My bank has a no-better-than-adequate online banking system. You can't convince me that the executives think it is great or even above average.
The employees know it. They hear it all the time from customers and they put up with it themselves. I recently spoke with one employee who told me that:
1. The bank invested a lot of money developing the system and doesn't want to spend more (or admit its mistake).
2. Customers tolerate it. Apparently customers, in other words, don’t complain enough to warrant a change.
Fortunately, the front-line employees at this bank are difference-makers in their organization. The hospitality of these employees is fantastic. However, if these employees generally know how irritating the online banking system is, then why don’t the executives know it, as well? Are they using their system for their own financial transactions? If the investment in the computer system was hefty, it is undoubtedly embarrassing to admit the mistake and make an additional investment. Nevertheless, it needs to be done to stay competitive.
“Because customers tolerate it” is no longer an acceptable reason in any forward-thinking organization. Every dynamic company that cares about its customers must have a system to discover customer frustrations and to develop solutions to improve their processes proactively. It is one thing to talk about customer care; it is a completely different approach to share the journey with those customers by providing them with what they need and expect.
