Course Name – Service Marketing

Course ID – MKT 350

Section – 01
Mr. Sheikh Mohammad Fauzul Azim

Group: Mean Girls (And A Sweet Boy)

Raika Rhidita ID – 2030311
Raiyan Binta Abdullah ID – 2030319
Rehab Md Rafique ID – 2020411
Md Saqlain Reza ID – 1930876
Sumaiya Rahman Prapti ID – 2010087
Nazah Raida ID – 1910579

City Bank Ltd. Audit

Introduction

The City Bank Limited is one of the first-generation private commercial banks in Bangladesh.
City bank, the global bank is known as an institution connecting millions of people across
hundreds of countries and cities. It has transformed over time from a traditional organization to a
critically acclaimed multi-faceted institution. City bank is the 4th largest retail bank in the United
States based on deposits.

Vision:

The Financial Supermarket with a Winning Culture Offering Enjoyable Experiences

Mission:

 Offer wide array of products and services that differentiate and excite all customer
segments
 Be the "Employer of choice" by offering an environment where people excel and leaders
are created
 Continuously challenge processes and platforms to enhance effectiveness and efficiency
 Promote innovation and automation with a view to guaranteeing and enhancing
excellence in service
 Ensure respect for community, good governance, and compliance in everything we do

Values:

 Result Driven
 Accountable & Transparent
 Courageous & Respectful
 Engaged & Inspired
 Focused on Customer Delight

The factors behind their success will be analysed further in this report.
7Ps of Service Marketing

PRODUCT:

A product is a good or service that offers a set of basic characteristics that describe its ability to
meet a specific basic need. Since City bank deal in services, which are intangible, heterogeneous,
perishable and variable in nature, the need is to tangibles the core services offered. Branding a
service, improving its quality, providing after sales service are a few examples of how a service
can be made tangible. E.g., Savings account and fixed account are a generic service product,
which is augmented in the form of two in one account by adding a variety of features such as
checks and debit cards, overdraft functionality, monthly statements, and more. The product
offerings of banks generally include:

Current accounts: cheque books, standing orders, electronic fund transfer, mobile banking, and
internet banking.

Savings: installment account, money in the bank.

Loans: overdraft, housing loans, business loans, personal loans, vehicle loans, cash credit Card
Services: ATM, CASH, and Credit Card, Prepaid Card, Forex card.

Advisory Services: Wills, Trusts, executorships, tax planning, investment advice, wealth
management services etc.

Financial Services: pensions, personal equity plans, bank insurance, mutual funds products etc.

Others: They also have travel and foreign exchange services.

PLACE:

The concept of "location" in the banking world is essentially a distribution system through which
financial services are provided to customers. Traditionally, for City bank the place for
transitioning business in a bank branch. But, today the developments in Information Technology
(IT), changing customer desire and needs for greater convenience and vulnerability of branches
to excess costs, the trend is towards the introduction of Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) off
site and on site, These activities have transcended the bank branches and have reached the
customer's home or work place through facilities like home banking, telebanking ETC. The City
Bank has a network of 132 branches, 400 ATMs and 159 fully licensed agent bank branches
serving 1.6 million customers.

PROMOTION:

There are several objectives of a bank's promotional activities such as to build image reputation,
to differentiate from competitors, generate interest and knowledge, acquire new customers and
generate customer loyalty. The promotion mix includes the following:

• Advertising - Television, radio, movies, theatres

• Print Media- posters, newspapers, magazines

• Publicity- Road shows, campus visits, sandwich man, Sponsorship. For example, mobile
marketing.

• Sales Promotion- Gifts, discounts and commissions, incentives, etc. For example, 25% Cash
back up to BDT 500 on all items, minimum transaction of 500tk only for American Express
consumer Credit cards.

• Personal Selling- Cross-sale, personalized service.

