Most Americans rank the customer service at their financial institution as above average when it comes to customer service, but there is still room for improvement, according to a recent survey conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of the American Society for Quality (ASQ).
ASQ conducted the survey to identify areas of concern regarding customerservice in financial services.
The survey found:- 96% of adults rate the customer service at their financial institution as above average or average.- 85% are very satisfied or satisfied with the products and services available.- 89% of adults feel that it is easy to open a new account.- 27% of adults have experienced a problem with their account in the pastyear.- 68% of adults who experienced a problem are satisfiedwith the process to get the problem resolved.
According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), banks haveeither maintained or gained in customer satisfaction each year since 1999, to where the industry is now at an all-time high of 78 (on a scale of 0-100). This is despite an overall decline of 0.4 percent in the ACSI to 74.9. The index is produced through a partnership with ASQ.
“It’s likely that most Americans are receiving excellent customer service from their financial institutions because of the quality processes they have put into place to measure and improve customer satisfaction. Qualitypractices such as Six Sigma or business process management enable banks tostandardize the way they work and achieve improved consistency, fastercycle times and fewer errors,” says Mike Nichols, ASQ president and co-author of Six Sigma for Financial Services.
Nichols also says that it is a fairly high defect rate for 27% of adultsto have experienced a problem with their account in the past year. “This is a significant area for opportunity. With the help of quality tools,banks can improve operational processes, identify problems quickly andsystematically, and have fewer errors,” says Nichols.
The survey found that 85% of adults are very satisfied or satisfied withtheir financial institution’s accessibility, which includes location and hours of operation. According to Nichols, this may be because of significant increases in access available to customers such as online banking and weekend hours.