Poor customer service behavior of employees at joint stock commercial bank for foreign trade of vietnam – ho chi minh city branc

Board of DirectorsAccounting department Service departments Credit departments Technical department Human resources Individials service department Corporate service department CHAPTER1:P

MASTEROFBUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

HoChiMinhCity–Year 2018

MASTEROFBUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

SUPERVISOR:DR.TRAN PHUONGTHAO

HoChiMinhCity–Year2018

TABLE OFCONTENTS

EXECUTIVESUMMARY 1

CHAPTER1:PROBLEMIDENTIFICATION 2

1.1 CompanyOverview 2

1.2 Backgroundof theproblem 2

1.2.1 Individualcustomers’complaintsaboutVCBcustomerservice atthecounters.3 1.2.2 EvaluationofVietcombank’scustomerservicequalitycompared to itscompetitorsin thebankingindustry 5

1.3 Problemanalysis 7

1.3.1 Lowqualityof servicespaceandfacility 9

1.3.2 Lowinteractionquality 10

1.3.3 Lackof reliability 11

1.4 Problemjustification 13

1.4.1 Possibleproblems 13

1.4.2 Mainproblem 18

1.5 Cause validation 19

1.5.1 Training 19

1.5.2 Motivation 21

1.5.3 Designofcustomerservicejob 21

CHAPTER2:SOLUTION 23

2.1 Alternativesolutions 23

2.1.1 Contents oftraining 23

2.1.2 Methodsoftraining 24

2.1.3 Trainingsources: 25

2.2 Selectedsolution forVietcombank HCMCbranch 27

2.3 Actionplan 29

2.4 Conclusion 31

CHAPTER3:SUPPORTINGINFORMATION 33

3.1 Summaryof methodology 33

3.2 Informationofin-depthinterviews conducted 33

3.2.1 In-depthInterview-Section1 33

3.2.2 In-depthInterview-Section 2 39

3.2.3 In-depthInterview-Section 3 46

3.3 REFERENCES 48

Figure1:Organization’sstructureofVietcombankHoChiMinhCityBranchFigure2:Evaluationofcustomerserviceattransactioncountersofsixcommercialb a n k s

Figure3:Customers’evaluationscoresforserviceproviderandserviceenvironmento f sixcommercialbanks

Table4:DemographicofstaffschosenforinterviewTabl e 5:Est

imatedcostfortrainingprogram

Table6:Actionplan

EXECUTIVESUMMARY

ThebankingindustryinVietnamisbecomingmorecomparativeinrecentyears.Bigstate-

ownedbankssuchasVietcombank,BIDVandVietinbanksnowhavetocompetew i t h variou

sp ri va te ba n k s whicha r e rising quickly.A l l th eba nks attemptt or et ai n loyalc u s t

o m e r s a n d i n c r e a s e t h e i r m a r k e t s h a r e , s o theyh a v e t o paya t t e n t i o n o nimprovingtheq u a l i t y ofcustomers e r v i c e I t isn o t a s t r e t c h t o s a y t h a t c u s t o

m e r r e t e n t i o n inthebankingsectordependsprimarilyoncustomerservice.Today’scustomersaremoreknowledgeableoftheiroptions.Sooncetheyhavechosenabank,theyexpectahighlevelofcustomerservice.Theimportanceofcustomerretentioninbanksd e p

e n d s o n t h e s e i n s t i t u t i o n s s t e p p i n g u p t o t h e p l a t e a n d d e l i v e r i n g o n t

h e qualityofservicethatisexpected

Thepurposeofthisthesisistoexplorethecausesofpoorcustomerservicebehavior

p r o b l em atJointStock HoChiMinhCityb r a n c h (VietcombankHCMCbranch).Thisproblemisviewedthroughthes y m p t o m o f lowc u s t o m e r ’ s s a t i s f a c t i o n a b o u t servicequalityatVietcombankcounters

CommercialbankforForeignTradeofVietnam-Thefindingsofthestudyrevealsthatthemaincauseofthisproblemisthelackofaformaltraining programon customerservicefor allemployeesworking atthisfieldoft h e b a n k The findingsa r e d i s c u s s e d i n detailsi n ther e s e a r c h

a l o n g w i t h s o m e r ecom mend at io ns f o r t h e c o m p a n y a n d m a n a g e m e n t

b o a r d t o i n c r e a s e t h e l e v e l o f individualcustomerservicequalityinordertoimprovecustomersatisfactionofV i e t c o m b a n k HCMCbranch

Board of Directors

Accounting department Service departments Credit departments Technical department Human resources

Individials service department Corporate service department

CHAPTER1:PROBLEMIDENTIFICATION 1.1 CompanyOverview

JointStockC o m m e r c i a l B a n k f o r F o r e i g n T r a d e o f V i e t n a m ( V i e t c

o m b a n k ) w a s establishedon01/04/1963fromtheForeign ExchangeBureau(oftheStateBankofVietnam).From02/06/2008,Vietcombanksuccessfullyimplementedtheequitizationp l a n throughIPO

Duringmorethan50yearsofgrowthanddevelopment,Vietcombankhascontributedsignificantlytothestabilityandgrowthofnationaleconomy,upholdingtheroleofamajorforeigntradebankinfacilitatingefficientdomesticeconomicgrowthaswellasi n f l u e n c

i n g considerablyonregionalandglobalfinancialcommunity

Originatedf o u n d e d as a s p e c i a l i z e d b a n k f o r f o r e i g n t r a d e, V i e t c o m b a n k n o

w a d a ys hasb e c o m e a v e r s a t i l e b a n k t h a t p r o v i d e s c u s t o m e r s w i t h a w i d e r

a n g e o f l e a d i n g financialservicesininternationaltrade,includingtraditionalservicessuchascapitaltrading,capitalmobilization,credit,projectfinancing…

etc.,andmodernbankingsegmentsuchasforextradingandderivatives,cardservices,e-bankingandsoon

