Every six months Gulf News publishes a list honouring companies it works with as part of its Consumer Complaints process. The names are selected based on the individual organisation's speed and clarity of response to a consumer, transparency of process, attitude towards the complainant, cooperation on the process and overall satisfaction of the reader. Through this we hope to urge other organisations that haven't appeared on the list to strive to push for better customer service. Gulf News interviewed the top three companies, namely Standard Chartered Bank, Emirates NBD and Mashreq Bank, to know more about their best practices.
Top Consumer Complaints Service List:
1. Standard Chartered Bank
2. Emirates NBD
3. Mashreq
4. RAK Bank
4. Barclays
4. National Bank of Umm Al Quwain
5. Du
5. ADCB
5. HSBC
5. Air Arabia
5. Air Blue
5. Samba Bank
6. Citibank
6. Emirates Islamic Bank
7. Fly Dubai
7. National Bank of Abu Dhabi
7. Dubai First
7. Najm JCB
8. Etisalat
8. Etihad Airways
8. Emirates Post
9. Oman Air
10. Dunia Finance
11. First Gulf Bank
11. Air India
11. Dewa
11. Dubai Bank
11. Dubai Islamic Bank
Gulf News: How much do you value your customer's feedback? How have you used this to improve your customer service?
Mr Pramod Veturi, Acting Head of Consumer Banking, Standard Chartered Bank, UAE:
The ‘Voice of Customers' is one of the key pillars of our business strategy. There is a Voice of Customer forum held monthly, attended by the senior management team. We use this forum to review feedback to identify policies, processes and services to improve the customer experience. The objective is to increase customer advocacy — measured by how many customers will recommend the bank to their friends and colleagues - this is Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS is at the heart of our Customer Charter journey.
Mr Abdulelah Al Kindi, General Manager, Retail Banking, Emirates NBD:
At Emirates NBD we have understood that only customers can assess and decide if we are doing a good job in meeting their respective needs and expectations. As such we have significantly increased our efforts and methods available to solicit their feedback (pro-active as well as reactive) and are very thankful to all of our customers who provide us with such information and allowing us to further improve or resolve their individual concerns. We are proud that we review any feedback received and regularly utilise them to introduce improvements or adjusted products and believe that this practice has impacted our customer service in a very positive manner.
Corporate Communication Department — Mashreq:
Customer's feedback is a primary aspect of our business and is the essence of any call centre operations. At Mashreq, we ensure to receive feedback and implement it to develop services provided to our customers and ensure it's up to their expectations. It is necessary to constantly evolve our products and services to maintain delivering innovative and convenient banking solutions.Upon receiving a complaint, we apply the LEARN-principle, which is LISTEN (listen carefully), EMPATHISE (feel the pain of the customer), APOLOGISE (genuine apology), REACT (quick resolution) and NOW (do not delay).
Gulf News: How far will you go to satisfy your consumers in resolving their issues?
Mr Veturi, Standard Chartered Bank:
Our customers are our biggest stakeholders and we take every complaint very seriously. As part of the bank's brand promise to be ‘Here for good', we believe in taking decisions that are fair and right. A consumer complaint should be resolved in a friendly, fast, and effective manner and to this end, we empower our staff to resolve issues as they arise.
Mr Al Kindi, Emirates NBD:
We believe that the resolution of customer complaints needs to be assigned highest priority in order to resolve the concerns and possibly meet the customer expectations. We must acknowledge the complaint immediately with a unique reference code, communicate the estimated time-frame of resolution, investigate thoroughly, resolve the complaint and send a final confirmation to the customer and maintain the history for retrieval and to bring improvements.
At Emirates NBD, complaints management is a well- defined process and we do investigate any issues, concerns or complaints in detail. Important is that each case is evaluated individually on its own merit and without any prejudice and in a fair manner. To ensure this, Emirates NBD has specifically established the Complaints Management Unit as an independent unit that can consider all aspects without external pressure and all decisions and resolutions hold fast to the high standards we set ourselves as the leading bank in the region.
