Latest comments for http://www.ababj.com , comment 0 to 2 out of 2 comments http://www.ababj.com Wed, 22 May 2013 13:19:17 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.ababj.com/pass-the-aspirin/how-is-your-bank-raising-the-bar-on-customer-service.html#pc_663 First Hope Bank has felt service had to be kicked up a notch to compete. Cindy Munley says the bank is about to launch a new customer relationship management system. But the bank has done more than shop for better tech. Training has been revamped to stress role-playing, Munley says. The bank wants its staff to know how to spot cues that could bring bank products and customers together. Munley says the banks’ CEO, Norm Beatty, likes to say “everyone can be taught to balance.” So the bank looks for new hires that fit its renewed service emphasis. “Retail is a great background,” she says. Susan Porter, the bank’s senior vice-president and chief administrative officer, notes that there is a balance between friendliness and analytical skill. “You don’t want someone who will just talk your ear off,” she explains. Among the tools the bank uses to find the right people are the Predictive Index tests that sort out personality types. Another tool is TalentPlus, an open-ended interviewing process that helps probe for integrity, honesty, exactitude, and work intensity. “We are hitting the nail on the head in hiring people who want to be tellers, rather than just hiring nice people,” says Porter. - ABA BJ, based on interviews with Cindy Munley and Susan Porter, First Hope Bank, N.A., Hope, N.J. Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:41:03 +0100 http://www.ababj.com/pass-the-aspirin/how-is-your-bank-raising-the-bar-on-customer-service.html#pc_662 <b>From the pages of [b]ABA Banking Journal</b>...[/b] Bob Jones’ United Bank taps advisory boards—some geographic, one market-focused—for help. As one example of how these groups helped the bank, Jones took the issue of gift card fraud to the advisory boards to explore their views and perceptions. As it turned out, understanding of the difference between consumer rights and protections on debit cards and credit cards was quite low. Jones says this helped the bank put more effort into education. And it also began encouraging customers who shop online with debit cards to open “shopping accounts” separate from their main household account. - ABA BJ, based on interview with Bob Jones, president and CEO, United Bank, Atmore, Ala. Mon, 06 Dec 2010 15:37:43 +0100