Celebrating outstanding customer service

Through this column, I have on a number of times expressed my disappointment or reservations and indeed that of several readers I have interacted with on the level of customer service offered in the country.

I have also given credit where it is due in cases where some service providers have exceeded customer expectations as well as introducing innovations that make a difference.

I always believe that such criticism and compliments should be read and understood in the spirit that it is all in good faith. What we all want to see, at the end of the day, is a Malawi where customer service and indeed service delivery is superb.

For instance, many of us have complained about poor service delivery or customer service in most of our 11 commercial banks. From discourteous front office staff through “ever-out-of-service” automated-teller machines (ATMs) to congested banking halls, many bank customers have had it all.

However, it is also worth noting that not all bankers are rotten, so to speak. There are still some good bankers, as individuals, and indeed institutions that are working hard to satisfy the customer through superior service.

I have always argued that service providers do not necessarily need to invest a fortune to satisfy the customer. It is all about staff attitudes. Take a smile, for example, it does not cost a tambala to smile and greet a customer and make them feel at home.

In the spirit of celebrating some success stories, today I would like to share with you a refreshing experience a colleague of mine, Charles Simango, encountered and shared with his friends through his Facebook page.

I have known Charles Simango for over a decade and, I must say, he is one man who is very careful with his criticism and indeed liberal with his praise such that when I read his post about one Steve Banda of Standard Bank Capital City Branch in Lilongwe, I was convinced that the banker must really have bent over backwards to earn such admiration.

Briefly, here is what Charles said about Steve Banda. For purposes of this entry, I have withheld the name of the bank that had earlier frustrated him: “Standard Bank customer service is just… sorry, you got it wrong, my friend. It is, in fact, fantastic! That is, if you are banking with Capital City Branch and you are attended to by one Steve Banda.

“As a personal account customer service officer, Steve has attended to me twice before in recent times and today was as good as before. He is calm, collected and sees your problem through—each time.

“Today, I needed to open an additional savings account and I first went to [another bank] where I was told to go back and bring a letter. So, I decided to hop across to Standard Bank where Steve opened an account for me in—guess again—less than 10 minutes! As if that was not enough, he even saw to it that I walked out with a new ATM card, which I did under just 30 minutes! Now let me mention that this was a second account which means my info was already on file. My first account took over an hour and the ATM more than two weeks.

“Now, I have seen such great service before, but I must say, never in this country. Steve’s consistency in making sure he serves you is just outstanding. I will be damned if he is the same guy someone complained about on FB, earlier in the year, where I jumped in to heap more condemnation on the guy and the entire tribe of bankers. If he is, then I must say, I spoke in haste and I apologise.”

I have never dealt with the said Steve Banda but, I must admit, there are still several good bankers out there who, like Steve, work hard to ensure that the customer walks out of the banking hall satisfied.

This is worth celebrating. Personally, I have also dealt with equally fine bankers with unsurpassed customer service delivery. They include Gift Gondwe at Standard Bank Ginnery Corner Branch and Paul Mankhamba and his colleague Innocent Chikoko at Indebank’s Henderson Street Branch, both in Blantyre.

To other unsung fine bankers, all I can say is please keep it up and may the rest learn from the best.