VietcomabankHoChiMinhCityBranch(VCBHCM)wasestablishedin1976.Aftermoret

h a n 4 0 yearsofg r o w t h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t , V C B H C M h a s n o w becomet h e largestbranchinVCBsystemwhichcontributesmorethan30%oftotalprofitbeforet a x o f V i

e t c o m b a n k inr e c e n t years.T o t a l a s s e t o f V C B H C M at3 1 / 1 2 / 2 0 1 6 w a s 102.808 billionVND, totaldeposit was99.851billionVND andtotal loanwas76.258b il li on VND

Figure1:Organization’sstructureofVietcombankHoChiMinhCityBranch

(Source:HumanResourcesDepartmentofVietcombankHCMCBranch)

1.2 Backgroundoftheproblem

Thisp a r t d i s c u s s e s t h e p r o b l e m o f l o w e v a l u a t i o n o f i n d i v i d u a l customers e r v i c e q u a l i t y atVietcombank’sservicedepartment.

Servicedepartment(orfrontoffice) ofVietcombankincludescustomerservicedepartmentsand tradeofficesthat servecustomersdirectlyat counterwithmostoftheb a s i c servicesofthebanks,suchasdepositing,withdrawingortransferingmoney,etc

V i e t c o m b a n k HCMCbranchhaseleventradeofficesandtwocustomerservicedepartmentsw h i c h a r e f r o n t o f f i c e s a n d s e r v e b o t h i n d i v i d u a l a n d o r g

a n i z a t i o n a l customersdirectlythroughtransactioncounters.Tellersworkingatthesetradeofficesa r e t h e fa c e o f t h e b a n k , t h us theyshould bep r e p a r e d w i t h h i g h s k

i l l s o f c u s t o m e r service.S e r v i c e q u a l i t y f o r i n d i v i d u a l ando r g a n i z a t i o

n a l c u s t o m e r s a r e b o t h important,butindividualcustomerserviceismoreessentialtothebanksinceV i e t c o m b a n k wantstodevelopitsmarketshareinretailbankingsectorwiththetargettobecome“TheVietnamesenumber-

onebankinretailbankingsector”.Besidesthat,numberofindividualcustomersaremuchhigherthanorganizationalcustomersforab a n k Therefore,areportbyVCBshowingincreasingnumberofcomplaintsofindividualcustomersinrecenttime(discussedinpart1.2.1)isathreatforthisbank’sd e v e l o p m e n t T h u s , t h i s t h e s i s w i l f o c u s o n analyzings e r v i ce q u a l i t y fori n d i v i d u a l customersonly,insteadofbothindividualandorganizationalcustomers,throughtwomains y m t o m s m e n t i o n e d i n t h i s p a r t a s f

o l l o w i n g : I n c r e a s i n g c u s t o m e r c o m p l a i n t s andlowcustomerevaluationcompairedtocompetitors

1.2.1 Individualcustomers’complaintsaboutVCBcustomerserviceatthecou nters

Inr e c e n t years,V i e t c o m b a n k h a s f o c u s e d o n d e v e l o p i n g i t s m a r k e t s h a

r e i n r e t a i l bankingsectorwiththetargettobecome“TheVietnamesefirstrankedbankinretailb a n k i n g s e c t o r ” H o w e v e r , V i e t c o m b a n k o f t e n r e c e i v e s c o

m p l a i n t s a b o u t c u s t o m e r servicequalitybyindividualcustomerswhohaveexperiencedcustomerserviceattheb a n k ’ s transactioncounters.BeingthelargestbranchofVietcombank,HCMCbranchisalsothebranchthatreceivesmostcomplaintsfromcustomers.AccordingtofiguresprovidedbyVietcombank’sRetailBankingProductManagementDepartmentinmonthly CustomerService Report,whichissenttoallemployeesbyemail,numberofcomplaints aboutcustomer servicequalityatVietcombankhotline

hasalwaysaccountedformorethan60%inrecentmonthsin2017,inwhichHCMCb r a

n c h oftenaccountsforthehighestpercentage(about20%)sinceitsscaleismuchlargert h a n o t h e r s T h e b e l o w t a b l e s h o w s t h e s e c t o r s o f c o m p l a i n t

e byi n d i v i d u a l customersonsocialmedia.Throughasurveydonein2016byBuzzMetrics-alocalr e s e a r c h companyinVietnam,Vietcombankisoneofthe localcommercialbanksthatr eceiv ed mostc o m p l a i n t s a b o u t c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e

q u a l i t y t h r o u g h d i s c u s s i o n s a n d commentsofcustomersonsocialnetworkingsiteslikeFacebookandforums,statedbyK i m1.S e r v i c e q u a l i t y o f Vietcombankando t h e r s t a t e - o w n e d b a n k s a r e a l w a y s e v a l u a t e d t o b e

n o t asg o o d a s s e r v i c e s a t private

bankss u c h asT e c h c o m b a n k , Sacombank,ACBandsoon.Especially,badstaffs’attitudetowardscustomersisthemostseriousproblemofVietcombank’sservicequalitywhenitaccountsfor21%ofcommentsonsocialmedia1

91

90

Customer service quality evaluation

sc o n d u c t e d i n July2 0 1 7 f o r a l l 1 1 t r a d e o f f i c e s a n d I n d i v i d u a l CustomerS e r v i c e DepartmentofVietcombankHCMCBranchesinVietnamandanumberoftransactionc o u n t e r s ofotherfivebanksmentionedabove.AmarketresearchcompanywashiredbyVietcombanktosendtheirstaffsplayingassecretcustomers.ThesesecretcustomersvisitedallthetradeofficesofVietcombankHCMCandonetradeofficeofe

a c h otherfivebanks.Theyplayedasnormalcustomersandexperiencedthebank’scustomerservice,andthengivescoretocriteriaswhichwerelistedin advance.Theo v e r a l evaluationscoreforthesixbanksareasfollow:

