Customer Service in Indian Banks: An Overview

A competitive environment and a deregulated market have made it imperative for banks to harness the best customer oriented practices and perceptions and to internalize them for providing added value to the customers through the employees. Managers should become more aware of their role and provide the staff with adequate training in order to offer a consistently high standard of customer service. The dominant question bothering the bank managements today is how to improve customer service and gain competitive advantage. "The products are almost the same; however, it is the service that distinguishes one bank from the other". The real experiences of customers with banks in receiving various services vary greatly, because of the widening gap between what is supposed to be and what actually is. A customer mostly expects ability to provide what was promised dependably and accurately. A customer wants to be assured of the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey confidence. A customer also expects caring and individual concern. This book seeks to provide a detailed coverage of the imperatives of customer service as well as the various tools and approaches to customer service. It is hoped that the readers find this book thought-provoking and a valuable input on the multi-faceted dimensions of customer service in banks and the improvements and innovations brought in over the last decade and a half.