THE 7 DEADLY SINS OF
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Adopted from the presentation of
Prof. Rene T. Domingo of AIM at the
Asian Bankers Conference on May
27, 2005
customer service quality
What methods does your bank use to check your
bank’s level of customer service quality?
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mailed customer surveys
monitoring teller line wait
CEO calls to customers
mystery shoppers
director visits to branches
lobby visits with customers
ex-customer exit interviews
monitoring phone pick-up time
customer focus groups
complaint hotline
recording of call-center conversations
customer town meetings
NONE
38.4%
25.5%
23.1%
22.1%
21.0%
20.5%
17.1%
11.3%
11.0%
2.5%
2.5%
2.1%
23.4%
“Beautifying Branches”
from the Economist 3/22/2001
“According to Abbey National, a British bank which
filmed passers-by, window-shoppers actually speed
up in order to avoid bank branches.”
“For banks, this is a sorry state, since branches are
horribly expensive to keep open. On average,
branches and their staff account for about half of
the costs of a typical retail bank.”
“Beautifying Branches”
from the Economist 3/22/2001
“One strategy is to transform them (bank branches) into
enticing, shop-like places where people want to spend
time, and with luck, more money on financial products”
“In Japan, Suruga Bank has invited
Starbucks coffee shops on to its premises…..”
“The Bank of Yokohama offers
McDonald’s hamburgers
alongside its cash machines.”
“Good service is
not an accident.”
THE DEADLY SINS OF
CUSTOMER SERVICE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
“ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SERVICE
NO “AFTER SALES” SERVICE
NO “BEFORE SALES” SERVICE
OPAQUE SERVICE
CONTENTIOUS SERVICE
PAROCHIAL SERVICE
Sin No. 1
 BUREAUCRATIC
SERVICE
bad service = slow service
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
In an Average Lifetime…...
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The average American spends
49 hours seeing doctors.
The average American spends
64 hours waiting to see doctors.
The average American spends 5
years waiting in lines.
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
TOO MANY
HANDOFFS
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
OVER CONTROL
MISTRUST
(inspecting the
Inspector)
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
Banking Benchmark?
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
OVERLOADING
UNDERSTAFFING
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
OVERSPECIALIZATION
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
UNEMPOWERED STAFF
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
“THE BOSS IS ALWAYS RIGHT.”
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
UNSYSTEMATIC PROCEDURES
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
NO SERVICE STANDARDS
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
CLERICAL ERRORS
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
UNRELIABLE EQUIPMENT
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
FAST LANE
ONE TRANSACTION ONLY
WRONG BENCHMARK
Sin No. 1
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
Lesson learned:
Cut the red tape by developing
one stop-shops run by multiskilled, multi-tasking, and
empowered front-line
personnel.
Sin No. 2
 “ONE
SIZE FITS ALL”
SERVICE
Sin No. 2
“ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SERVICE
INFLEXIBLE, IMPERSONAL
(“Everybody’s the same.”)
Sin No. 2
“ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SERVICE
UNINNOVATIVE
(no imagination)
Sin No. 2
“ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SERVICE
ONE POLICY
(to the letter)
Sin No. 2
“ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SERVICE
“They can have it any color they want,
so long as it’s black.”
--Henry Ford (1863-1947)
Sin No. 2
“ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SERVICE
Lesson learned:
Don’t mass produce, mass-customize.
Sin No. 3
 NO
“AFTER SALES”
SERVICE
Sin No. 3
NO “AFTER SALES” SERVICE
TRANSACTION
ORIENTATION
Sin No. 3
NO “AFTER SALES” SERVICE
SALES QUOTA
ORIENTATION
Sin No. 3
NO “AFTER SALES” SERVICE
“LET THE BUYER BEWARE”
Sin No. 3
NO “AFTER SALES” SERVICE
NO BUDGET
Sin No. 3
NO “AFTER SALES” SERVICE
Lesson learned:
Don’t sell to customers --create lasting customer relationships.
