State banks offer friendlier face

The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Thu, 04/03/2008 1:37 AM | Headlines

The stereotype of state banks having poor customer service, with tellers failing to greet customers with even a smile, has gradually reduced with stiffer industry competition, according to research released Wednesday.

Marketing Research Indonesia (MRI) found some major state banks have drastically improved the quality of their customer service to lure more clients in a sector brimming with other players.

MRI ranks Bank Mandiri first, and Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) sixth on a list of 19 banks found to have the best customer service.

Bank Mandiri and BNI are the country's largest and third largest bank respectively by assets.

"After refusing to adjust for decades, state banks have somehow awaken from their sleep. One of the banks has even climbed to the top level of service," MRI managing director Ermina Yuliarti said.

MRI researched banks in Jakarta, Surabaya and Makassar.

Ermina said Bank Mandiri had toppled foreign-controlled Bank Danamon, which ranked first in the survey last year.

BNI, meanwhile, climbed to sixth from ninth last year.

Ermina said state-owned banks had ranked above private and foreign banks which had a head start in prioritizing customer service.

"This is a remarkable phenomenon. It is very rare to see an institution with a government label deliver a professional service to the public," she said.

The survey measures the quality of security, customer service and teller and hotline services, as well as the quality of offices, equipment, toilets and the availability of automatic teller machines.

The availability of electronic facilities for mobile banking, Internet and SMS banking services are also considered.

"The only way to get more customers is by being competitive with customer service, at a time when all banks offer the same products with the same benefits," research director of InfoBank magazine Eko B. Supriyanto said.

He said banks should focus on delivering better services to attract more customers, rather than trying lure them with interest rates.

The research found the quality of security guards had significantly increased compared to other support services, including teller and hotline services, which remained the same.

Ermina said hotline services were widely seen to have reduced over time because customers had become more demanding. (rff)

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