Real-Life Communication
You are a customer service representative (CSR) at a bank. A client
comes to your wicket and is very angry.
He says, "I just got a call
from my rental agency and they told me my rent check bounced. They're going
to charge me $25 because the check was returned.
"It was really embarrassing,"
he says. "I work hard, and I know that I had enough money to cover my rent
check. I deposited my paycheck as soon as I got it." He shows you the receipt
from the ATM.
"You see? I deposited money on the 30th and the rent
check was for the first. There should have been more than enough money in
my account when my rent check was cashed. But to top it off, your bank had
the nerve to charge me too! I just checked my account online and noticed
that there was a penalty fee from the bank for writing a check with insufficient
funds.
"I want this charge reversed," he says. "Not only that, but
I want your bank to pay the fee my rental agency charged me. And I want an
apology for being put in this position because of your mistake."
You
know that you'll have to elevate this complaint to a senior officer at the
bank. You don't have the authority to meet the client's demands. You politely
explain this to him. You find an appropriate staff member to deal with his
complaint.
"If you have to refer the client to someone (a senior
officer), updating the other officer to the client's situation helps make
the client feel taken care of. And [they won't have] to repeat their story
over and over, as this can be quite frustrating to the client," says Shruti
Jumani. She works on a banking team for a securities company. She came to
the job after gaining experience as a CSR at a bank.
What do you say
to the senior officer at the bank to recap the client's situation?