Contents
· Let good customer service be your goal in 2010 (February/March 2010) *NEW*
· Portico through the eyes of the Developer (December 2009/January 2010)
· Filling your Bucket- A Day Out with the Pessimist and the Optimist (October/November 2009)
· There are plenty of good property investment options (August/September 2009)
· Peas in a pod! (June/July 2009)
· Natz uses her natural talent to transform (June/July 2009)
· NAVIGATING THE MORTGAGE MAZE... it's a good time to borrow! (April/May 2009)
· Let's step up to the plate! (February/March 2009)
· 'Tis the Season to be Jolly... (December 2008/January 2009)
· The Hurricane season is upon us so - BE PREPARED (August/September 2008)
· Doors of Opportunity for Everyone (April/May 2008)
· Time for change? (Feb/Mar 2008)
· There's Always a Time to Complain (Feb/Mar 2007)
· Time to fill the Property Vacuum (Dec 2006/Jan 2007)
· Mortgage Broker Clarence Hiles laments another year of limited innovation, progress and product, in the mortgage industry (Oct/Nov 2006)
· Watch your credit rating or it may come back to haunt you (Aug/Sept 2006)
· Cay…man, that's the way to go! (May/June 2006)
· Great Opportunity for Smaller Developers if they are Prepared (Feb/Mar 2006)
· Getting Finance in the Caribbean (Dec 2005/Jan 2006)
· Interest rates will hurt home owners... (Dec 2005/Jan 2006)
· Time to be positive, not negative!
· Mortgage Indemnity Insurance - Who's Kidding Who?
· More Gold than Silver
· THE ULTIMATE MORTGAGE GUIDE
· Weak Dollar spurs Barbados Property Market
· Plenty of Room for Optimism in the Property Market
· Great Expectations
· The Lifestyle Culture
· Re-locating to Barbados made painless
Let good customer service be your goal in 2010 (February/March 2010)
By Mortgage Broker Clarence Hiles
I've always been intrigued by Mission Statements and pledges of good customer service as most of them are perception rather than reality. Sometimes I wonder who wrote them, and why they exist at all, because the delivery is often miles away from the intent.
We all live in boxes and many of our daily experiences involve the delivery and the receipt of customer service. These experiences embrace both our working and private lives, and while the latter may have negligible impact on anyone else, the customer service experience in the work place is paramount to business production and in many instances; it is the core element that wins customers. Any business worth its salt knows the value of good customer service, but amazingly many people within a business don't deliver a service that costs nothing, and worse still, don't even see it as an issue. The receptionist can be the best in the world, but if her boss doesn't take the call or get back to the client, her efforts are wasted. Too many people within the business community negate the work of others because they break the chain with their lack of understanding and appreciation of good customer service.
It is always difficult to solve a problem when the problem is not perceived in the first place, but you don't have to be Einstein to work out there must be something wrong when it takes months to get a mortgage application processed, and then 3-9 months to get it completed. The fact that it could take up to a year to complete a property purchase is scandalous in the modern world. Some lenders in mature overseas mortgage markets advertise that they can process an application within 60 minutes on receipt of all the relevant information. But getting service levels like this in Barbados is 'pie-in-the-sky,' even if some well-meaning visionaries are doing their best to effect change within the established banking culture. The problem is that when some people have power they use it at their own discretion, and rarely is the customer given priority. There are many excellent staff within the banking industry, but their service levels are often compromised by the inefficiencies of their peers. And unfortunately, the cancer goes through to the hierarchy.
It is strange that some attorneys can complete the legal work associated with a purchase within 4-6 weeks, while others would be pushed to do the exact same transaction within 4 to 6 months. Proactive attorneys may be in the minority, and it takes some research to ferret them out, but it is a challenge well worth the time and effort. Ask any attorney about the customer service levels within their industry, and take stock of their response, as nobody knows more about poor customer service within the legal fraternity than the lawyers themselves. It shouldn't be as bad, but the ineffectiveness of the Bar Association and the reluctance of the Fair Trading Commission to get involved, has exacerbated the situation. But the solution has to come from within, and attorneys themselves must set higher levels of customer service rather than wait for their industry regulatory body to get its act together.
We can all improve our customer service delivery.
Let's answer the phone immediately, let's respond to voicemail as soon as we receive it, and let's prioritize work by its importance and not its comfort level. Let's switch off mobile phones when you are dealing with a customer, and let's be proactive in the work place and not allow the low standards of others to drag you down. It is all too easy to accept mediocrity, as too often that is what is received, but you will never effect improvement until you raise the bar and set a higher level of expectation. The onus will always be on you to set your own standards.
Let good customer service be your goal in 2010.
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