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What Is A Customer?
Employees of all types of financial institutions know all about the customer service process-they live and breathe "customer service!"
But the term "customer" is often used to apply to anyone who uses the institution's services or purchases the institution's products.
This is a misleading and often dangerous assumption. Using the term "customer" this way would include a person who wants to change a large- denomination bill for smaller-denomination ones; or even, as a "user" of our services and products, a "customer" could be a robber, burglar or check kiter; or a con artist or a "bustout" (bankruptcy fraud) schemer.
So what is a customer?
A customer is a person who generates income for the institution.
All other persons may be thinking about becoming a customer; intend to become a customer in the future; or may be trying to appear to be a customer as a part of some criminal plan.
A real, honest-to-goodness CUSTOMER is a person who has passed the institution's financial and integrity tests: background and credit checks; the verification of the source of funds to open the account; and the validation of identification documents.
Every financial institution has a duty and the responsibility to qualify its customers. To do less-than-an- adequate customer qualification job puts the institution, its shareholders, its employees and other customers at risk.
Under the watchful eye of Congress, regulators are looking to make sure we know who our customers are by demanding we have a comprehensive "Know Your Customer" policy and procedures.
When you are discussing your activity with your examiners, be sure you use the correct term when you are describing your customer service-whether it really is for "customers" or for non-customers.
Copyright © 1997 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 7, No. 2, 1/97
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