Customer satisfaction: how much makes dollars and sense?

• Author: Albro, Walt
• Position: Company overview

DOES EXCELLENCE IN CUSTOMER SATISFACTION BENEFIT THE BOTTOM LINE?

United Community Bank (assets: $7.4 billion), Blairsville, Ga., is an example of a financial services institution that believes that the answer is "Yes."

During the last three years, when the economy was stagnant and many banks were faced with negative or very little growth, Unit-3d Community Bank Inc. (UCBI) added more han 43,000 new deposit accounts and 161,000 new services of all kinds; increased the number of products per ^ household by 0.5; and bolstered core de-^r posit balances by $641 million.

It accomplished these feats, in part, by raising its already high customer satisfaction score from 91 to 95.5 percent, says Craig Metz, executive vice president, marketing. The bank feels that there is a connection between superior customer satisfaction and financial success. "It's only common sense: If you take care of the customers, they will take care of you," Metz observes.

The Golden Rule of banking

UCBI is the third-largest traditional bank holding company in Georgia, with 1,800 employees. It is subdivided into 27 local community banks with a total of 106 banking offices, all of which operate under the United Community Bank name. Branches are located throughout north Georgia, Metro Atlanta, coastal Georgia, western North Carolina and east Tennessee.

UCBI began operation in 1950 under the name Union County Bank. From the start, it focused on exceptional customer satisfaction. "In the 1950s, all businesses provided personal service--knowing their customers1 names and doing the little things to make the business experience more enjoyable and memorable" notes Michael Infante, vice president, corporate communications. "This was before 'customer service' and 'customer satisfaction' became catch phrases."

UCBI started with $40 million in assets and grew from there. Infante says that United's advantage was that as other financial companies grew, they became impersonal, cookie-cutter operations. "United stuck with the philosophy upon which the company was built; personal and personalized service; knowing our customers; understanding their needs and partnering with them to provide the exact products and services they need."

The company's tag line "the bank that service built" The corporate philosophy is what it calls The Golden Rule of Banking: To treat customers as we expect to be treated. Infante says this philosophy serves as the "employee compass."

Frontline employees are hired based in part on their...