Banks must take quality customer service delivery seriously
THE 2023 Ghana Consumer Satisfaction Index (GH-CSI) report released by the Chartered Institute of Marketers Ghana (CIMG) has indicated that service quality in the consumer banking sector has dipped by six points.
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From 95% in 2022, the report based on research conducted among customers of various banks in the country saw a sharp decline to 89%.
Customer satisfaction for consumer banking, on the other hand, suffered a marginal decline from 95% in 2022 to 93% last year while Customer Loyalty for Consumer Banking also reduced from 81% in 2022 to 74% in 2023.
Meanwhile, service quality delivery and customer satisfaction in business banking both appreciated from 93% to 94% while customer loyalty for business banking slightly declined from 80% to 79% in the period under review.
This unfortunate development comes at a time when audit and accounting firm, PwC, has also released a report which pointed to a similar outcome.
To us at Graphic Business, the verdict on banks’ customer service is a major wake-up call for the industry players to take immediate steps to up their game.
Banking is a key sector in the economy and players in the industry must, therefore, be able to ensure that, services rendered to customers are not only top-notch at all times but also reflect what they preach.
On many occasions, we hear banks tout their customer service credentials in the media but the experience in the banking halls among other places they provide service
does not match what they preach.
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It is imperative as far as the paper is concerned, for the banks to ensure that they allow the customers to speak through their reaction and experience to their services, rather than mounting media platforms at the least opportunity to speak on behalf of customers. We believe that, that approach is not the best way to measure service quality.
It is against this background that we urge the banks to take seriously, the report which is a comprehensive study that measures the performance of banks in three critical areas that are essential for the long-term survival of any institution: service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty.
We also note with concern that the various banks across the country, according to the report, witnessed a consistent decline in variables measured by the survey for the determination of quality of service in consumer banking.
These include tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and ease of use.
The Graphic Business shares in the rationale behind the report because it is more than just a study of the state of the service quality levels in banking, as experienced by individual and business customers of banks. It reflects the voices, sentiments and trust of Ghanaians whose lives are impacted by the services offered by banks.
As the world celebrates World Customer Month, the paper prevails on all banks to see the outcome of the report as a unique opportunity to understand the evolving needs and expectations of customers while offering a benchmark for the institutions involved to assess their performance and take corrective measures for improvement.
Customer Service Month is not about moving from station to station to talk about services that do not exist. It’s a reminder to service providers that customer service is a continuum and not an event.
While the Graphic Business urges action on the report, we also wish to use this opportunity to congratulate a few banks that were mentioned for exceptional performance despite the outcome of the survey.
These are: Prudential Bank Limited, OmniBSIC Bank Ghana Limited, Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited, FirstBank Ghana Limited and CalBank PLC.
The rest are Access Bank Ghana PLC, Absa Bank Ghana Limited, Standard Chartered Bank and Agricultural Development Bank.
We trust that this will urge them to do more while the banks which were not mentioned will up their game and be counted.