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MARKET LEADER

HBOS

In this programme you will see an interview with Andrew Deighton. He is Head of Service for the telephone and Internet banking division of Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), and he will talk about the company and its relationship with its customers.

Before you watch Starting-up

A Read about HBOS.

HBOS

o ancient merger of tw e th of lt su a re lc. Bank of tablished as nd Halifax p a es d s a n a w tl S O co S B H of in the UK earing bank utions, Bank cl it t st es in d l a ol e ci n th a fin founded in was Society was ded in 1695, g n in u d fo il , u d B n a it tl ef cal Sco ermanent Ben e benefit of lo P th x r fa fo li y a H et e ci England. an so and th the north of tment and lo in es v x fa in li n a a H s a 1852 m town of became a ple in the boo 01 and HBOS 0 2 er b m working peo te ices Sep financial serv K completed in U s e a w th r in ge or er petit allowed it The m ive new com stomer base ct n cu ti d is n d a d se n ti a major s, exper mbined asset ng banks. market. Its co major cleari e th h standard of it w e lf on its high to compet se it es d ri p h mpany whic HBOS is a co rvice. customer se

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Video vocabulary
A Which of the words and expressions in the box below do you think you will hear in
the interview?
competitive advantage make a complaint body language customer loyalty take responsibility satisfied customers active listening build a relationship

B Complete these sentences with the words and expressions from the box above.
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 We encourage our staff to .......................................... for a problem so that they can sort it out quickly and easily. If we get .......................................... , they become advocates of the business and recommend us to their friends. Giving great customer service gives us .......................................... over our business rivals. .......................................... is very important we want our customers to come back to us again and again. By spending time with the customers, our staff can get to know them and .......................................... with them. When you talk to customers on the phone, it is impossible to see their .......................................... so sometimes it is difficult to know how they really feel. We teach our telephone agents .......................................... skills to help them find out and really understand what it is that the customer wants. Sometimes a customer phones up to .......................................... and then it is important that our staff listen properly and give the customer time to explain the problem.

Video on
A Now watch the whole of the interview. Tick () the reasons for giving good customer
service which are mentioned. 1 It can give a company competitive advantage. 2 It creates customer loyalty. 3 It enhances the reputation of the company. 4 It can lead to more business. 5 It enables the staff to handle more enquiries per day. 6 It helps a company keep and grow its customer base. B Do you do your banking by telephone or the Internet or do you prefer face-to-face meetings with bank staff? Do you think you receive good customer service?

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Segment 1 (24:05 to 25:30)

A Watch Segment 1 again. Match the numbers in column A with the things they
represent in column B. A B a) 60,000,000 the approximate number of branches in the UK b) 150,000 the number of online visits per day c) 100,000 the number of transactions per day in branches d) 1,000 the number of calls answered per year e) 500,000 the number of calls answered per day f ) 300,000 the number of online transactions per day

B Are these statements true or false according to what Andrew Deighton says?
1 2 3 4 5 6 HBOS gains competitive advantage by differentiating its products. In their experience customers like to move from one financial institution to another on a regular basis. Customers will stay with a company that makes life easy for them. Banking by phone is easier than visiting a branch, so HBOS encourages people to do their banking that way. There is no connection between good service and increased business. Satisfied customers are likely to recommend the company to other people.

Segment 2 (25:31 to 28:22)

A Watch Segment 2 again and complete this summary of what Andrew Deighton says.
There are two aspects to handling customers. Firstly, our staff have to have a good knowledge of the companys 1...................... and procedures so that they can take 2...................... for the customers and get what they want done. Secondly, they need behavioural skills. These include an understanding of 3...................... so they can interpret the signals that customers give. In addition, active listening skills are really important. These differ according to whether they are talking to a customer face-to-face or over the 4...................... . Face-to-face, they can pick up on 5...................... signals which help them understand what the customer wants. Moreover, they can use active listening to encourage customers to talk and to give them 6...................... on what they are saying. However, active listening may be more difficult for telephone agents who cant see these signals. They need to 7...................... to the customer what they have heard to check that the information is correct. Furthermore, at the end of a call they need to 8...................... the conversation as an additional check.

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B Choose the correct answers.

1 Which of these are measures of the success of the companys customer service? a) the number of existing customers who have stayed loyal b) the number of customers who have visited its branches c) the number of customers who have telephoned to praise the service they have received d) the number of new customers it has gained e) positive feedback from customers who have been telephoned and asked for their views What does HBOS do with the feedback it receives? a) It uses it to attract new customers to the business. b) It uses it to see how its customer service could be made even better. c) It uses it to boost its image in the banking world. If a customer with a problem contacts HBOS by telephone a) the problem can only be dealt with by one of the telephone agents as there is no mechanism for transferring information. b) it is unlikely that staff in a branch will be able to help with the same problem as the call centre is in a different location. c) the company aims to be able to deal with the problem whatever method of contact the customer chooses subsequently.

Segment 3 (28:23 to 30:00)

A What does Andrew Deighton mean by the expressions in bold? Choose the
correct answers. 1 Its really important that you understand the core of the complaint. a) the reason for the complaint b) the background to the complaint c) the essential nature of the complaint d) the outcome of the complaint 2 Customer service will to some extent be the battleground on which banking is fought ... a) the cause of conflict between different divisions of the same financial institution b) the thing that financial institutions will try to get rid of c) the issue that financial institutions will disagree about d) the area in which financial institutions will try to outdo each other

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People are the difference in terms of how we deliver those products and that experience for customers. a) the factor that will influence the customers choice between one financial institution and another b) not the same as one another with regard to their needs and their expectations c) the factor that will make the staff of a financial institution offer either good or bad customer service d) the source of disagreement between customers and the financial institutions

B Answer these questions.

1 2 3 4 5 Why is it sometimes difficult to understand what a customers real complaint is? How is dealing with a complaint in a branch different from dealing with one over the phone? What do customers really want when they make a complaint? Why is it sometimes difficult to differentiate between what financial institutions have to offer? Does Andrew Deighton think customer service will change in future?

Talking points
1 2 3 How important is customer service in your company or in your industry? Do you agree that customer service is likely to be more important in the future? Have you ever made a complaint in person or by telephone? How was it handled?

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