Figure2:Evaluationofcustomerserviceattransactioncountersofsixco

mmercialbanks

(Source:Vietcombank’sRetailBankingProductManagementDepartment)

Thee v a l u a t i o n w a s b a s e d o n t w o f a c t o r s , w h i c h a r e thequalityoftransactiono

f ficesa n d tellers/

officers.WhileVietcombank’st r a n s a c t i o n o f f i c e s werer a t e d withmediumscorethatwasinthemiddlerangecomparedtootherbanks,Vietcombank’stellerswerenothighlyevaluatedsincethescoregivenwasalmostt h e l o w e s t onea m o n g sixbanks,asshowninFigure3below:

Attitudetowardscustomersandprofessionalknowledgeandskillsarethetwof a

c t o r s thatreceivedthelowestscoreswith73and82pointsover100pointsrespectively.ThesearekeyfactorsthatpulleddowntheoverallscoreofV i e t c o m b a n k an d madet h

i s b a n k b e i n g r a n ke d l o w e r t h a n c o m p e t i t o r s i n c u s t o m e r service.T h i s resultc

a n beconsideredasa reconfirmationf o r theproblemofbadcustomers e r v i c e q u a l i t y

f o r i n d i v i d u a l s a t V i e t c o m b a n k WhileV i e t c o m b a n k h a s strivedtobecomeoneoftheleadingbanksinretailbankingsectioninrecentyears,t h e factthatitsservicequalityforindividualcustomersisnotgoodenoughtocomparewithp r i v a t e b a n k s

l i k e T e c h c o m b a n k , Sacombank, mightbeabarrierfori t toretainroyalcustomersanddevelopmarketshareoveritscompetitorsinbankingindustry

1.3 Problemanalysis

PreviousstudiesofSalim2f o u n dthatinordertodeterminecustomer’sperceptionsoftheoverallbankingservicequality,bankingserviceproductqualityplaysanimportantrole.A c c o

r d i n g t o P a r a s u r a m a n e t a l3,t h e r e a r e t e n d i m e n s i o n s inb a n k i n g s e r v i c equalitya n d theya r e a c c e s s , c o m m u n i c a t i o n , c o m p e t e n c e , c o u r t e s y , c r e d i

b i l i t y , reliability,responsiveness,security,understandingandtangibility.Accessmeansa v a i l a b i l i t y f o r h e l p , A T M a c c e s s , p h o n e a c c e s s , e m a i l a c c e s

s a n d a c c o u n t a c c e s s w h e n a b r o a d C o m m u n i c a t i o n r e f e r s t o c l e a r a n

s w e r s , i n f o r m i n g c u s t o m e r o f importantinformation,availabilityofstatusoftransactions.Competence

meansabilityt o s o l v e p r o b l e m s a n d k n o w l e d g e t o a n s w e r q u e s t i o n s C o

u r t e s y i s h a n d l i n g complaintsi n a f r i e n d l y mannera n d c o n s i s t e n t l y courteo

us C r e d i b i l i t y meansc o n f i d e n c e inthebank’sservicegoodreputation.Reliabilityreferstocorrectservice,k e e p i n g servicepromise,accuraterecordsandkeeppromiseasadvertised.R e s p o n s i v e n e s s r e f e r s t o p r o m p t s e r v i c e quickly,q u i c

k p r o b l e m s o l v i n g a n d c o n v e n i e n t service.Securityincludesthemaintenanceofconfidentiality.U n d e r s t a n d i n g t h e c u s t o m e r s meansp e r s o n a l i z e d a

t t e n t i o n A n d t a n g i b i l i t y ist h e appearanceofphysicalfacilities,equipment,personnel,printedandvisualmaterials

Gronroos4,onanothermanner,arguedthatperceivedgoodservicequalityconsistsofs i

x criteria:professionalismandskills,attitudesandbehavior,accessibilityandflexibility,reliabilityand trustworthiness,recovery,reputationandcredibility.Among

n

-d e p t h interviewstovali-datethesepotentialproblems.Theresearchwillfocusontheproblemo flowindividualcustomerserviceofVietcombankHCMCbranchonlyratherthanthew h ol e systemofVietcombank,sinceitishardtodoresearchonthewholesystemoft h e bank

1 NguyenHoa 25 Female IndividualCustomerServiceDept

2 HaThiThuy 37 Female IndividualCustomerServiceDept

4 TruongDinhKhoi 40 Male TonDucThangTradeoffice

Fromtheinterviewsconducted,therearesomekeyreasonsleadingtothelowevaluationo

f V i e t c o m b a n k ’ s c u s t o m e r s e r v i c e q u a l i t y a t t r a n s a c t i o n c o u n t e r s ,

 Unappealingtransactionspace(includingbothexteriorandinterior):trashonthef l o o r

; sloughingwall;disorderlyequipmentarrangement;

 Untidyappearance o f transactionc o u n t e r : u n o r g a n i z e d d o c u m e n t s /

t r a s h o n t h e counter;tellersputtheirfood,drinkandthingsunrelatedtoworkonthecounter;

Formoredetails,thereistwooutoffourcustomersinterviewedsharedthatshewasn

o t h a p p y w i t h t h e b a n k b e c a u s e o f theu n a t t r a c t i v e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e t r

a n s a c t i o n space:

“IwenttoLeThiRiengtradeofficetogetmycashdeposited.Outsidethefrontdooroft h e bank,therewassometrashonthefloorandtheyevenputabroomandamoponthewayi n Insidet h eofficew a s alsoq u i t e m e s s y andunprofessionalw h e n t h e y p u t a f o l d i n g chairbehindthetransactioncounter,whichIguessisusedforlunchbreak.”-M r Ba sharedintheinterview

Mr.Khoi,whohadmadetransactionatTonDucThangtradeoffice,alsosharedthat:“ Ihavealittlebituncomfortablefeelingaboutthistradeofficebecauseitisquiteold.T h e paintonthewallissloughingandoutsidethebank,thesignplateandlogoofthebankarefaded.NotalltradeofficesofVietcombankarelikethat,butIgotothisofficef r e q u e n t l y becauseitislocatednearmyworkplace.Ifthebank’sfacilityisnewerandt h e spaceis

moreluxurious,Iwouldfeelthattheirserviceis moreprofessional.”

