Bank Culture not Commission to Blame!

The Banking Royal Commission has brought in to highlight the evil side of greed, both institutional and personal. The report stated that “Providing a service to customers was relegated to second place. Sales became all-important. "

Sales IS important. But only when the sale truly reflects a good decision for your customer. This has been proven in all successful small to medium businesses where the question of profit versus serving your customer's best interest is a constant. This proves that the right culture and leadership can and does overcome this obstacle.

This week I was able to comment on this on ABC Radio Melbourne with Raphael Epstein on the Drive Program.

Fran: I just think that the banks have been playing the game of customer experience. Those people who know CX or customer experience. Things like the Net Promoter Score that Westpac for example were using a number of years ago and other tools. So, they have been playing this game, but really they’ve been playing the game of greed and internal focus. Incentivising their employees and representatives to do completely the wrong thing.

Raphael: The advice you were getting was completely compromised because they were selling you their products. It’s something the Royal Commission was very clear about.

Fran: Well, you know, small businesses do this every day. And I don’t believe that you have to completely compromise. Like, when you run your own business you are selling your own things every day, but you don’t compromise your ethics. So why is it that big business is like that? And I think, you know, the further you get separated from your customer, the more corrupt it is. So, I don’t think necessarily purely about the compensation, but it is about the leadership. And it is about losing that sight that good selling or good customer relationship is about helping them make a good decision for themselves. Even if that means they don’t buy from you.

Rafael: Look Fran, I couldn’t agree more. I want to make you head of ASIC.

Fran: Pardon?

Rafael: I want you to be head of ASIC.  I’m so impressed with what you have to say. You make a really good point that small businesses manage to sell stuff without getting compromised all the time. Thank you, Fran. Really simple point. Really powerful point.

You can listen to the ABC Drive show here: 

I am not sure about being the head of ASIC. But I am open to the challenge if they would like my opinion on how to get a better customer experience - business alignment.