Corporate Communication Department — Mashreq:
First and foremost, disgruntled customers want to be heard. In Mashreq we recognise that customers with complaints can at times get irritable and touchy. These customers are handled by our best officers in the most patient and polite manner. Most customers as noticed, feel relaxed once we have extended our sincere apology and clarify the cause of their concern. Our utmost aim would be to provide them with an appropriate solution that meets their expectations. We do everything we can to make sure our customers get the best possible service, much beyond standard policies and procedures, as Mashreq is moving towards "Customer Centricity" direction. When a brand makes a promise, customer service helps monitor and ensure the promise is delivered.
Gulf News: What is your company's policy on transparency?
Mr Veturi, Standard Chartered Bank:
Globally, Standard Chartered Bank has fostered a culture of ‘Treating Customers Fairly' (TCF). We meet the stringent demands of our lead regulators in the UK, FSA, around ‘Product Design', ‘Clear Communications', ‘Post-sales Service', and ‘Complaints'. We handle all complaints in a transparent manner in compliance with the TCF guidelines and our local Central Bank regulations.
Mr Al Kindi, Emirates NBD:
With regard to transparency, we strive to provide the full information that is necessary and relevant while communicating the resolution of a complaint. However, importance is also given to the confidentiality requirements towards our customer information and internal business practices and believe that this should be a fair assumption in any business relationship.
Corporate Communication Department — Mashreq:
Being transparent and fair is one of Mashreq's core values. We believe Mashreq has transformed into the most convenient and transparent bank in the UAE. We encourage our customers to voice their opinions and concerns in a user friendly manner. This helps us refine our own policies and procedures. Customer Service is not just about handling a transaction; it is about managing a long-term and mutually beneficial relationship with our customers. Our Customer Care plays a vital role in the process by ensuring that we endeavour to exceed customer expectations.
Gulf News: On average, how long would it take for you to resolve an issue?
Mr Veturi, Standard Chartered Bank:
We aim to resolve complaints at the first point of contact and our target is to resolve all customer complaints within 48 hours. Outstanding complaints that are not resolved within the stipulated turnaround time are brought to the attention of senior management to ensure that they get the appropriate level of escalation and attention.
Mr Al Kindi, Emirates NBD:
Resolution times depend greatly on the nature of the issue, time required for investigation and the intricacies involved. We always attempt to resolve issues in the shortest time possible that still guarantees our high standards of accuracy and adequacy of the resolution. As each case is different, we communicate with our customers the respective anticipated timelines and keep them aware of any developments but are proud that most issues can be resolved within three days and many even on the same day that we come to know about them.
Corporate Communication Department — Mashreq:
Mashreq values its customers and considers complaint resolution a priority, especially Gulf News reader complaints. Complaint Resolution in Mashreq is a thought-through robust cycle that includes comprehension of issue, acknowledge customer's complaint, investigate and collate feedback from business, communicate the resolution to the customer. Customers that approach media with their concerns are dealt with in a similar manner keeping the media partners well informed. Twenty four hours is the turnaround time to resolve for priority segment customers, which includes media complaints.
Gulf News: How do you feel about the joint effort of Gulf News and your company in handling customer issues?
Mr Veturi, Standard Chartered Bank:
The joint effort of Gulf News and Standard Chartered Bank validates our commitment to resolving customer complaints quickly and effectively. It provides us with a new forum to hear the ‘Voice of our Customers'. As a bank, we believe that this initiative will help us in our customer-focus journey.
Mr Al Kindi, Emirates NBD:
We very much appreciate the efforts of Gulf News team for providing a platform to capture customer issues, redirect them to us and jointly assist in resolving them to enhance customer satisfaction and confidence. We applaud Gulf News for their thorough and open approach and consider this relationship a vital piece in our efforts to continuously improve our customers' experience.
Corporate Communication Department — Mashreq:
Gulf News is the market leader in treating customer complaints and has traditionally tackled all reader concerns. Mashreq in collaboration with Gulf News exist in a very demanding, fast-moving and competitive environment where an in-depth understanding of consumers and their needs serve as building blocks for accelerating growth, and sustaining long-term success through customer satisfaction.The joint effort with Gulf News is yet another testament of our efforts towards solving customer concerns and ensuring that we deliver on our promises. We thank Gulf News for giving us the opportunity and ensuring this partnership is a success.
If you have a complaint against any service provider, send us an email at readers@gulfnews.com and we will do our utmost to be of service to the community.