Sin No. 4
 NO
“BEFORE SALES”
SERVICE
Sin No. 4
NO “BEFORE SALES” SERVICE
POOR COMMUNICATION
Sin No. 4
NO “BEFORE SALES” SERVICE
UNCLEAR PROCEDURES
Sin No. 4
NO “BEFORE SALES” SERVICE
INDIFFERENCE TO INQUIRERS
Sin No. 4
NO “BEFORE SALES” SERVICE
INADEQUATE FACILITIES
Sin No. 4
NO “BEFORE SALES” SERVICE
Lesson learned:
Treat all inquiries as potential customers.
Sin No. 5
 OPAQUE
SERVICE
Sin No. 5
OPAQUE SERVICE
NO APOLOGIES
NO EXPLANATION
Sin No. 5
OPAQUE SERVICE
“CUSTOMERS CAN WAIT.”
Sin No. 5
OPAQUE SERVICE
“WAITING IS PART OF SERVICE.”
Sin No. 5
OPAQUE SERVICE
UNCLEAR PROCESS FLOWS
Sin No. 5
OPAQUE SERVICE
Lesson learned:
Proactively update customers of the
status of their requests – ignorance is
worse than delays.
Sin No. 6
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CONTENTIOUS SERVICE
Sin No. 6
CONTENTIOUS SERVICE
“THE COMPLAINING CUSTOMER
IS ALWAYS WRONG.”
Sin No. 6
CONTENTIOUS SERVICE
UNTRAINED FRONTLINERS
Sin No. 6
CONTENTIOUS SERVICE
MISTRUST OF CUSTOMERS
Sin No. 6
CONTENTIOUS SERVICE
NO RECOVERY PROCEDURE
Sin No. 6
CONTENTIOUS SERVICE
Lesson learned:
You can win any argument with any
customer, but you will lose the sale and
the customer.
Sin No. 7
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PAROCHIAL SERVICE
Sin No. 7
PAROCHIAL SERVICE
“OUR LOCAL CLIENTS
ARE SATISFIED.”
Sin No. 7
PAROCHIAL SERVICE
“WE ARE NOT EXPORTERS.”
Sin No. 7
PAROCHIAL SERVICE
(in Timbuktu)
“ WE ARE THE
LOCAL INDUSTRY LEADER.”
Sin No. 7
PAROCHIAL SERVICE
COMPLACENCY
Sin No. 7
PAROCHIAL SERVICE
IGNORANCE OF
WORLD STANDARDS
Sin No. 7
PAROCHIAL SERVICE
Lesson learned:
Like free lunch, there is no such thing as
a local standard or a local customer.
THE DEADLY SINS OF
CUSTOMER SERVICE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
BUREAUCRATIC SERVICE
“ONE SIZE FITS ALL” SERVICE
NO “AFTER SALES” SERVICE
NO “BEFORE SALES” SERVICE
OPAQUE SERVICE
CONTENTIOUS SERVICE
PAROCHIAL SERVICE
CHECKLIST FOR SUPERIOR
CUSTOMER SERVICE
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Are your services designed for fast delivery?
Can your service be customized and
personalized?
Do you always check for customer satisfaction
after the service?
Is it easy to inquire about and apply for your
services?
Are your service processes transparent and easy
to understand?
Do you give customers the benefit of the doubt?
Are your services at par with the best?
Exercise on Customer
Service


Please answer the
questionnaires honestly as it
applies to your bank.
15 minutes
CUSTOMER SERVICE
+
=
SYSTEM + SMILES = SERVICE
MANAGING THE
MOMENTS OF TRUTH
CUSTOMER SERVICE
SERVICE GOALS
1.
2.
3.
4.
QUALITY
CONSISTENCY
FLEXIBILITY
SPEED
CUSTOMER SERVICE
CONSISTENCY
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
0
5
10
15
CUSTOMER SERVICE
ATTENTION TO DETAIL
The customer of the new millennium
globalized
informationalized
perfectionist
process oriented
time conscious
environment conscious
THE 7 DEADLY SINS OF
CUSTOMER SERVICE
Prof. Rene T. Domingo
Asian Institute of
Management