PRICE:

Until recently, government regulations on pricing prevented banks from considering pricing as a
key factor in their marketing strategy. However, pricing is becoming more important as a result
of deregulation, increasing competition and decreasing consumer loyalty. Pricing for banks take
a number of forms such as:

• Service charges for different types of transactions e.g. direct debits, check approvals, standing
orders, and more.

• Fees for services, fixed or on a commission basis.

• Interest rates on current, deposit or saving, for loans and overdrafts etc. Their interest rate
varies from time to time.
• In setting their fees, charges and interest rates, the banks are influenced by the Government,
competitor activities, cost structures, demand factors etc.

PEOPLE:

The People component reflects the important role individuals play in the provision of financial
services. As used here, the term person refers to any person involved in providing services to
customers. In the context of banking, it refers to a bank employee. Since City Bank essentially
deal with intangibles, sometimes it's hard to understand, but customers rely heavily on bank staff
to serve them. This act has led to build and develop specialist sales team to meet more specific
needs of the corporate clients. Well trained employees are the greatest assets in City Bank are
also investing huge amount in the training and development of their staff. Most of the cross-
border transfer of capital, best practices and innovation knowledge occurs through new entrants,
third-party partnerships, and intermediaries rather than through cross-border banking institutions.

PROCESS:

The processes are the procedures that focuses on the mechanisms by which the service is
delivered. These include business policies regarding service delivery, procedures, levels of
mechanization, etc. Process emphasis comes from multiple sources. First, the heterogeneity of
services raises the issues of quality management providing the may be highly visible to the
consumer and would need to be flexible enough to accommodate potential demand variations.
Third, the tangibility of a service means that the process by which the service is delivered has a
significant impact on consumers' evaluation of the quality of the service. At times it could be the
process of opening a bank account or the process of hiring an employee.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE:

This helps us evaluate the service before purchase and the customer's comfort zone regarding the
service during and after consumption. Conditions such as lighting, temperature, noise and color
create positive perceptions among customers. It relates to the environment in which the service is
provided, and the tangible items associated with that service such as wallets, documents, etc. In
general, physical evidence he is considered to be divided into two components. First, marginal
evidence that consumers may own but have little stand-alone value. A checkbook, a second
important proof of independent value, although it cannot be owned by the consumer for example
a bank branch. Providing physical evidence is perhaps most prominent in the product and price
components of the marketing mix, but advertising also plays an important role in creating a
concrete image of services and banks. City bank have received many international awards,
making them a very reliable choice amongst banks.

Gap Model in Banking Industry

A gap model of service quality is the difference between the expected service from the service
provider and the perceived service of the customer.

GAP 1

Listening Gap- The gap between Customers expectation and companies’ perception of
customers expectation. The reasons for this gap are inadequate customer research, inadequate
service recovery, insufficient relationship focus and lack of upward communications.

When customer care representatives are unable to solve a problem, at least not right away, it
creates one of the biggest customer service challenges for banks. Customer issues in banking are
more complex than they are in other B2C organisations. They could run into a variety of issues,
both simple and complicated. Customer service representatives frequently have too many
requests to handle, which prevents them from giving each customer the time and attention they
need. Bad encounters are frequently the result, and they might even decide to leave. They can
use an automated solution, such as a chatbot, to resolve this problem because it can respond to all
simple questions and take the load off the employees so that they can focus on the more complex
issues. Prioritising customer service requests in order of complexity can go a long way in
improving your customers’ experience with the bank.

Upward communication is a process that generally makes sure that there is a mechanism for the
lowest level personnel to communicate their ideas to employees in senior positions. For upward
communication to be effective, implementation is frequently necessary, unlike downward
communication, which spreads knowledge the other way. This is a result of the way that most
organisations are set up naturally, with instructions going down the chain of command rather
than up. It may be necessary to try various tactics to develop channels of communication that run
from the bottom to the top of the organisation. Company Wide meetings, regular performance
reviews, and even a simple suggestion box may be the key to implementing new policies that
ensure everyone can be heard so that the frontline staff can communicate about the problems that
the clients face on a regular basis to the higher authorities.

