- Customer service more important than banking products themselves

- Union National Bank rated among the highest in terms of customer satisfaction

May 30th 2007, Abu Dhabi: A national benchmarking survey by leading independent market research company AMRB has revealed interesting insights and has rated Union National Bank (UNB) as one of the leading banks in terms of customer satisfaction.  

The survey, which was based on 1050 interviews across Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Sharjah, and backed by comprehensive focus group discussions, aimed to identify current consumer needs and expectations towards banking in the UAE and to measure performance of key players on parameters impacting customer satisfaction.

The results revealed that a high level of customer service is more important to UAE customers than the product itself, and that many of the top banks are falling short when it comes to providing good customer service.

According to the survey findings, banking customers regard product offering as 'standard & undifferentiated' and customer service as a key differentiator. The survey highlighted key customer expectations as follows:

  • Proactive and well-trained staff who are receptive to customer needs

  • Honest guidance and transparency. (Customers do not mind paying more if they feel that they are receiving honest advice)

  • Staff fluency in the customer's own language

  • Toll-free helpline number

  • A high number of ATMs and cash deposit machines to make banking more convenient for these customers

The independent survey analyzed the top seven players in the UAE retail banking industry, in terms of Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction.

The findings also revealed interesting differences between nationalities. Improved technology and parking outside their local branch were pinpointed by Arab nationals as being key drivers in their customer satisfaction while Asian respondents were more likely to look in detail at the 'quality of service' offered by banks and also highlighted some issues about hidden costs, lack of transparency, poor customer service and too much 'hard sell' of banking products.

UNB was rated as one of the leading banks in terms of 'fulfilling customer commitments' and 'transparency' and received a high overall satisfaction rating of 88%. AMRB's survey showed that UNB is considered to be very strong on customer care, the single most important element to individuals today, and that staff are rated highly on their responsiveness to customer enquiries, friendliness and professionalism.  

Commenting on the findings, Mr. Mohammad Nasr Abdeen, CEO of UNB, commented: "Today's UAE retail banking industry is very competitive and customers have high expectations. It is interesting to note that while the product range that a bank offers its customers is obviously important, most customers rate their interaction with their bank as even more crucial. In this modern technological age people still want a personal relationship with their bank. We will be using the results of this survey to ensure that we continue to deliver what our customers actually want from us, not what we think they need."

Mr. Gagan Bhalla, General Manager of AMRB for the MENA region added: "These findings are very interesting as they coincide with our learnings from similar research across service sectors like banking, telecom, utilities etc. - while it is important for service providers to provide cutting edge products and services, ultimately it is the human factor that helps to differentiate and gain competitive advantage."

AMRB is the Dubai-based arm of one of the largest research and consultancy conglomerates in the world, Kantar Group. Its affiliates are internationally renowned research agencies like Millward Brown, Research International and IMRB International.

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© Press Release 2007