I was recently looking for a new bank outside of my current one to have as a holding place for one of my businesses.
I happened to get a postcard from one of our regional banks that has a branch in my town. Seemed like serendipity to me.
- In town
- I could walk there.
- And they were offering 0.000000000003% interest
And they guaranteed that I could open an account in 15 minutes or less.
I was greeted by the bank manager who said "
I have been on hold with our tech support for the past 20 minutes and I don't want to lose my place". He then bellowed for someone not on lunch break to help me.
- I should have left right then and there... Shoulda, coulda....
A nice lady named Christy (real name used, I don't protect the guilty) came over and invited me to her desk.
I had brought with me all of the documents I thought they would ask for; Articles of Incorporation, Passport, Drivers Lic., SS card, other bank statements.
So she started asking me the questions on her screen to set up the account.
After about 12 minutes, I could tell this was going to take more than 15 minutes
- I should have left right then and there... Shoulda, coulda....
She then started having issues with her system, evidently she forgot to hit "save". So we started again.
Sigh
Once we got back to the point where she forgot to save, she got befuddled with a look on her face that said "
I have no idea what I am doing"
She then began to slowly hunt and peck at the keyboard.
We are now at 29 minutes
- I should have left right then and there... Shoulda, coulda....
I was going to leave, but I figured I already had 30 minutes into it, let's just finish it up.
How much worse could it get?
Let's just say I was there for 96 minutes.
A far cry from the guaranteed 15 minutes of less. Maybe they should not be trying to copy Geico and their gecko.
On my way out, the manager said he would dig to the bottom of why it took so long. I asked him what happens when an account is not opened in 15 minutes? He said he would get back to me.
It has been 10 days. I think he is still digging.
What's this got to do with your business?
All of it!
How do you or your employees greet your clients or patients? How do they feel about your greeting?
Is what you are doing at the moment (on hold, talking with a co-worker, texting) more important to a prospect or client entering your office or website?
Are your employees trained to complete the most basic of tasks?
Do you have a guarantee? If so, can you back up your claims?