I received this comment via email from a middle ma...

2009-11-30T06:50:06.935-08:00

I received this comment via email from a middle manager at a 600 branch bank. I'm posting it here with his permission:

Have to agree with you on the idea that the little things make a big difference. Stephen Covey put it much better than I could, "The struggle in life is not between good and bad. 95% of us have that mastered. It's really between good and great. And the difference is so slight." That isn't an exact quote, but I'm pretty close.

One industry that needs to listen to repeated customer requests more frequently is mine: the banking industry. We choose to have selective hearing frequently.

Case in point... overdraft fees. Customer outrage over overdraft fees and policies has gotten so bad that the government is now taking action. This summer, we will see legislation that will change the way we manage overdrafts and what kind of fees that can be charged. Had we bankers listened a little better to repeated customer requests for some kind of reasonable change to our overdraft policies, we wouldn't be in a state where we are being forced by the US Government to change our ways. There were some reasonable (and profitable) changes that could have been made proactively.

Do you know why customers leave a bank? Most of the time it is because of bad service. Coming in a close second is overdraft fees. I wonder how many of the "bad service" issues were the result of an overdraft fee?

So, like the way your good waiter notices accumulating straws, a good industry needs to notice accumulating customer complaints and respond accordingly.

Thanks again for the great newsletter.

I use this "straw service model" in conducting tra...

2009-11-29T13:52:36.336-08:00

I use this "straw service model" in conducting training sessions for my treasurers at OSU. Rather than express frustration in the things they continually leave out of their audits, or get stressed out when answering the same question for the umpteenth (it's an accounting term) time, I regularly rewrite my training materials to "pre-answer" their questions or resolve those most common mistakes.
As I start to see another round of funding requests and audits this year, it's apparent who listens at training, and that I'm providing a helpful service to my student customers.

Comments on spark new thinking!: It's All About The Straws

I received this comment via email from a middle ma...

I use this "straw service model" in conducting tra...