Banks Need to Be More Customer-Centric

Reading the article about bank loan approvals reminded me of how car dealerships work. It's not always as simple as the ads might indicate to get your bank loan or buy that new car.

Having worked in a car dealership for years, I can attest that customers will spend many hours waiting to get a simple car loan approved. And that's not to mention the hours spent getting the final price negotiated.

Banks, like car dealerships rely on upper management to make the actual approvals. Think the car salesman is going to reduce the price, give you a good loan rate? Not so likely. He or she bascially just fills out the paper work. It's their boss who makes the decisions.

Until banks can streamline the prodcedures for loans, and banking in general, it's not going to be as user friendly and quick as customers might wish.

Nothing could please me more than serious challenges to the large banks.  Does anyone love a bank?

I'm not optimistic. The past decade has made it clear that bank's (and finance in general) #1 priority is self-interest. Risk, security, etc. are smokescreens they use to explain their not-so-genuine "concerns." If they were real, it would follow that industries like insurance - in addition to the "unbanks" - would also likely have kept that opaque model.

Becoming customer-centric is a function of positioning customers at the core of a company's business strategy with the organization, strategies and programs flowing from the inside out.  Any genuine attempt on their part requires a transformational change and given the hubris, that's unlikely. 

The (failed) attempts by banks to look like they are trying to get into the "personal zone" have been superficial at best. The same can be said about the technology solutions they offer their customers and why those continue to be awkward and inconvenient to use.

Banks are commodity businesses nowadays. Customer look for the best financial deals and minimal hassle. They're not looking for added services, they just want the highest interest rates for deposits and lowest for loans.

Customers have zero brand loyalty to banks; if they stay with a bank, it's out of inertia,nothing more. Indeed, banks have *negative* brand loyalty after the Great Recession.

I expect some banks can change that -- after all, coffee was a commodity until Starbucks came along. I wonder if the solution will be personalized service, or increased automation as described in this article (budget estimates, automated loan approvals, etc.)

The Challenge to Banks from UnBanks is more than welcome. This is the type of challenge that would finally force Banks to become Customer-Centric. I do remember how etrade helped Merril Lynch see the light.

The Challenge to Banks from UnBanks is more than welcome. This is the type of challenge that would finally force Banks to become Customer-Centric. I do remember how etrade helped Merril Lynch see the light.

I mean, in their eyes, they're dealing with customers' money. You don't get much more customer-focused than that...

It's just the're approach to servicing the customers that gets lost in translation.

Another big part of the problem is the plethora of complex regulations that the banking industry is subject to.  Those waiting periods are designed to protect you.  Many of the fees are regulatory costs passed down to customers.

So is the ever-waging battle between accessibility and security.  Want a "friendlier" bank (or, at least, a better balance)?  Write your congresspeople.

Customer service is king here.

I've been doing banking with a particular bank for years...getting nonplussed, sometimes downright angry about the service, but it being too inconvenient to make a full switch.

Then I started my law practice.  I needed an operationg account and an IOLTA (special required trust account where client's money gets deposited into).  I went to my bank.

After sitting there for over a half-hour, they couldn't figure out how to set one up for me.  They said they would work on it and call me.

Over a week passed.  Nothing.  I was losing money waiting for them.

So I walked to another bank down the street.  Sat down with them.  Had an IOLTA and operating account in 20 minutes.

Later, they sold me on a personal account too.

And when I go there, they know my name, they know what I like, and they treat me like a human being.


Another horror story about "old bank" -- I once went to get my signature witnessed on a form.  I didn't need a notary.  Just a witness.  Depsite being a long-time customer, they refused.

I went to a bank across the street -- one I didn't even have an account with.  They gladly helped me out.

Really makes you wonder what goes through people's minds when they act obstructive towards their customers.