Whena s k i n g t h e s e f o u r i n t e r v i e w e e s w h e t h e r theya r e s a t i s f i e d witho t h

e r s e r v i c e e n v i r o n m e n t f a c t o r s , M s H o a s h a r e d t h a t sometimess h e w a s a

l s o n o t g l a d t o s e e

messytablebehindthecounterofthestaff.Somestaffsalsoputdrinkssuchascoffeeormilkteaonthetable,whichmaymaketransactiondocumentsgetdirtyiftheyarecar el ess.Bothofthembelievethatitisnecessaryforthebank’semployeestoshowtheirprofessionalappearancebecausethatisoneofthewaystoexpresstheirrespecttocustomers.

Fromt h e i n t e r v i e w s w i t h c u s t o m e r s , w e cans e e t h a t e a c h customerh a v e d i f f

e r e n t p r o b l e m tofeelunsatisfiedwiththebank’slowqualityofservicespaceandfacility,w h i c h wasdescribedastheproblemof“lowconditionofserviceenvironment”inther e s e a r c h ofRustetal5.Thestudyindicatedthatserviceenvironmenthaveaffectionont h e l e v e l o f c u s t o m e r s a t i s f a c t i o n Whens e r v i c e e n v i r o n m e n t i s i n g o

o d c o n d i t i o n , customersfeelmorecomfortableandtheyevaluatethebanktobemoreprofessional

“Ihaveusedserviceofseverallocalbanks,andIamquitedisappointedwith

theattitudeo f Vietcombank’sstaffs.Ingeneral,theycompletetheirjob,buttheydidnotshowthehighq u a l i t y ofserviceattitude.Forexample,thereweres o m e t i m e s I m e t i m p

o l i t e officersw h o d i d n o t s h o w anyw e l c o m e a t t i t u d e t o m e S h e d i d n o t s m

i l e w i t h m e d u r i n g the timeIsatathercounterwaitingfortransactioncompleted.EvenwhenIcameandleft,she did notsay“Hello”,“Goodbye”and“Thankyou”.”

Moreover,Mr.KhoiwhohadabadexperiencewiththetellersatVCBTonDucThangtradeofficealsosharedwithushisstory:

“WhenIinformedthetellerthatIcouldnotactivatemyinternetbankingaccountwhenI registeredf o r i t f o r t h e firsttimeb e c a u s e o f t h e bank’sm i s t a k e o f s e n d i n g m e t h e passwordlate,herfirstreactionwastoblamethefaulttomewhensayingthatthebanksystemalwayssendpasswordemailimmediately.ShesaidthereasonwasthatIloggedo n theaccountlaterthan24hoursasthebankhadinformedintheemail.Iwasreallya n g r y andaskedhertorecheck,afterthatshefoundoutthatthefaultisduetothebanke-system.”

en otasfriendlyasotherbanks,especiallyprivatebankslikeTechcombankandS a c

o m b a n k Someo f t h e m alsoshared t h a t sometimestheyhavetowaitf o r al on g t i

m e onlyforasimpletransaction,butthetellersdidnotexplainedtothemthereasona n d alsodidnotinformedthemthetimetowait,thustheyfeelthattheyarenotfullyrespectedbythebankstaffs

Gronroos6c o n f i r m e dt h e i m p o r t a n c e o f i n t e r a c t i o n i n t h e o v e r a l l q u a l i t y ofs e r

v i c e I n t e r a c t i o n qualityc a n bedefinedasa

customer’sexperienceasaresultoftheinteractionwiththehumanelementoftheserviceorganization,statedbyAlexandriseta l6.G r o n r o o s7explainedt h a t s e r v i c e q u a l i t y co n s i s ts o

f t w o d i m e n s i o n s : f u n c t i o n a l ( p r o c e s s/

i n t e r a ct i o n ) andtechnical(outcomes)dimensions.Thefunctionaldimensionreferstocustomerperceptionsoftheinteractionsthattakeplaceduringservicedelivery,w

h i l e t h e t e c h n i c a l d i m e n s i o n i s what customersr e c e i v e i n t h e

s e r v i c e e n c o u n t e r (theoutcomes).Fromthisdefinition,itcanbeunderstoodthatgoodinteraction(functional dimensions) between thebankstaffsandcustomersresultsinh i g h e r customersatisfaction.However,theinterviewswithcustomersshowthattheya r e notsatisfiedwithinteractionqualityofVietcombank’semployees,whichisr e s u l t ed fromsomesymptomsasfollowing:

 Unfriendlyattitudeoftellers

 Irresponsiblefeedbackforcustomer’scomplaints

 Unwillingnesstosolvecustomer’sproblem

Afterexaminingrelatedliteratures,itisdemonstratedthatallofthesymptomsmentionedabove r e f e rs t o th e p r o b l e m ofp o o r customerse rv ice b e h a v i o r ( CS B) o f s t a f

f s towardscustomers

1.3.3 Lackofreliability

Fromtheinterview,somecustomersdisclosedthatsometimestheyfeltlackofreliabilitywiththebankwhenmakingtheirtransaction.Twooutoffourinterviewedcustomerssharedthattheyhaveexperiencedthisproblemindetail:

“YesterdayI wenttoTonDuc

Thangtradeofficetoclosemyb a n k accountandwithdrawmoney.Ireceivedmymoneyandthoughtthatthetransactionwassmoothlycompleted.However,thismorning,thebank’ss

taffcalledmeandinformedthat therewasanamountofmoneytransferredintomyaccountyesterdaybutduetomistake of

VietcombankhasbeenleakedoutandIamnot happywiththat.”

