Customer service is the practice of supporting existing and potential customers to enhance their satisfaction with the company and its products or services. For a company to retain customers, it must be ready to deliver not good customer service but seek to deliver excellent customer service. So what is the difference between good customer service and excellent customer service?
Good customer service entails consistently meeting customers' expectations while Excellent customer service means going beyond meeting your customer's basic needs. It involves much more than providing support in a timely and pleasant manner. More importantly, it means doing everything possible so your customers are not merely satisfied but are genuinely happy with your products and service. it involves best practices like valuing customers' time, having a pleasant attitude, providing knowledgeable and resourceful resources, and also taking things a step further to exceed — rather than just meet — expectations.
This article covers how Customer Relationship Management Group 1 under the Side hustle Charlie-delta clan Bootcamp was able to Run research on companies in Nigeria with poor customer services, choose one, and understand the company, hence creating a FAQ document for the company. We will be using Zenith Bank PLC as a case study.
This article contains the following subheadings:
Core Policies of Zenith bank and how favorable or unfavorable it is to their customers;
Issues customers encounter with Customer Service in Zenith bank and how these discrepancies can be curtailed;
FAQs; a key to Unlocking Excellent Customer Service
1.1 ZENITH BANK CORE POLICIES
Below are some of the Zenith bank policies that my team and I x-rayed;
A. Savings and Current Accounts:
Accounts can be opened anywhere in the world but customers will need to use their BVN, otherwise, the account will be restricted even though an account number will be given
A withdrawal slip is required to withdraw cash in any of the branches.
Current accounts become dormant after 6 months of inactivity.
Savings accounts do not go dormant.
It takes 24 hours for accounts to be opened if completed documents are submitted
Requests for account updates can be made at any of the branches.
Any amount or zero balance is accepted, except the Zenith Gold and Platinum accounts with 1 million Naira and 3 million Naira respectively.
Zenith Bank does not issue passbooks to savings account holders.
An individual can have only more than one account with the bank if the customer has different classes of account, e.g. cannot have two savings accounts or two current accounts with two different branches or with the same branch
B. Chequebook :
Cheque book for an individual account may contain 20 or 50 leaves
Corporate accounts may contain 50 or 100 leaves
20 leaves cost 525 Naira, 50 leaves cost 1050 leaves and 100 leaves cost 2100 leaves.
Request for cheque book can be made online through internet banking or Zenith Direct
Cheque book requests can also be made in one Branch and collected in another but it has to be indicated at the time of the request
A Cheque book can be collected by a third party on behalf of the account holder only if the account holder writes an authorization letter duly signed and the third party must have a valid means of identification.
If a cheque book is misplaced, after being reported to the bank, it will be blocked then the following requirements have to be provided by the customer: (i) an affidavit (ii) a police report (iii) competed indemnity form.
C. Bank Cards:
i.Credit Card
For withdrawing cash using the credit card, a cash advance fee of 3.5% of the amount withdrawn will be charged
Expiring cards are auto-renewed one month before expiration
The highest amount that can be withdrawn from an ATM in Nigeria using the zenith credit card in 24 hours is 160,000 Naira
Ii. Debit Card
The Maximum amount per transaction with the Debit Card is 40,000.
Customers can only perform up to 5 transactions per day.
Overall, a Maximum of 200,000 Naira can be withdrawn (this applies to withdrawals made on zenith bank ATMs.
If the ATM rejects a customer’s card, a letter will have to be submitted to a customer service unit officer of the branch with the bad or faulty card attached.
If the ATM displays an “incorrect pin”, a letter of complaint has to be submitted to the customer service unit officers of the branch.
If the card is stuck in the ATM, the incident has to be reported to the branch’s customer service unit and when the card is retrieved it will be sent to the customer’s branch.
A request for a new pin must be submitted through the customer service unit if the debit card pin has been forgotten.
If a debit card is lost or damaged, visit Quicklinks on the Zenith website and fill out the online card replacement form and submit it.
If the debit card has the wrong name on it, return the card with a request letter for another debit card with the correct name on it to the customer service unit of the branch
D. Internet Banking
Individual account holders can transfer funds and make bill payments but corporate account holders cannot
To get internet banking service, customers need to fill out an application form from the branches and find submitted to the customer service unit of the branch
A fee of 3,500 is required for hardware token
For SMS alerts or notifications, a fee of 4 Naira is charged
E. Mobile banking -The zenith mobile app cannot be used by an individual without a debit card or token
Transaction limit if a customer registers on the app through branch activation is 20,000 Naira
If a customer registers on the app through hardware or E-token, the transaction limit is 2 million Naira
If a customer registers on the app with their debit card, the transaction limit is 100,000 Naira.
1.2 HOW FAVORABLE ARE THESE POLICIES? From the above-listed policies of Zenith bank PLC, we highlighted some unfavorable policies and suggested some ways how they could be improved upon. Some of these unfavorable policies include:
A customer not being able to use the mobile app without a hardware token is not fair enough because getting this token has to be done at the branch which is not convenient and it also involves payment for the token. An alternative to this is by scrapping the hardware token price in other to encourage the majority of customers to use the mobile app thereby aiding the cashless policy by the CBN and reducing the stress of customers coming to the bank.
In our opinion, for a misplaced Cheque book, the requirements to get a replacement can be reduced. The police report should not be made compulsory as long as the bank confirms the customer has an account with them and has once requested a Cheque book, other requirements are enough. In this case, we suggest the bank requests a valid means of identification alongside the affidavit from the customer and runs a thorough check for confirmation.
The maximum transaction amount using the debit and credit card per day can be increased to further encourage customers to use the debit cards and also the mobile banking app.