Prior to this, banks had little to no connection with their consumers but now, they have a wide
range of interactive connections. The benefits of connections are now widely understood and
appreciated by banks. The corporate climate has changed, and as a result, there is now more
competition than ever before. This realisation results from these developments. Being able to
generate a competitive advantage is one of the benefits of maintaining good customer
relationships. Gaining customer loyalty leads to better levels of income and organisational
growth, which are the motivations that drive banks to strive to be more customer-oriented and to
build relationships with their clients. The rapid development of information technology (IT),
which has allowed banks to keep track of their customers' preferences and provide a more
personalised level of service, has been one of the elements that has made it easier to establish
long-term partnerships in the banking sector. City Bank has City ekhoni app which can be used
to open bank accounts at home, City iBank website helps individuals to check bank statements
sitting at home.

GAP 2

Service Design and Standard Gap- Some companies experience difficulties translating
consumer expectation into specific service quality delivery. The reasons behind this gap are poor
service design, lack of customer driven standard and inappropriate physical evidence

Long turnaround service times are a frequent problem for banks' customer service. Most banks
rely on their customer care departments to handle the needs and issues of their clients. Most of
the time, when a customer calls a bank's customer service number, they must wait in line before
speaking with an executive. And occasionally the executives may transfer the call to a
specialised division that can better address the inquiry. Many clients may have unfavourable
experiences as a result of this delay in providing customer support. Furthermore, most clients
won't give another chance if they had a negative experience, they might just change their bank.
Another example can be when a customer goes to the bank to deposit the money or withdraw
cash and there is a huge line due to less cash windows it may frustrate the customer due to the
waiting time. To decrease this gap banks can increase the number of cash windows and increase
the pace of transactions so that customers don't have to wait hours in the bank for a simple
transaction to be made. They can also invest in R&D in their IT department so that online
banking can help them with their time management and easy transactions. For example, City
Bank has invested in numerous apps such as City ekhoni, City iBank, City touch app. They have
also introduced the country's first real time cash deposit machine in 2020.

Physical evidence is the environment in which the service is delivered and where the bank and its
clients interact and any tangible commodities that facilitate performance or communication for
the service. For City Bank the physical evidence can be if the bank is clean or not and the interior
decor of the bank, the atmosphere creates the mood, the attraction and desire to visit the bank.
The tangibles may include the building, furniture, the uniforms of the frontline staff, and the
grooming of the employees. For example, a well-dressed employee will be perceived as more
capable. The exterior facilities could be the parking system for clients who visit the bank and the
surrounding environment in which the bank is located. City Bank in Gulshan will be more
attractive to consumers than somewhere in Farmgate. Other tangibles could include business
cards, brochures, billing statements and reports as well as the website, the temperature of the
bank, the waiting area and many more.

GAP 3

Service Performance Gap- The service performance gap is the discrepancy between
development of customer-driven service standards and actual service performance by company
employees. Even when guidelines exist for performing services well and treating customers
correctly, high-quality service performance is

not a certainty. Standards must be backed by appropriate resources

(people, systems, and technology) and also must be enforced to be

effective-that is, employees must be measured and compensated on the

basis of performance along these standards. This gap may arise in situations existing to the
service personnel. It may occur due to improper training, deficiencies in HR policies,
incapability or unwillingness to meet the set service standards. Ineffective Recruitment can cause
these gaps as well as failure to match the supply and demand, last but not the least customers not
fulfilling their roles.

