy of the shareholders of the listed company? madness
Then a second incident came. I had to go to the same bank with a letter to retire a fixed deposit.The officer faulted me on my English, saying that I had to change the word 'credit' the bank charges from the bank account to 'debit'.That left me wondering, if I had insisted on using 'credit' are they going to pay me money instead of deducting the charges from the current account? By the way, we have been using 'credit' for ages and no bank has ever rejected it.
This story comes in many parts. It never ceases to amaze me how bad their service can be.
The third part of the story. I had another letter to be given to the same bank again. This time to close a certain bank account. But my poor colleague bore the brunt of their service. She went to the banking hall to pass the letter to the bank officer as in all other times that she has done so. The bank officer directed her to a certain floor in another building. This bank has 2 plazas by the Singapore River. Anyway, after going up to that floor, (it's really a hassle to go up, you'll know if you've been there before. You have to get your visitor's pass, then you will have to go to the 37th story to change lift to go to your desired level and the reverse is true when going down) anyway back to the point, after going up to the level that she was directed to, the bank officer directed her to go to the mail room which was in the basement of the banking hall that my colleague had been to. So, she went to the mail room. And. The letter was rejected by the mail room. Reason: The letter was not in an envelope. So she had to bring the letter to office for me to put in an envelope so that she could bring back to the bank the next day. Could they not have offered her an envelope?
There's more to come. I had to write another letter to this bank to close the bank account. So, I had it signed and placed in an envelope, thinking that all should be right and it wouldn't be rejected. My colleague came back with my letter. Why? I have to send it to the branch that opened the bank account. In the one year that I was in my job, I have never had to send the account closure letter to the branch that opened tha account. Because, I happened to know that account closure in the cases that we do are not done by the branch. There's a backroom office that does the account closure and then issues a cashier's order for the balance funds. Because in cases like ours, the person who signs the letter for the closure is not the authorised signatory, hence some verification work by the back room is required.Ok, even if this bank is special and account closure is handled by the branch, could they not have helped to send it to that particular branch? Since they have explained that if the letter had been given to them, they would have to forward it to the relevant branches. Talk about going the extra mile..
This kind of service is really disappointing coming from a brand that is well-known and well-liked by Singaporeans.But what I've experienced was rigidity, and more rigidity. I suppose the above won't be the last of the anecdotes about this bank coming from me..
Compare it to another local bank. Also well-known and well-liked by Singaporeans. Maybe more well-known and well-liked. Especially by the government agencies. Maybe because it bears Singapore's name? haha
Wanted to open an account with this bank. Requested for the same things as the above bank. Probably because it's a regulatory requirement? But this time minus getting the directors to go down to sign. But they still require the name of shareholders of the holding company. Required the IC copy of the directors. So, we explained that we could not contact the directors. Ok, after discussing it internally, they decided to waive the requirement. But they still needed to know who the ultimate beneficiary of the Company was. There is a form to be filled out.Our position: The company is insolvent.There's no ultimate beneficiary.So, we are not filling in the form.Spoke to the officer again. She spoke to her other departments again. The point of the story was that they tried to provide solutions for us.Just that the part of the beneficiary ownership was a technical point that we could not agree with.
Service providers should be providing solutions and not creating problems. Singapore is touting itself as a fantastic place to conduct businesses. And banking facilities would be the things that are required by businesses. Especially for Singapore which is positioning itself to be a regional banking and finance hub. Shouldn't service providers be raising their service standards so that they would be poised to take advantage of the opportunities that may come? Shouldn't local banks be leading the pack when it comes to service standards?
Another thing I've noticed about our local banks is that the counter staff do not wear make up. Don't believe me? Try going to the counter of a local bank and a foreign bank like HSBC. You can feel the difference instantly. Frontline staff, yes, even the small bank teller, have a duty to look presentable. Simply because they are carrying the image of their company on them.
These few years, there has been an emphasis on GEMs (Going the Extra Mile), but the training for GEMs has been rather focused on the retail industry. I think it's time to include the financial services industry in the programme.
What do I hate the most about my job?
Opening bank accounts.
Nightmare.
Another thing just came to my mind.
What differentiates an independent financial advisor from a insurance agent from a particular company?
1.He/she has access to information on a wide range of products. Hence theoretically, he/she would be in a good position to find a product that fits the needs of the client.
2. By virtue of the word 'independent', people have greater confidence in you. Afterall, you are supposed to be independent right?
What an IFA can do is to add value to the services provided to the clients rather than just trying to sell them products. True. There are forms to fill. These forms would form the basis for evaluating the needs of the client. But I feel an IFA should go beyond looking at the facts/budget written on the forms...In the conversations with the client, the IFA should have gotten a feel of the client's background, is he/she still studying? Does he/she have stable income? What he/she is able to afford may not equate to what he/she is willing to afford. All these should be taken into consideration when product recommendations are made. Just as there are people with know how on financial planning, there are also people who know nuts about financial planning. In this case, recommendations/presentations of products should be made differently. Perhaps people without the know how should be given the chance to learn about the different types of life insurance (i.e. whole life vs term). In a free economy, the basic assumption is that rational people will make the correct decisions with perfect information. So put information in the hands of clients. Empowerment comes with knowledge. This also allows clients to have greater trust and faith in the IFA as they can feel that they are not being pushed to get a certain product. It is a product that they have decided to buy. Lowers the chances of buyer's regret right? The IFA adds value in this instance by analysing the pros and cons of the different products and providing their insight on whether it fits into the financial plams of the client.
Of course, the above views are made purely from a consumer's viewpoint. As IFAs, they have their own agenda, targets, basis and professionalism. However, it is worth thinking how they can constantly improve their services and add value to their clients. A satisfied customer can translate into mighty economic benefits in time.
A few days ago, I went to Macs wanting to get a mcFlurry. My initial order was mcFlurry with oreo and koko crunch. Subsequently I changed my mind. I wanted a conett0 mcFlurry. So I asked if I could change my order, but the girl had already made my mcFlurry with oreo and koko crunch. So, I said nevermind
la, I'll just stick with what I ordered. But the counter girl went the extra mile by asking her senior staff if I could change my order although I did say that it was alright. And they did. So i had my conetto mcFlurry and they had an extra order of weird mcFlurry. You must admit oreo with koko crunch is weird.hahaha This is just a simple gesture. An example of GEMs which I never expected from Macs. But hey! They got me...You can be sure I'll be back at the dessert counter at Causeway Point macs again!
Ok..this was an ultra lenghty post...I think this will score an A as a GP essay...do you think so? hahaha did you even bother reading until this line? wahaha You should hear me tell those stories in person. It'll be more amusing...hahaha
nice effect!! except for the projector...
us!!
Love
misstamchiak
12/01/2003 - 01/01/2004
bern n lamu bz making the cards...heh