manage less, ENGAGE MORE

Phone buzzes in the morning. A unknown land line number. I take this call, least expecting it to be from the bank reminding me of my credit card payment. This is the second call in three days. I am irritated - one I have better things to do in the morning, second this is the second call in three days, third despite the fact having made a good payment last month, fourth my current credit card bill is way below my credit limit and finally, I have a clean credit record - in university system I will probably get a A+ for my credit track record.

So the last thing you expect is getting repeated reminders when that is not even required. Makes you feel as if you have borrowed from a local money lender and he is knocking your door every morning to ask his money back.

I ask the person the reason for his desperation when I am making regular payments every month. What he tells me is even more irritating. He is calling me because his system shows that I have not paid anything last month after the bill was generated. The fact is I paid one day before my billing date on 8th December, while the bill was generated on 9th. It's only but common sense that the customer will pay next only in January.

And January is not over yet. Yet the bank employee choses to repeatedly call me. When I speak to my personal banker (that is what they call the person who pushes bank products to you) he predictably defends the caller and his bank. The caller is supposedly helping me by reminding me. All he succeeds in doing is to irritate me.

Most importantly, the 'personal banker' also tells me that the caller does not know about my past payments or my credit track record. He just has last bill data with him and his job is to call... Wow! That is what you call customer focused service!

This is not only this bank's problem. It is problem with all those organizations which are driven only by data and processes and not by analysis and big picture sense and most importantly common sense. While similar data  pieces about two customers may prompt similar action, not being broad focused would only mean that the executive will only have a part of the picture and may initiate similar action. While a more holistic view of the customers may differentiate them and consequently the actions towards them.

In this case, the bank would do best to leave me alone. A person with a less responsible attitude towards his credit perhaps need to be reminded repeatedly.

All many organizations do in name of management is to mismanage their most important resources - their people and consequently their customers.

All I have to say is - Manage less, Engage more.