2.1 Issues Customers Encounter with Customer Service in Zenith Bank PLC
The customer service representative department is one of the most important sections of any institution or company because they are responsible for representing a brand when interacting with potential customers. Customer service can break a company's chance to turn a potential customer into a loyal customer. Several research has shown that after a positive customer service experience, 89% of consumers report they are more likely to return and make another purchase or use of the services that satisfied them.
Some of the shortcomings experienced in the above-mentioned case study include A. No, follow up on clients' issues: After escalating a customer's discrepancy, the customer service representative rarely does a follow-up to know if the clients got everything they wanted and if they are satisfied with the way the issue was handled
B. Segregation on how they treat their customers: It is very common to see the man-know-man scenario being played in banks. They seem to attend to clients with huge amounts of money specially and neglect you with a small sum of money standing in the check.
C. Slow or no reply on their online platforms: This is a very disturbing challenge because, with the high increase of the embrace of tech in the world, financial institutions should not be found wanting.
D. Reliance on BOTS and AIs: Making use of automated responses always, reduces the empathetic feeling a customer gets in their response especially when they express their pain points.
E. Poor Communication: They fail to communicate with clients ahead of any network or changes in services provided or when they do, they do It through customer's mail leaving the majority of customers without email addresses behind.
F. No apology most times for the inconveniences their poor services cause customers.
G. Zero show of empathy from customer service representatives
H. Excessive fees for basic services: This can be seen in the charges customers encountered to use services the bank promised them when they were signing up. some of such charges include SMS charges, Debit charges, Transfer charges, Charges to access online banking platforms and a lot of other hidden charges.
2.2 Remedies to Some of these Discrepancies
i. Customer service representatives should ensure to follow up on a client's case no matter their social class.
ii. More qualified customer service representatives should be hired to curtail the slow reply. They should be able to provide seamless services online making use of various available CRM software that makes them able to attend to clients faster and better.
iii. Easily accessible means of communication such as SMS; should be used to inform customers of any intended change in services or glitch in the network.
iv. Regular training should be made available for customer service representatives.
v. A customer service policy should be established and implemented as this will serve as an internal code of conduct that will guide employees and the organization at large on how to approach a customer. It will also help customers know what kind of high-quality service they can expect from the company.
vi. If there is a need for charges, customers should be informed not to withdraw their monies without proper details of what it is for.
3. FAQs; a key to Unlocking Excellent Customer Service
Today in this modern world where there are a series of transactions, customers always want to have sufficient information about a product or service before going on to purchase them from the company or service provider. Proper knowledge of the goods and services that they are about to purchase helps to increase customer satisfaction, especially when dealing with first-time customers and online customers, and there is one way to actually satisfy customer curiosity and improve customer satisfaction, especially online and this is through the use of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs).
There is a need to have a proper understanding of what a FAQ document is and what it contains. Frequently Asked Questions is a list of often or commonly asked questions by customers, particularly on websites, blogs, emails or online platforms with concise answers that are useful to the customers.
A good FAQ serves as a channel directing customers to the information they require. As a result, the workload of the customer service representatives in a company or organization is lessened because there would be fewer inbound support inquiries. It would enable also help the organization to offer better customer service to their customers.
Preparing an FAQ document has to deal with a good knowledge of the brand, its products and services. After carrying out research to understand the services and company policies of Zenith Bank and also understanding some difficulties their customers are experiencing currently, the information acquired was used in putting together a FAQ document for the company. The FAQ was put together having customers in mind, including some areas where customers are having difficulties.
ZENITH BANK FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. How can I open an account with Zenith Bank? To open an account with Zenith bank, you can walk into any of our branch offices closest to you OR you can simply dial 966# on your mobile device.
2. How can I resolve my complaint without visiting the bank? You can chat on our online platform like the mobile app to log complaints. You can also chat with Ziva (Zenith Intelligent Virtual Assistant) via WhatsApp at +234-7040004422.
3. How long would it take for my complaints to be resolved? Complaints can be resolved in 24 hours or more depending on the nature of the complaint.
4. Must I be in Nigeria to open a zenith account? No. You can open an account with Zenith in any of our foreign subsidiaries.
5. How soon can I use my account after opening it? You can use your account within 24 hours once the necessary documents have been submitted.
6. Where can I get my Zenith bank card? To get any of Zenith bank’s cards, you have to visit any of our branches closest to you.
7. Do I have to visit a physical branch to get my Zenith card? Yes. You must visit a branch to fill in the necessary details before you’re issued any of our cards.
8. Why am I having difficulty accessing my bank app? Having difficulty using your app can be due to your internet supplier. Kindly connect to stable internet and refresh your app, then try logging in again. If issues persist kindly call our customer helpline at 01 278 7000 or through our contact center (Zenith Direct) or visit any of our branches to get it sorted out.
9. Do I Get Charged For Operating And Doing Transactions From Another Branch Other Than Where My Account Was Opened? No. There is no charge for operating your account from another branch.
10. Must I Visit My Branch To Request Any Product Or Service? No. requests can be made from any of the bank”s branches or through our Contact Centre (Zenith Direct).
In Conclusion, customers can switch to a competitor if they don’t get their expected level of service. Most people are more likely to leave a bank due to poor service rather than poor products. That’s why you must meet their expectations if you don’t want to lose them. As we all know, loyal customers are more profitable for any business and retaining existing customers costs less than acquiring new ones. The same holds for banks as well. Loyal customers are more likely to try new offerings from the bank.
So you want to maintain a profitable business in the long run, you need to focus on customer retention. Providing good customer service is pivotal to achieving that. And you can do this by incorporating technology into your day-to-day service operations and making charges less exorbitant.