Poor Service Delivery – The Case of Some Banks in Ghana

BY ATTAH ARHIN

The Author

Service provision in Ghana has come a very long way. There has been some remarkable improvement over the years but the situation has never been the best.  Whether you are talking about the civil service or the public services, the hospitality industry or the banking industry, among others, services have generally been poor.

Being somebody who hardly enters the banking hall to transact business, I always prefer to use my ATM card, except in cases where it becomes unavoidable. I have accounts with only two banks in Ghana but for purposes of this article I would not want to disclose the identity of these banks.

My purpose is not to list which banks are providing good services and which banks are not; neither do I intend to undermine the operations of any bank. Perhaps it has not come to that now, but we may get there soon.

I generally seek to encourage all banks in Ghana to strive towards excellence by embracing the tenets of true professionalism as it pertains in modern day practice of banking elsewhere in the world. I understand that no bank will sanction the rendering of poor services to its customers but what the individual staff of a bank does is what informs the public perception and approval rating of the bank in question; so all banks have a responsibility.

Some officials of some banks in Ghana (I am sure the public knows them) serve their customers as if they are doing them a favour, forgetting that it is the customers’ resources that generate the profit which goes to pay their salaries.

In today’s world of competition where time is money, some banks still serve customers with no sense of urgency, choosing to serve at their own convenience – and you dare not complain. While their poor human relations may be tolerated, sometimes their sheer arrogance, disrespect and lack of simple courtesy on the part of certain bank officials is simply unbelievable.

The other day, when I complained about the shoddy kind of service we continue to receive from our own banks who are kept in business by virtue of our deposits, a friend of mine drew my attention to the enormous pressure and stress which bank officials go through. Even though I tended to agree with him to some extent, I still hold the view that the banking profession is not the only one in which staff come under pressure and stress.

Indeed there are some professions which involve very intense levels of stress but in which staff are still able to hold themselves together and act professionally, serving their clients with excellence.  So the fact of stress or any occupational discomfort cannot be used under any circumstance to justify the visible disrespect some bank officials often show to their customers.

It is often said that the customer is KING! This is simply because it is the customer’s resources which make any bank stand on its feet. That is the reason why all over the world banks go the extra mile to, not only retain their existing customers, but also put in place measures to attract potential ones.  It is high time banks realised that without the customer they cease to be in business.

Let banks in Ghana begin to heed the call to show respect and reverence to their cherished customers as is done in other parts of the world. The Ghanaian customer also deserves the best of banking services!