Eliciting Characteristics, Condition and Challenges in Bank Frontline Services A Service Quality Audit

Continual improvement and customer satisfaction are not simply mantras but become a culture of an organization that had its quality management system certified. Hence, this study aimed to assess the operation of the new accounts section of the select provincial branches of an ISO certified bank in the Philippines. A survey instrument using the CCC (characteristics-condition-challenges) framework was employed. The respondents were the new accounts clerks (NACs), supervisors and clients of the branches. The result revealed that the most essential and helpful characteristics of the NAC to achieve maximum clients’ satisfaction are being accommodating, accurate, compliant, fast, facilitative, and pleasing. The result further revealed that the condition of the New Account Section (NAS) as to the level of compliance and satisfaction in triangulated assessment was ‘very highly compliant/satisfactory’ in the different areas of operation, hence, conforming processes were evident. Furthermore, the result revealed that the challenges or the issues and problems encountered by the NACs are bulk of works, complaining clients, impatient clients, long processes, and overwhelming clients. Generally, the stakeholders of the bank, particularly the clients desired to be well- accommodated and well-facilitated by a pleasing and efficient employee in a shortest possible time because for them this is ‘good service’. For continual improvement and business excellence, more procedural and service innovations on some aspects of operations are wanting.

Keywords – bank management, continual improvement, customer satisfaction, ISO, bank frontline services.