Confronting sobs from banks

‘Smiling all the way to the bank’ is an all-too-familiar caption in the press, but it eclipses avoidable customer complaints that often keep social media buzzing.

In banking circles, awards seem to be everything and marketers blow millions to publicise the feats. Yet the heavily-touted accolades are nothing without giving customers a taste of the acclaimed service delivery. At worst, the glistening trophies make the social media look like a more credible barometer.

“I don’t need a financial institution to tell me this or that bank is the best,” a Facebook user called a spade a spade last week Thursday. “I am the one who experiences their services; one who often gets pissed off with network failure when I want to cash money on ATMs [automated teller machines]; one who queues for three hours to get K5 000 from a teller; the one who waits even longer to cash a cheque.”

The disgruntled customer further recounts how money deposited in Lilongwe at 8 am was inaccessible when he got to Blantyre at 2 pm, a six-hour trip that ended with him “exhausting all the stairs” to persuade a branch manager to phone her capital city counterpart to complete the transaction.

“This is the bank where a branch manager refused to return my K25 000 after I provided him with all receipts backing a failed ATM transaction I had experienced in Zomba. I abandoned the account in preference for another bank,” reads the March 5 post by a resident of Mzuzu.

That Thursday, bankers from across all parts of the Northern Region were meeting in the city to hone skills in “superior customer care” so that clients who smile all the way to the bank do not come back whining.

The training, organised by Technical, Entrepreneurial and Vocational and Educational Training Authority (Teveta) in partnership with Institute of Bankers (IOB), was a rare opportunity for employees of different banks to talk about things happening in their suit-and-necktie industry.

It was all there. A speedy consensus that seemingly endless queues in most banking hall, where the tellers’ cubicles often outnumber the service-providers, offer a glimpse of people wishing banks stopped taking them for granted.

The drawbacks—lengthy waits, ailing auto-tellers, unreliable networks and indifferent contact persons—could be the reason some Malawians shun bank accounts.

Figures from the Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) show nearly 80 in 100 Malawians have no access to financial services, including bank accounts. The unmet demand does not just call for financial inclusiveness, but also superior service provision.

“What do you do when faced with extended queues?”

Martin Langa, a trainer at Management Links Consultants, asked the bankers this question.

“Deploy more hands,” one answered.

“Even the bank manager,” said another.

A good substitute, this is one of many things that are easier said than done in the Malawian context.

Actually, most Malawians want banks to behave as if they know that a simple smile, listening ear, swift hand and information-sharing is what distinguishes the best from the rest on the street.

“All banks offer accounts, but they need a friendly and efficient way of spelling out to customers why they should choose one not the other,” says Teveta regional manager Conceptor Kachoka.

She reckons rebranding campaigns are just expensive sprees if the people who deal with people do not strive for improvement every day.

“In each and every organisation that exists productively, we have customers and help them in a manner that will persuade them to come again. If not, they will close up in no time.”

Beating ever-increasing competition in the booming financial sector requires the banks to raise their standards, especially how they handle their clients.

As the banking sector is growing, bankers face a toughening task to attract, retain and satisfy the needs of customers with multiple choices.

“To survive, you need a cutting edge in the way you deal with every customer,” Langa advises.

The private sector training fulfils Teveta’s mandate to support firms that pay Tevet levy—one percent of their payroll—to close skills’ gap that slow down provision of quality services.

“The banks asked for this training to overcome gaps in customer care. We expect fewer complaints from customers. The trainees need to internalise and share the knowledge acquired,” says Tamara Muwa, the education and training manager at IOB.

There is still great demand for similar trainings, say the IOB official and her Teveta counterpart.

The whines of the bank users could be a testimony that the training should not be the last one.

According to Elia Chimaliro, the refresher should go beyond receptionists and tellers who are expected to be always ready to lend, even when confronted with overpowering workloads, bad-tempered customers and inquiries beyond their ability.

One of the trainees, Chimaliro, said: “Wonderful. A lot of lessons have been learnt and it will be more beneficial if Institute of Bankers organised a similar course for managers.”

Concurringly, trainer Langa warns against just recruiting more staff, deploying stop-gaps and judging customer attendants by looks alone.

“With the boom, banks need formal and life-changing training in customer care and information-sharing. Otherwise, customers sometimes dump one bank for another because they are sick and tired of being pushed around without getting any help,” he said.