Human Resources Management (HRM) is responsible for the people dimension of the
organisation. It is in charge of hiring competent individuals, providing them with training,
encouraging them to put forward a lot of effort, and setting up systems to guarantee that these
workers continue to work effectively for the businesses. Employees must conduct themselves in
accordance with the policies and guidelines established by the company. Training is a continuous
procedure that aids in improving employees' performance. For a job to be done well, new skills
must be acquired. Employee attitudes and behaviours are altered and modified through training,
which enhances their capacity for work performance. A training program needs to achieve a
number of goals in order to be effective. City bank uses both a hard or soft approach towards
training their employees so that they can deal with problematic customers. It must first take into
account both organisational and personal needs. Second, the training's objectives should identify
the issues that will be resolved. Third, effective learning theories should be the basis of all
instruction. A training program must also be examined to see if it is effective. City Bank has
designed fair & appropriate performance appraisal & promotion systems which can be
motivating factors for the employees. Employees directly interact with the customers in the
Banks so special care & high vigilance from the part of the employees are required in the banks.
Employees are highly Skilled, educated, dynamic & smart which creates a positive image for the
City Bank.

Sometimes customers do not fulfil their roles which leads to this gap. For example if a customer
calls City Bank customer care and behaves outrageous with the speaker on the other end, the
employee has the right to cut the call and not respond to the customer due to their bad behaviour.
This could also happen when a customer is visiting the Bank and is creating a scene for some
reason City Bank can escort the customer out if it cannot be resolved maturely. City bank will
take initiatives to educate their customers so that this gap can be reduced. The employees have
been trained to deal with such situations.

City banks forecast the daily demands to match their supply and demand. For example, during
Eid there is a huge rush in the bank due to the government holiday for which banks stay closed.
During this time they can hire part time employees to help with the rush.

GAP 4

Communication Gap- It is the difference between the level of service promised and what is
received. It assesses if the business appropriately discloses facts about its services in its
advertising and communications, as opposed to inflating its claims. Customers' expectations are
greatly influenced by advertisements and corporate statements; thus managers must make sure
that claims are truthful. This can be due to lack of Integrated service marketing communication,
overpromising and inadequate horizontal communication.

To overcome the communication gap City Bank established an official communication policy
such as the use of email, instant messaging and video conferencing. There should be a
standardised procedure so that staff of the same level have appropriate communication and
information which will reduce the horizontal communication gap.

As for city bank, most of the time they do deliver on their promises therefore they are setting
realistic standards and ensuring that their customers get the best service from them. In two
consecutive years city bank has won award from the central bank of Bangladesh

Service Quality Dimensions of City Bank

There are 5 service quality dimensions and 4 online service quality dimensions that brands must
consider. In the context of City Bank, all these dimensions play a role. However, there are a few
that take the spotlight - Reliability, Assurance, Responsiveness, Tangibles, Usability and
Privacy.
 Reliability - as banks are responsible for the safekeeping of financials and valuables,
precious things that people's livelihoods rely on, it is crucial that they are able to deliver
accurately on all their promises. City Bank has over 2 million customers and a very high
satisfaction rate which shows customers rely on the bank

 Assurance- people would keep their valuables somewhere they deem to be the safest,
providing the highest level of security and ensuring error free services, which makes this
an important dimension. City Bank has won multiple international awards every year
since 2016, such as Best Bank in Bangladesh (FinanceAsia Country Awards 2022), Best
Sustainable Finance Bank in Bangladesh (Global Finances Sustainable Finance Country
2022), Best CSR Bank in Bangladesh (Asiamoney Best Bank Awards 2020) and more.

 Responsiveness - Customers would want all their transactions to occur immediately.

There may be times of urgency with withdrawals or loans so the level of responsiveness
would have a great impact on customer satisfaction

 Tangibles - Banks should ensure all their tangibles are in top-notch condition, such as
security gate, cash counter, computers, queue display, vaults and lockers, as any lacking
in this area would drastically hamper service standards and performance. City Bank has
heavily invested in tech where customers are self-sufficient. For example, City touch app
is for individual customers with which they can take quick loans (secured loan)

 Usability - Customers of all demographics should be able to navigate the City Bank app
and website to find information, open accounts, make deposits or withdrawals, etc. as it
will be an integral part of their daily life. City Bank is very tech savvy with several apps
catering to different customer bases, for example there is the city bank website, city touch
app, city ekhoni app, city live app. There are lots of apps available catering to different
types of customers i.e city touch for general customers, city live app for corporate
customers. Moreover, City Ekhoni app has a feature where one can apply for a bank loan
online sitting at home, saving time.
  Privacy - Banks need to ensure the customer's data is safe from leaks and there is a low
probability of it being shared on accident. City Bank ensures this as to access any City
Bank app, card purchases online or offline, there are double OTP requirements.