Theseinformationabovedemonstratesthattosomeextent,Vietcombankdidnotgaincustomers’totalreliability,whichisoneofthefactorsaffectingcustomersatisfaction,a s statedbyParasuramanetal8.Fromtheinterviews,factorscontributingtothenon-

dimensions:technicalqualityandfunctionalquality.Technicalq u a l i t y ishowthecustomerreceivestheoutcomeoftheprocess,asdefinedtoincludeinteractionqualitymentionedinsection1.3.2.Ontheotherhand,functionalqualityish o w theservice encounteris takencareand howthe serviceproviderfunctions.Inthis

Unappealing transaction space

Low quality of service space and facility

Untidy transaction counters Low condition

of service environment

Unstandardized appearance of employees

Unfriendly attitude of tellers

Decrease of

the bank’s reputation

Irresponsible feedback for customer's complaints Unwillingness to solve customer's problems Staff makes errors when providing service

Low customer service qualityLow interaction quality

Poor CSB (customer service behavior) Loss of

current and future customers

Inefficient internal process

Lack of reliability Lack of confidentiality in customer's information

Theseposibleproblemsarejustifiedthroughthesecondinterviewsection,whichwasconductedwithagroupoffourpeople:atellerandthreemanagersworkingatIn di vidu al C u

s t o m e r S e r v i c e D e p a r t m e n t , L e T h i R i e n g a n d T o n D u c T h a n g t r a d e officesofVCBHCMCbranch.These in-

depthinterviewswere carriedoutaftertheinterviewsw i t h customers,w h i c h h e l

p c o n f i r m t h e p r o b l e m s t h o s e c u s t o m e r s

complainedinordertohaveatwo-wayapproachtowardstheproblems

Table4:Demographicofstaffschosenforinterview

No Nameofstaff Position NameofVCB Branch actionpoint Nameoftrans

1 Ms.VuThiHuyen Teller HCMCityBranch IndividualCustom

erServiceDepartment

3 Mr.PhanVanBinh Manager HCMCityBranch LeThiRiengTradeoffice

eoffice

Thefourintervieweeswereaskedfortheir opinionsaboutthethreepossibleproblems.F r o m theinformationcollectedfromthem(whichisanalyzedindetailasfollowing),i

tc a n beeducedthatthemainproblem

ofVietcombanklowindividualcustomerserviceispoorcustomerservicebehavior

 Lowconditionofserviceenvironment

Serviceenvironmentwasdefinedandprovedtoaffectthequalityofdevicedeliveryandcustomersatisfactionthroughmanystudiesinthepast.AccordingtoRustet

al5,serviceenvironmentofthebankcomprisesofextriorandinteriorappearanceoftheb a n k facility,andappearanceofserviceprovider–

inthiscase,serviceprovidersaret h e te lle rs of t h e bank.L i n et a l9devidedser vi ce e n

v i r o n m e n t i nt o t w o ca ter go ri es : physicalenvironmentandsocialenvironment.Lin’sdefinitiongivealargermeaningf o r theterm“serviceenvironment”whilephysicalenvironmentreferstoambientandd e si g n f a c t o r s

a n d s o c i a l e n v i r o n m e n t r e f e r s t o thed i s p l a y i n g ofemployeesa n d customerclimate6

Abouttheinfluenceofserviceenvironmentonqualityofserviceoutcome,Linetal9m entionedthat:

“Serviceenvironmentplaysanimportantroleinservicedeliverybecauseenvironmentcanfosterpleasantemotionreactions,whilestrentheningc u s t o m e r perceptionsandretention”.Ryuetal10emphasizedthe influence ofphysicalenvironmenton customersatisfactiont h a t p leas in gp hys ica ls ur ro un di ng s( e g , l i g h t i n g , de co r, l ay ou

t an dem pl oy ee a pp e a r an ce ) maydeterminetoa lar gee xt en t t h e le vel of customers a t i s f a c t i o n Th e st u d y alsoexplainedthatbecauseservicesaremainlyintangibleandoftenrequirethecustomert o b e p r e s e n t d u r i n g t h e p r o c e s s ,

badconditionoffacilitya n d appearanceinthepresent,butitisonlytemporarysituationandtheyaregoingtofi xitsoon.Becausetheseofficesarequiteold,theyhaveplannedtorepaintthewalla n d replaceoldandbrokenfacilitiesinfewweeks.Atthistime,theyarepreparingforthereparation, th ust he re mightbe m es s y andun or ga niz eda ppe ar ance

o r r e c t l y andtidily.A s a manager,I understandanddonotblame myemployeesforthat.However,thecustomersarerightt o feelbadaboutt h a t problem,s o I w o u l d remindt h e staffst o attemptto beneatall thetime.”

Ing e n e r a l , s e r v i c e e n v i r o n m e n t q u a l i t y o f V i e t c o m b a n k r e c e i v e d somec o m p l a i n t s f r o m customers.However,throughthealternativedepthinterviewswiththecustomersan d bank’sstaffsaswellasmanagers,itisconcludedthatmostofthoseproblemsaretemporaryandtheyarenotthemostsignificantcausesthateffectcustomer’sevaluationofVietcombankservicequality.

 Poorcustomerservicebehavior

Customerservicebehavior(CSB)isafieldthathasbeenstudiedbymanyresearchersi n thepastandtheyalsoproveditsimportanceinaffectingtheevaluationofcustomerservicequalityofaserviceorganization.Weiner11q u o t e dthedefinitionofCSBfromtheresearchofRyanandPloyhartasfollowing:

“CSBi s b r o a d l y d e f i n e d asanyactivitieso f employeess p e c i f i c a l l y directedtowardaffectings e r v i c e quality(e.g.,greetingora s s i s t i n g customers,rectifyings e r v i c e failures).”

