I have been shopping for a new financial institution since Washington Mutual was gobbled by Chase ten years ago this October. Washington Mutual was not perfect, but they offered two things I rate all business transactions upon, ease of business, and functionality. The functionality occurred with precision, veracity, and good customer experience. Ease of business meant that the customer experience was not inhibited by internal processes, the need for conducting business (external) was not clogged or overshadowed by processes (internal).
Why does this matter? – Because when the customer needed a transaction concluded at Washington Mutual, the bank philosophies of ease of business and functionality made the customer experience more robust and easier for employees and customers alike. It is to ease of business and functionality, as a core business mentality, the following is addressed, in the hopes of promoting improvements in customer attention, focus, and support.
As a financial institution shopper, especially when the customer approaches a manager or assistant manager, regarding a poor experience, the mentality of ease of business and functionality should be the cornerstone of the conversation with customers (external & internal). 10 October 2019 – I approach the “Welcome Desk” at Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU) and ask to speak to a manager. The person behind the desk claims, “I am an assistant manager; how may I help?” I explain, I am shopping financial institution shopping and have a problem depositing a check using the NFCU App. Then I ask if the check I was presenting for the deposit, and the endorsement were acceptable for both an ATM and the counter. When the endorsement was verified as acceptable; I asked, “Why is the endorsement unacceptable for the NFCU App? To which my answer was, “The verbiage specified for deposits through the APP is different to protect NFCU from double or triple deposits of the same check.” Interestingly enough, the verbiage is not standard across the website, the NFCU App, or the email received rejecting the deposit through the NFCU App. Meaning, my check deposit was denied through the App because NFCU’s internal processes are insufficiently designed for ease of business and functionality; thus, the customer is inconvenienced because NFCU cannot function properly in the back office in support of front office customer facing-transactions. Why is it an external customers job to make the back-office employees work less?
There is a trend in financial institutions, Government offices, and emergency rooms to hide the employees behind the double and triple walls of an impenetrable polymer. Chase branches have all been upgraded, my local VA Hospital is being updated, and the local Social Security Office was upgraded several years prior. At the Chase branch, the counters appear to have shrunk to improve the ability to hear and be heard through the thick polymer; good job Chase, Thank you! The VA ER, no such luck, no such plans, hearing a patient’s concerns has been trumped by the business stated need to “protect the worker.” At the local Social Security Office, the desks and counters equate to more than 4-feet of separation between the speaker and the listener, and communication is non-existent for anyone with hearing difficulties, speech difficulties, etc. Functionality and ease of business have been eternally sundered, and the customer pays the price in time, frustration, aggravation, and the inability to conduct business. In the dangerous times we live, it only makes sense to have a security plan, to implement security options, and to support a safe business environment. However, security should never be the excuse for killing ease of business or functionality. I recently traveled from Albuquerque, NM to El Paso, Texas, to visit my “local” Chase branch. Where I then had to repeat myself no less than twice for every verbal request, and the teller had to repeat themselves the same to conduct business. Was a transaction concluded; yes, but the functionality and ease of business were abnegated and not conducive to continuing a customer relationship.
Ease of business and functionality should not be sacrificed as a cost-savings measure or staff reduction model. The Chase branches I have visited in the last two-to-three years have been changing, staff reductions have occurred, while automation has increased. During a previous visit to a Chase branch, three teller positions had been replaced with ATMs inside the branch office. I applaud Chase for the investment made in making technology work; but, when I visit a branch, I want to speak to a person, not be hassled by another machine. I want to be treated as a person whose time is as important as the banker/teller’s time, and have a human experience. Hence, when I witness people replaced by machines, no matter how good the technology is, my cherub-like demeanor takes a significant hit. I understand Federal Minimum Wage, State, County, City Mandated Minimum Wage Laws have all gone crazy increasing the human cost in business, I understand the need for physical security increases costs for human transactions, and I know that the human element is expensive in other ways and means, requiring more back-office work and humans. Do not sacrifice ease of business and functionality on the alter with the humans. If you have physical, armed guards, checking, x-raying, and hassling customers, you should not need the polymer and technical stations. Strike a balance and err on the side of human-to-human contact, not technology.
Speaking of the need to strike a balance between technology and human-to-human contact, ease of business, functionality, and customer service, those “Self-Checkout” stations forced upon customers in retail stores remain a significant point of contention. Home Depot and Lowe’s, thank you for not sacrificing customer attention and customer responsiveness on the altar of technology as “Self-Checkout” has proliferated in your stores. Walmart, Smith’s, Kroger, Fry’s, and so many more stores could learn from your example.
My spouse has several Walmart locations she visits as “local.” In every one of these stores, the same thing has transpired, the self-checkout stations have multiplied exceedingly, but the number of floor employees has dropped exponentially. In fact, there is less customer attention in Walmart since the explosion of self-checkout than before across the five states I have been measuring; thus, I can only conclude, this is a tactical exercise from Walmart Corporate Offices to reduce staff, while not improving the customer experience. Between the constant game of “Musical Shelves,” where products are in continuous movement from shelf to shelf and location to location, and the reduction in customer support, I find myself losing my cherub-like demeanor when trying to complete shopping. Back in the 1990s I read a research report discussing how for every minute spent in a store, the balance of the shopping cart increases $10.00; thus, I understand the psychology of playing “Musical Shelves,” but the human-to-human involvement has led to less functionality in the shopping experience, throwing ease of business in the garbage.
Leading to the following suggestions:
- When looking to strike a balance between expenses and functionality and ease of business, err on the side of ease of business. Functionality will automatically improve when ease of business is sufficiently provided.
- Never allow a process, a procedure, and a business standard of measure to celebrate a second birthday. The ease of business should be a constant aspect of the daily workflow. Functionality, as an extension of ease of business, should be the second prerequisite in the evaluation of processes to meet customer service goals. Never forget, if a process, procedure, or business matrix cannot be explained completely in a single elevator ride, then that process, procedure, and business matrix are too complicated and need revision.
- Customer service should never involve telling a customer about an internal process. Thus, if the back-office is demanding a customer inconvenience that hinders ease of business or functionality, the back-office needs to be held to task and the process changed.
Businesses cannot long shirk ease of business and functionality and survive. Human-to-human interactions are customer service, and when anything gets between the customer and the employee, business leadership must return focus to ease of business and functionality, not cut out the human. Customer service should never be tossed because of technology, ease of employees, or as a staff reduction effort. Your employee today is your customer tomorrow, and your customer today is your employee tomorrow, do you really want to proliferate problems handed to external customer’s as they become tomorrow’s internal customer?
Trader Joe’s remains the pre-eminent example of ease of business, functionality, and customer service working in an environment that is well balanced. No self-checkout, no hassle when asking questions, and several of my local stores have added physical security without changing the human element. Ease of business and functionality are apparent from the prices to the products, the shelves, to the physical store environment. No technology separates the customer from a robust shopping experience that is both pleasing and adventurous. Nothing special is done as a process by Trader Joe’s, but the ease of business and functionality promote the customer experience, which is shared by customers who spend short or long periods shopping and desire to return. I recently witnessed a Trader Joe’s employee explaining to a customer how to improve fruit ripening techniques, the employee then went out of their way to guide the customer through what to buy and how to use the methods discussed with several different varieties of fruit. This example is not a one-off singular event, but a regular occurrence at every Trader Joe’s store I have visited. When you commit to ease of business and functionality, as a person and as a professional, opportunities develop.
© 2019 M. Dave Salisbury
All Rights Reserved
The images used herein were obtained in the public domain, this author holds no copyright to the images displayed.
DNC-Consulting 