The other dimensions that are not as crucial but plays a part in ensuring customer satisfaction
are:

 Empathy - customers do not encounter human interactions every day or every time they
are taking service from the bank, for example, cash withdrawals. However, it can be
important when customers are already frustrated with financial issues or getting locked
out of their account, or when there is a service failure.

 Interactivity - There is little need for customers to be able to interact with other customers
in the City Bank apps. However, it is important for them to be able to interact with the
employees, which City Bank has already ensured with helplines in the app.

 Value Added Features - This dimension is not important to the core service, but it can
help City Bank differentiate itself in the market. Simply having a City Bank account
allows customers to enjoy discounts on food, apparel, travel and more, which they can
see on their app.

City Bank is well renowned and has a high customer satisfaction rate which means they are
doing well on most, if not all the dimensions. However, they could focus on adding more Value-
Added features to differentiate themselves further and work on Responsiveness as the banking
industry has a high inflow of customers due to high demands.

Service Expectations

Factors Affecting Zone of Tolerance:

Customers: the customer’s personal situation affects their zone of tolerance.

 ➔ Low - if the customer is having a financial crisis, or they have urgent work on a
busy day requiring a longer wait time in line, they will have a lower zone of
tolerance.
➔ High - if the customer is in a good mood about collecting a cash reward or pay
check, they will have a higher zone of tolerance.

Price: City Bank is on the pricier side compared to other banks, like having a high dollar
exchange rate, higher interest rates, etc. This is also because City Bank offers multiple benefits
and facilities that other banks don’t. This increases expectations as customers have a higher
quality perception of City Bank, hence there is a low zone of tolerance.

Service Attributes: a customer’s zone of tolerance in this regard depends on the specific service
attribute they are looking for in a bank. Some of these attributes can be fast processing times,
ease of file opening procedure, accessibility of ATM booths, ease of international transactions,
and so on. Customers will have a low zone of tolerance for those specific attributes they value
the most.

Desired Service Factors

1. Personal Need - customers may identify themselves as someone who leads a luxurious
life. City Bank’s extra facilities like Airport Lounge can give them that VIP experience.
This pertains to the esteem category of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs.

2. Personal Service Philosophy - Ex City Bank employees and customers with experience of
the service sector will have a soft corner and hence a higher zone of tolerance.

3. Derived Service Expectations - a lot of City Bank customers choose the brand based on
the recommendations of their friends and family. Students studying abroad, for example,
open student accounts after hearing about their dollar exchange rates or fast processing
times from other students. This makes their expectations higher and the zone of tolerance
low.
Adequate Service Factors

1. Perceived Service Alternative - there are plenty of alternatives to City Bank like Brac
Bank, EBL and so on, making it easy to switch if the service is not adequate.

2. Situational Factor
i. Personal - these are short term, individual factors that make a customer
more aware of the need of the service. For example, an urgent need to
block their stolen credit card will lead to higher expectations of adequate
service and low zone of tolerance.
ii. Uncontrollable Factors - situations that are beyond the control of service
providers, like Bangladesh foreign exchange reserves dropping and
changes in government policies. Customers who recognize that situational
factors are not the fault of the company service may accept the lower
levels of adequate service.