AccordingtoWeiner11,poorCSB,alsounderstoodasnegativebehaviorofemployees,i s believedtobeoneofthecorefactorsloweringcustomersatisfaction.AsdefinedbyMck in ney12

,t h e t e r m “employeeb e h a v i o r ” r e f e r s t o t h e wayi n w h i c h e m p l o y e e s r

e s p o n d tospecificcircumstancesorsituationsintheworkplace.Turkayetal13havementionedi n t h e i r s t u d y thate m p l o y e e s d i s p l a y appropriateb e h a v i o r s f o r a s

e r v i c e e x p e r i e n c e leadstocustomer’sperceiveofhighservicequalityofanorganization.ButwhydoesCSBplayanimportantroleforcustomerstoevaluatingtheirsatisfactiono f thebankservice?Weiner11h a sdistinguishedaservice-providedorganizationandag o o d s -

p r o v i d e d o r g a n i z a t i o n byt h e i n t a n g i b i l i t y o f s e r v i c e a s c o n t r a s t e

d w i t h t h e tangibilityofgoods.Andwhenthef i r m p ro vi des i n t a n g i b le s e r v i c e , customersw i l l r e l y m o r e ont h e s e r v i c e p r o v i d e r ’ s b e h a v i o r a s a n i n d i c a t o

r o f t h e q u a l i t y o f t h e servicetheyarereceiving,asstatedbyBowen14.Therefore,CSBplaysanimportantr o l e inenhancingevaluationofcustomerservicequality

withsomecustomerserviceb i h a v i o r s ofVietcombank’semployees,whichinclude:

 Unfriendlyattitudeoftellers

 Irresponsiblefeedbackforcustomer’scomplaints

 Unwillingnesstosolvecustomer’sproblem

WhenaskingMs.Huyen,oneofthetellersinterviewed,weathersheorhercolleaguesmakeoneofthemistakesmentionedaboveandwhy,sheadmittedthatsometimesshemakesmistakesl i k e n o t s h o w i n g happya n d o p e n -

a r m e d r e c e p t i o n o r n o t s a y i n g “ H e l l o ” and“Goodbye”tocustomers.Shewasjustunconsciouslydoingthatandshet h i n k s customersdonotreallymatteraboutthesetinymistakes.Thereasonissometimesshehastoservealargenumberofcustomersinaday,soshefeelstiredandu n c o n s c i o u s l y showsunfriendlyattitudetowardscustomers

Ms.H a

-M a n a g e r o f I n d i v i d u a l C u s t o m e r S e r v i c e D e p a r t m e n t ofH C -M C b r a n

c h , admittedthefactthattellersofVietcombankarenotasfriendlyandpoliteastellersofo t h

e r banks.Inaddtition,thereareseveraltimestheyshowunprofessionalbehaviorstocustomerslikeirresponsiblyfeedbacktocustomers’complaintsandunwillingnesstosolvecustomers’problem

Mr.Binh-ManageratLeThiRiengtradeoffice-alsohasopinionaboutthisissue:“TheratioofoldemployeesinVietcombankishigherthanotherprivatebanks.Atmydepartment,1 8 over5 0 staffsatmyd e p a r t m e n t areovert h e a g e

o f 4 5 , whichi s a relativehighratio.Theseoldofficersoftenshowbadattitude/

behaviorstowardscustomersmorethantheyounggeneration,becausetheyhavethathabitfromthepastwhenstate-

ownedbanksdominatedthemarketandtheydidnothavetoprovidegoodserviceto retaincustomers.”

AlloftheaboveinterviewshaveillustratedthatpoorcustomerservicebehavioristhemainproblemthatcauseslowqualityofindividualcustomerserviceatVietcombank.I t wasaseriousproblem thatthebankshouldinvestigateto findoutthecausesandsolutionsinordertoimproveitsservicequality

 Inefficientinternalprocess

Salim2definesinternal pr oces sas a str uc tu re, messuredse tofact iv it ies designed t

op r o d u c e a s p e c i f i c o u t p u t f o r a p a r t i c u l a r customerormarket.AsmentionedbyG r o n r o o s7,servicequalityissplitintotwodimensions:technicalqualityandfunctionalquality.Technicalqualityishowthecustomerreceivestheoutcomeoftheprocess,asd e f i n e d toincludeinteractionqualitymentionedinsection1.3.2.Ontheotherhand,f u n c t i o n a l q u a l i t y i s h o w t h e s e r v i c e e n c o u n t e r i s t a k e

n c a r e a n d h o w t h e servicep r ov i d er f u n c t i o n s I n t h i s c a s e o f V i e t c o m b a n k, t h e p r o b l e m o f i n e f f i c i e n t i n t e r n a l

standingbankinVietnam,soitstechnologywasdevelopedbeforeotherbanks.Hence,nowadaysthissystem

isolderthansystemsofbankswhichwerefoundedlater.Vietcombankisnowintheprocessofimprovingthis system,butittakes severalyearstocomplete.Therefore,itcanbeunderstoodthatthistypeofcauseisobjective

becausethestaffcannotcontrolit,aspreviouslye x p l ai n e d byMs.Ha

Secondly,abouttheconfidentiality problem,duringtheinterviewswithMs.Ha,shea s s u r e d thatconfidentialityofcustomer’sinformationiscompulsoryatVietcombank.T h i s b a n k h a s l a u n c h e d t i g h t r u l e s a n d r e g u l a t i o n s c u s t o m e

r ’ s c o n f i d e n t i a l i t y a n d e v e r y staffsthatbreaktheruleswoulddefinitelyreceivepunishment.Theleakingouto f informationt h a t t h e customerc o m p l a i n e d c o u l d b

e a m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g w h i c h i s c a u s e d bythecoincidenceofthesituation

Fromt h e a l t e r n a t i v e i n t e r v i e w s a n d l i t e r a t u r e s , i t c a n b e c o n c l u d e d t h a

t i n e f f i c i e n t internalprocess isnotthemainproblemthatcauseslowevaluationofcustomersaboutV i e t c o m b a n k servicequality

