The Importance of the Internal Customer
Banking is a service business, and therefore a "people business". Bank employees, as representatives of the bank and the providers of the service, are the key to service quality. Because front line employees have direct contact with customers, sometimes neither they nor the operations and support personnel realize how important "behind the scene" skills are to customer service relationships.
With the banking world in chaos, this is not the time to let quality customer service slip. This is the time that front line personnel and operations and customer support personnel must recognize how important each one is to the other. With all the emphasis that has been put on selling and servicing customers, let's remember the internal customer is just as important as the external customer.
Who is the internal customer?
It is any fellow employee we come in contact with-regardless of position or department.
Why are they so important?
Because how we service each other is how we probably service our customers.
What are the benefits of selling (ourselves) and servicing our fellow employees (our internal customers?)
- We learn from each other. When requests are made of others, we learn by asking questions and listening for answers that provide information. We learn that another person's job is more complex than we realized.
- We respect each other for the skills needed to perform a certain job or task. Working with customers in a front line environment versus processing documents in the loan department provide individuals with opportunities for pride in doing a job well. Each position can also be one of stress. The front line person may have to deal with an irate customer. The loan specialist may miss a deadline and impact the workflow of the entire department.
- Servicing the internal customer creates opportunities to expand our network of people available to assist us in a variety of situations. The more you meet with fellow employees or talk to them, the more you are aware of how they can assist you and in turn assist the customer. You have better opportunities for advancement because your interest in others increases your knowledge of your institution. You provide quality service on a consistent basis to all customers- internal or external!
- Two heads are better than one. Trying to solve problems often requires assistance from others. Let's face it-Customers can make some very strange mistakes! Sometimes it takes a team of both branch and support personnel to provide customer satisfaction. Better products and better customer oriented policies are often the result of combining the ideas of front line and operations.
Internal customer service is recognizing that everyone has a role in servicing the needs of the external customer. One branch customer service representative stated how she feels about internal customers: "I need the expertise of our back office people. I realize that if I provide the necessary information, they can cut through many of the obstacles and solve customer problems quickly. I've developed a relationship with them, and call them as needed. And, when the problem is solved, I call to thank them. Also, our office sends cards to back office departments to show our appreciation. I think it is that recognition that lets them know they helped us and the customer is satisfied."
There is a bonus to mutual appreciation between front line and operations. Your customers will recognize the fact that yours is a happy, cooperative organization, and the benefit will be quality customer service. You just can't keep that kind of information secret!
Copyright © 1991 Bankers' Hotline. Originally appeared in Bankers' Hotline, Vol. 2, No. 5, 6/91
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