Desired and Adequate Service

1. Explicit Service Promise - Advertisements

Promise - fulfil your dreams Promise - easy to use

 Promise - supporting progressive women

2. Implicit Service Promise - Physical Evidence

Their list of awards and physical evidence like ATM booths, Priority Centres, multiple
branches, etc give customers an implicit promise of receiving the best service.
3. Word of Mouth - Positive reviews left by other customers on City Bank services like the
City Bank Cafe, City Alo, etc can increase expectations. Existing and former employees
sharing their love for the company has the same effect.

4. Past Experience -
Same Industry - Customers usually have multiple bank accounts in different places.
Receiving superior services from other banks would make their expectations higher
towards City Bank and have a low zone of tolerance.
 Different Industries - Customers can have a bad experience at a restaurant buffet
sponsored by City Bank cards. This may affect their impression of City Bank negatively
by association.

Same Company - Customers having a good experience with City Bank will have higher
expectations moving forward to maintain that level of service.

Percentages of customer satisfaction from CITY BANK

● Satisfied customers: 92-94%

● Dissatisfied Customers: 1-2%
● Totally dissatisfied: 2-3%

Service Encounters in City Bank

According to the three-stage model of service encounter, consumers go through mainly three
major stages when they consume services. The pre purchase stage, the service encounter stage,
and the post encounter stage.

In our case the consumers of the bank that is the consumer of City Bank also encounter such
services while visiting the bank.
Pre core service encounter - in this case the consumer generally gathers maximum information
before visiting the bank for opening an account. They gather information from their friends and
family who have accounts in the bank. Generally, the customer goes and opens their account in
those banks where they can find suitable benefits and where they are being suggested by their
friends and family.

Core service encounter- the consumers or the account holder of the bank request for services
from the employees of the bank. The services that the customer gets in the bank is the help while
opening an account, any problem regarding the open account, closing any accounts, depositing
money or cheque etc. The bank employees are bound to support each of their customers for the
sake of their promise and good will.

Post core service encounter- the post encounter stage determines whether the consumer will
recommend to others or not. In this case the customer or account holder's experience is the most
important thing. If the account holder's experience is good with the bank, then he/she will
recommend the bank to others and will encourage others to open an account in that bank. But if
the experience is negative then there is high possibility of the account holder not continuing
his/her account with that bank. So, post experience determines the evaluation of service
performance.

Types of Service Encounter:

1. Remote encounter- in this type of encounter the customer is interacting with a device or
robot and receives information. The presence of the employees are not there. In case of
Banking system, the ATM machine, CDM machine work as remote encounter system.

2. Face to face encounter- in this stage the customer or account holder of the bank interacts
with the employee of the bank directly. Opening a bank account, the customer and the
employee of the bank interact with each other face to face. The employee helps the
customer to fill up the documents and carry out all the formalities of the bank.
 3. Tech mediated - in the tech mediated encounter process the interaction is done using
technology. That is online chatting with the employee of the bank help desk, online
customer care, the SMS that comes when a deposit is done, or a withdrawal is made. All
these come under tech mediated encounters.

Sources of Pleasure and Displeasure in Service Encounter

1. Recovery - Employee response to service delivery system failures:

Example - the bank employee mistakenly deposited a customer’s money to another customer's
account, there is a technical error in the server of the bank and all the transactions are on hold,
etc. They must quickly fix the error.

2. Adaptability - Employee response to customer needs and requests:

Example - a customer of the bank needs to deposit or withdraw huge amount of money urgently
and don't have enough time to stand in the line, there is an elderly client of the bank standing in
the line for depositing/ withdrawal is a problem for him/her, here the employee of the bank or
manager can play great role by helping the client and prioritise the clients need at first.

3. Spontaneity - Unprompted and unsolicited employee actions:

Example- a customer goes inside the bank and encounters the behaviour of the bank employee
with another client or customer who is not well dressed and is being treated rudely for not being
educated.