1.4.2 Mainproblem

Thedepthinterviewsconducted w i t h thebank’s employees andmanagershase

x pl ai ned t h a t mostofthoseproblemsa r e temporarya n d theya r e n o t t h e mosts ig

n i f i c an t problemsthataffectcustomer’sevaluationofVietcombank

servicequality,e x c e p t theproblemofpoorcustomerservicebehavior.Allthefourcustomersinterviewedsharedtheir

experiencesandtheywereconfirmedbythebank’smanagersa n d employeesthatVietcombank’sstaffsoftendidnotshowfriendlyattitudestowardscustomers,someofthemsomtimesdidnotgiveresponsiblefeedbackforcustomer’s

complaintsa n d w e r e n o t w i l l i n g t o s o l v e customer’sproblem.T h i s p r o b l

e m h a s e x i s t e d forlongtimebuttheemployeesthemselvesdo

notacknowledgealltheserioussequencesoftheproblem.Besidesthat,themanagersknowtheproblembuthavenotf i n d thesolutiontosolveit.Therefore,itcanbeconcludedthatthemainproblemthatle a d s tolowevaluationofVietcombank’sindividualcustomerservicequalityispoorcustomerservicebehaviorofVietcombank’sstaffs

setting,providingfeedback,recognizingandr e w a rd i n g positivebehaviorsarefactorsthatnegativelyaffectCSB

 Designofcustomerservicejob:Somestudiesindicatethatjobdesigncanf a c i l i t a t eCSBinthewayofempowermentorknowledgeenlargement

Basedonthesepotentialcauses,twoin-depthinterviewswereconductedagainwithM s

.VuThiVanHa-

ManagerandMs.VuThiHuyen-tellerofIndividualCustomerServicedepartmentofVietcombank HCMCbranchwiththepurposeoffiguringoutmaincauseoftheproblem

1.5.1 Training

Throughtheinterview,thetellerwasaskedforherpointofviewonthecomplaintofcustomersthatVietcombankstaffs were behavingunprofessionally andnotshowin

gf r i e n d l y

andwelcomeattitudetowardscustomers.Ms.Huyen-

theinterviewee-didn o t acknowledgethatshewaslackofthespirittoshowherpositiveandresponsiblea t t i t u d es / b e h av i o r s towardsthecustomers

“IthinkthatitishardtobehappyandsmilealldaywithcustomerswhenIamstressedw i t h myworkload.I havetriedmybestt o fulfillcustomers’re qu ir em en t s ”- saidbyM s Huyen

Beingaskedaboutnegativeand irresponsible behaviorsofsometellersinaccessingands o l v i n g c u s t o m e r s ’ p r o b l e m a n d f e e d b a c k t o t h e i r c o m p l a i n t s ,Ms.H u y e n a l s o shared:

“Ia c k n o w l e d g e t h a t i t wasunprofessionalattitudeandb e h a v i o r ofstaffsi n b a n k i n gservicewhentheydonotstandontheircustomer’spointofviewtoaccesstheproblemandpushthefaulttowardscustomers.Sometimesseveralcolleaguesinmydepartmentm a k e thistypeofmistakebutIthinkitisunconsciousbecausetheyarenottrulytrainedh o w

t o reactcorrectlytocustomers’complaints.”

Furthers h a r i n g o f t h i s t e l l e r r e v i e w e d t h a t mosto f t h e b e h a v i o r s theypr esen t

ed t o customersintheircustomerservicejobareunconsciousanditisbecausetheydidnot

h a v e enoughskillsandknowledgeaboutcustomerservicebehavior.Mostofthetime,thewaytheyr e a c t t o problemsh a p p e n i n g w i t h c u s t o m e r isb a s e d o n t h e i r o w n e

d w o r k i n g experiencesandthecultureoftheirworkingplace

Forfurtherunderstandingaboutthisissue,weaskmanagerofthisdepartmentMs.H a

-forheropinions.Whenbeingaskedaboutwhatthebankmanagershavedonetoimprovetheattitudesandbehaviorsoftheseofficers,Ms.Hasharedthat:

“Vietcombanknowadayshasinvestedmoreincustomerservice,buttrainingforemployeesaboutgoodattitudef o r customersisstill notconcernedenoughbyt h e managers.”

Forspecific,she revealedthatthere is no officialandmethodicaltrainingcourse

aboutstandardizedcustomerservicebehavior/attitudef o r newtellersworkinginherdepartment.Newemployeeslearnedtheirjobonlyfromexperienceoftheolderones.F r o m thediscussions,itisexaminedthatthereisalackofformaltrainingforVi e t co m b an k staffoncustomerserviceincludinghowtomeetcustomerexpectations,increasingassertiveness,dealingwith

s t r e s s a n d h o w t o

m a i n t a i n g o o d c u s t o m e r servicedelivery.Weiner11mentionedtheimportanceofformaltrainingprogramsthattheya r e c o n s i d e r e d morec r i t i c a l t o t h e s u c c e s s o f s

e r v i c e o r g a n i z a t i o n t h a n o t h e r kindsofo r g a n iz a t i o n s a n d th ey maypresentsspecialchallenges compared toentry-

l ev el trainingforotherjobsbecausethecontentoftrainingisoftenmoreinterpersonalthanitistechnicalinnature.Salim2a l s oprovedinherstudythatlackoftrainingforemployeesaboutcustomerservicebehaviorandattitudewouldresult inlowerevaluationofcustomersforthebank’sservicequality

1.5.2 Motivation

Motivationplaysanimportantroleforpromotinggoodcustomerservicebehaviorofemployeessinceifanemployeeisnotmotivatedandhappywiththeirwork,itwouldb e hardforthemtoalwaysshowpositiveattitudetocustomers

