A Question of Quality - Philippine Banking Services
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I’ve a question for you, will you pay a premium for quality? Are you willing to give those extra pesos or dollars to get an extra enhancement, services or warranty?
These days, it seems that ‘cheap’ services and products equate to ‘bad’ quality or customer support. Does it have to be like that?
I’ve read, from other yahoogroups that I subscribed to, that being a depositor on large Philippine banks can be quite a hassle. Aside from the long queue of teller lines and long teller jobs processing time, sometimes the bank employees aren’t even aware of their own bank’s services.
Is it too difficult for banks to identify which days are “heavy” - with lot’s of customers coming in, and hire extra help on those days? Or perhaps provide sufficient introductory training for employees?
I honestly don’t think it’s that hard. All they need is an effective system in place that readily addresses common ‘annoying’ customer hassles. Take the case of fast-food restaurants such as McDonalds or Jollibee. When they have people lining up in their counters, other employees (or sometimes the store managers) go to the line, get the orders and have the orders prepared. Could a similar system be placed on banks?
My previous employer had a long argument with Citibank regarding his credit card. He was getting his credit billing statement always a month late. Because it was late, he had to pay late extra charges. He called the bank several times and told them to simply hand deliver the bill to him. His house was just two blocks away from Citibank’s main office in Makati. He even offered his driver to pick up the billing statement.
The person he talked, to however, said that the procedure wasn’t bank policy. They had a courier do all the bills delivery– that? process that accepted. Anything different would be too much of a hassle for the bank. He argued continuously on this issue. Up to the time I left, it was still unresolved.
A close personal female friend of mine has the same problem. She gets her bills from Equitable bank rather late. She is forced to pay extra on the credit card bills just as a contingency measure–so that she is not billed for charges she is unaware of. Needless to say, it ties up some of her liquid cash.
Fortunately, it does not have to be always like that. Probably a choice of banks (or bank branches) can make a difference.
Personally, I have a bank account in East West Bank. I chose this bank because I’ve noticed that there were fewer people here compared to Equitable or MetroBank. I’ve been to three different branches and it’s generally like this. Since there are fewer people, the tellers and such are quite friendly. They is a ‘humane’ touch. I get this great support despite having deposited a relatively small money in their bank.I also have a credit card with them. I have been told that they have the lowest interest rates on credit cards (2.5%). Other credit cards charge up to 3%. When I forget to pay for my credit card on a month, somebody from customer support will give me a friendly reminder. In my chats with them, the customer-support team have generally been women with nice, sweet, voices.
I’m not recommending East-West bank to you. I’d just like to tell you my experience in the Philippine banking sector. Perhaps those who have other experiences could share their own opinions?
It’s great that I don’t pay extra for this simple, frienly reminders and great quality support. Why does it seem hard for other banks to apply the same principle?
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[This article is part of the Experiencing the Philippines series. Subscribe now and read some more.]
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