4. Coping - Employee response to problem customers:

Example - a customer or client of City bank causing havoc because the employee refused to
break the rule of the bank and sanction him money he demanded.
Service Recovery Strategies

1. Proactive service recovery - Reading faces of customers, actively observing them, identifying
that they are not satisfied about something by their facial expression and solving them before
they complain is called proactive service recovery. It helps to increase satisfaction from the
customers. Let’s say a customer is facing a problem filling up a form. By observing the facial
expression, a representative goes to the customer and helps him/her. It will create a great
pleasure within the customers.

2. Planned Recovery procedure - In a bank, there are some common issues that employees face,
and they know how to solve them without dissatisfying the customers. Like internet issues,
electricity problems, any technical problems, computer problems. They are familiar with these
issues, and they quickly solve problems. And sometimes to satisfy the customer, employees must
take the responsibility of the problem, apologies, get to the root issue then solve it as soon as
possible so that customer doesn’t have to wait a lot of time.

3. Recovery skills must be taught - Banks need highly trained employees with hard skills and
soft skills. Banks face a lot of challenges every time, so they need well trained employees.
Dealing with the customers with care, dealing in rush hours, working fast etc. needs to be well
trained.

4. Empowered employees- Sometimes employees may face some different types of issues or
work where they need to make decisions and solve the issues right away. So giving them the
authority to solve that will help the service failure to recover. Act quickly, take responsibility,
make decisions quickly and solve a customer's problem quickly, these can help a customer to feel
satisfied.

5. Treating Customers Fairly

 i. Outcome Fairness - this is the compensation provided to customers in case of
service failure. Banks don’t tend to provide financial compensation to customers.

ii. Procedural Fairness - the complaint process is explained in great detail in the City
Bank website. It is hassle free and easy to find. City Bank regularly checks all
their processes are running smoothly and without delay.

iii. Interactional Fairness - employees must be empathetic to the customers and avoid
showing frustrations regardless of the customer’s background.

5. Provide Appropriate Communication and Explanation - Employees must explain in detail

the reasons for service failure with empathy, keeping in mind their body language, facial
expressions, and tone.

Customer Complaint Process

City Bank makes it easy for customers to find the right place to complain with their detailed step
by step explanation on their website, making it clear what kinds of complaints need to be
addressed at which place, what information to not share, and providing multiple points of
contact.

Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4

Contact with the
concerned
official of your
Contact Branch
Level Customer
Service &
Contact Zonal
Customer
Service &
Contact Central
Customer
Service &
Branch or our Complaints Complaints Complaints
Customer Management Management Management
Service Centers Desk Cells (ZCS&CMC) Cells (CCS&CMC)
(BLCS&CMD)
HR strategies

1. Hire the right people - To hire the right people in the recruitment process, City Bank must be
the preferred employer. City Bank is reputable, hence working here is considered prestigious and
employees can look forward to lucrative job opportunities, high salaries, and facilities. City bank
announces vacancies in their website, there are job circulars such as ‘bd jobs’ that will mention
vacancies as well. CVs are collected from such places. Vivas and written tests are conducted.

2. Select the right person - For a bank, employees’ appearance, their behaviour, who comes with
naturally warm personality and a lot of patience are highly preferable. In the recruitment process,
selecting the right person who fits the bank most is very necessary. Employees that are
comfortable with dealing with huge data and working with excel and other software are more
preferred. (see appendix no. 4)

3. Enable the people – Extensive Training & Development

I. Organisational culture: letting know to the employees what the goal is, what is the
purpose, how they work, these things need to be explained. The company’s Mission,
Vision and Values need to be taught. City Bank “day in the life” video shows how the
company values family bonding within employees.

II. Interpersonal and technical skills: enthusiasm, leadership, empathy, communication, self-
evaluation these skills need to develop within the employees. Employees in City Bank
need to be able to explain complicated financial terms and how to open accounts and deal
with all kinds of financial situations of the customer.

III. Service knowledge: what kind of service is City Bank giving to people, how do they
provide them, how do they recover from their service failure? These are needed to be
trained to the new employees. Multiple training sessions throughout the year are carried
out based on specific services such as service excellence, foreign exchange, sales skills,
 leadership training. Others include currency training where employees are taught to
identify problematic cash notes such as torn, or fake notes of cash, etc.

4. Empower the employees- Train the employees if they face any problem while working, they
must take a decision or solve the problem. In City Bank, an employee will try their best to solve
a customer's problem, they have the delegation power to do so. If the problem seems more
complicated and out of power for the employee, the employee will go to the branch manager and
if the branch manager fails to solve an issue, higher management will be involved to make
problem solving for customers easier.

5. Motivate the people- After hiring the employees, banks need to make them feel valued as well
so that the employees feel motivated, and they work hard and provide the best quality of service
to the customers. City bank motivates their employees by acknowledging the employees, giving
employee benefits like giving them rewards and recognition. For example, reward in cash form,
chairman certificates, Managing Director certificates to motivate employees more. (see appendix
no. 5 & 6)

How employees are a differentiating factor for City Bank

1. Employees are the service: the financial advice they offer and the way they explain
complicated procedures and financial terms reflect on the service in the customer’s mind

2. Employees are the brand: Employees represent the brand to the customers and their only
way of getting the service is through the employees and how they manage every step of
the process. The frontline staff reach out to the higher ups to let them know what changes
in customer behaviour and needs they have observed which are implemented in their
business strategy.
 3. Employees are the organisation: Work culture of City Bank depends on the employees'
behaviour towards each other. City Bank tries to foster a familial relationship within
employees, as marketed by their “Day in the Life at City Bank” video.

4. Employees are the marketeers: Existing and former employees always make sure to post
about their positive feelings towards the brand and how they feel acknowledged and will
never forget their experience working at City Bank. Employees foster relationships and
customers want to go to City Bank to get service for that particular employee, thinking
they will be more empathetic and patient with their concerns. Employees encourage their
friends and family to get service from City Bank. (see appendix no. 2)

Appendix
1. Service Blueprint:
2. Employees are the marketeers:

3. Service Triangle:

4. Selection process for recruitment:

 5. Motivating Employees - Employee benefits:

6. Customer benefits vs Employee Benefits:

7. Customer Opinions on City Bank

Person 1:
“I have been a City Bank user ever since I have had a bank account, and compared to most other
banks their innovation and service has been great, by Bangladeshi standards.”

Person 2:
“Those who wanna open student file from city bank, keep in mind that if your tuition fees is
above 5k usd then they will charge 107tk per usd. I opend a student file but Couldn't pay my
tuition fees due to over price of dollar rate. Sadly i will miss my admission because due date is
very close and it's impossible to open a saving accout then student file and pay tuition fees. I am
really upset about their service.”

Person 3:
“Their service is very satisfying. They are co operative. Payment for student file get done faster.”

Person 4:
“I have a student account opened at city bank. I sent my first year tution through that account
after a lot of hassles. And now they are having issues with her dollar rate. So I no longer want to
use their service.
City bank is better than DBBL...file opening procedures are easier than dbbl”

Person 5:
“I have account in DBBL and City bank. Bt City bank is way better than dbbl in terms of
international transactions. Bt for student account one of my cousin recommend EBL/HSBC. She
said these wud be better because they handle student file more often. They r more accustomed
with the rules nd regulations. And City bank handles student files.”

Person 6:
“I have a transaction problem that happened at The City Bank Limited, Bangladesh ! After trying
out for at least 20 times over 4 days and each call lasting about 6/7 mins in que, finally a
Customer Care guy picked up.
And he couldn't provide any solution to the problem, which is as regular as "I have made a
transaction few days back and it hasn't hit the receiver's bank, can you tell me in which state this
transaction is in and why is it getting delayed!"
If there are anybody from City Bank who sees this, I would request a response and a support to
this issue. I hope my good relationship with City bank will not be tarnished.”