WhenMs.Huyenwasaskedwhethershefeltunmotivatedor hadotherproblemsintheirj o b , shes a i d t h a t V i e t c o m b a n k h a s a p p r o p r i a t e policytom o t i v a t e t h e i

r employees.Shewassatisfiedwiththebenefitsandregulationsofthebank,themanagersaregoodandtakecareoftheiremployees’worklife,andtheydonotwantt o changetheirjobinthefuture.Sometimestheworkloadisoverbecausetheyhavetos er v e toomany

customersinpeakhours,buttheythinkitistheirdutyandtheywouldtryt h e i r b e s t t o f i

n i s h t h e w o r k I n a d d i t i o n , a c c o r d i n g t o M s H a

-managerofIndividualCustomerS e r v i c e d e p a r t m e n t , t h e b a n k h a s appliedpolicya n d t o o l s t o motivatee m p l o y e e s inp r o v i d i n g h i g h q u a l i t y o f customerservice.Fore x a m p l e , V i e t c o m b a n k hasjustinstalledtheevaluationsystematthebank’stransactioncounters,w h i c h a l l o w s customerst o g i v e s c

o r e f o r t h e l e v e l o f s e r v i c e theya r e p r o v i d e d aswellasshowingtheirlevelofsat isf act io n Thisevaluationscoreisthenu se d foremployeeappraisalanddeciderewards andpunishmentforthe employees H o w e v e r , t h i s s y s t e m i s j

u s t b e i n g u s e d f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g o f 2 0 1 8 , s o i t s effectiven ess inenhancingCSBofVietcombankneedsmoretimetobeverified

AsreviewedbyMs.Ha,atVietcombankHCMCbranch,customerservicestaffsareem pow ered tohandletheproblemofcustomerthemselves,buttheystillneedtoaskf o r g u i d a n c e a n d p e r m i s s i o n o f t h e i r m a n a g e r s w h e n t h e p r o b

l e m i s o u t o f t h e i r control.A c c o r d i n g t o t h e s t u d y o f C a m p i o n e t at15,t h i

s r e s u l t s i n b e t t e r c u s t o m e r

Inappropriate training program

Lack of formal training program (main cause)

Unfriendly attitude of tellers

Decrease

of the bank’s reputation

Poor CSB (customer service behavior)

Lack of motivation in work

Low customer satisfaction

Irresponsible feedback for customer's complaints

Loss of

current and future customers

Inappropriate design of customer service job

CHAPTER2:SOLUTION

Asmentionedi np r e v i o u s par t, t h e m a i n co u r s e th at l ea d s t o po or customerse rv ice b e h

a v i o r o f V i e t c o m b a n k ’ s s t a f f i s t h e l a c k o f formalt r a i n i n g f o r employeesa b o u t cust

oftheemployees.One anotherelement that areessentialtocreating a trainingprogramisdecidingtrainingsources,whichisinternalorexternaltraining.Thisprocessisimportantbecauseba sed onwhichtrainingcontentis,organizationneedstochooseappropriatetrainingsourcetoprovidethemostsuitableandqualifiedknowledgesandskillsforemployees–

asstatedbyHrzone18asfollowing:

“Therea r e twod i s t i n c t typeso f training.O n e i s product/

services,policiesandoperationstraining,m o s t o f whichi s h a n d l e d byH R o r a n o t h e r i n t e r n a

l department.A n d

thenthereisknowledgeandskill-basedtrainingthatisnotcompany-specificandfocuseso n productivity,managerial,p e r f o r m a n c e o r s o m e o t h e r s p e c i a l i z e d technicals k i l l ”

Pinningtonetal20alsodefinedtrainingas:

attitudethrough‘learning’experience,toachieveeffectiveperformanceinanactivityorrangeofactivities”

Inthisoccasion,trainingaboutcustomerservicecanbeunderstoodasgivingplanneda n

d systematicefforttomodifyanddevelopknowledge,skillsandattitudeofemployeeswhoworkas tellersatIndividualCustomerService Department ofV i e t c

o m b a n k HCM

Schneideretal21s t a t e dthreecategoriesofservicecontent,including:technicalskills,interpersonalandcustomerrelationskills,andknowledgeconcerningculturalvaluesa n d norms:

i l l s o f interpersonal and customer relation, includingserviceattitude,professionalq u a l i t y , s e r v i c e i n i t i a t i v e , r e v i c e r

e s p o n s i v e n e s s a n d s e r v i c e consistency

 Knowledgeconcerningculturalvaluesandnorms

Allofthesecategoriesofservicecontentarecriticalandmustbeprovidedtoserviceemployeesi n o rd er f o r t he mtop r o v i d e h i g h qua li ty ofcustomers e r v i c e and h e n c

tailoredtrainingprogram.T h e r e a re m a n y typesof o n t h e

-j o b tr ai ni ng suc has ap p r ent i cesh i p, internshipor-jobrotation.AccordingtoTorringtonetal23,on-the-j o b t r a i n i n g i s acommon approach tojobtraining, withtraineesworkingdirectlyintheproductionoroperatingenvironment

 Ont h e o t h e r h a n d , o f f t h e

-j o b t r a i n i n g t e c h n i q u e s a r e c o n d u c t e d o u t s i d e t h e wo rk i n g officebutattempttosimulateactualworkingconditions T h i s kindoftraininghelpemployeesavoidpressureofworkactivitieswhiletheyaretraining,t h u s theycanallocatetheirfullattentiontolearning,mayexperimentwithnewi d ea s andgenerallyundertaketheself-analysiswhichisnecessary

x p e r i e n c e d p r o f e s s o r s a r e h i r e d t o p r o v i d e t h e employeestheoryaboutprofessionalcustomerservice.Theyalsogiveemployeessimulatedsituationsthatmayhappenintheirrealworktosolve.Thebenefitoft h i s trainingmethodisthatitallowsthebanktotraininglargenumberofemployeesw i t h o u t s p e n d i n g a l o t o f timeorr e s

o u r c e s I t i s a l s o c o n s i d e r e d a goodorientationforalltheemployeeswhentheyfirstentertheorganization

2.1.3 Trainingsources: