I bank at Citizens Bank Foe Savings in the Hadley, Massachusetts office for a few reasons. First Citizens is in every Stop and Shop throughout New England and they are open seven days a week until 7:00 PM. How convenient. That works!

However the second reason, probably more important then the first, is the exceptionable customer service experience I receive all the time. At first I thought it was because I am such a frequent customer I get to see and talk with the handful of bankers and got to know them and become friends so naturally I believed my positive experience in this branch was a direct function of building  personal relationships.

Not so. Since I travel throughout New England I have an occasional opportunity to visit many different branches of Citizens Bank all over the region. I thought it was just coincidental that every were I went the bankers treated me as if we were friends and sincerely wanted to please me and provide me with  the same terrific service I receive in the Hadley office and do everything they could to satisfy my needs whatever they may be.

Eventually it became clear that this is their corporate culture. Somehow within a large international corporation with over 180,000 employees they figured out how to deliver exceptional customer service in every branch I have visited and that must be at least a dozen, enough to draw a conclusion as it is way to many for their response to be coincidental. I get the experience of a small town bank were everyone knows everyone no matter what branch I visit, it makes no difference.

I also consider myself a high maintenance customer frequently requiring above average care and attention, and I always get it no matter what branch I go to.

How could this be with 180,000 world wide employees? It cannot simply be quality hiring. No. It is quality training. In fact I comment and share my experiences and observation with many of the people at the various branches I visit letting them know how successful they are at delivering a positive customer service experience and they appreciate the positive feedback.

Today, a banker responded and informed me that this morning they had a customer service training session and that the entire line of management pays significant attention to delivering excellent customer service and that the employees are constantly trained to deliver quality experiences to every customer they deal with.

Clearly it is such an important issue and matter to the corporation that they spend sufficient time and effort in making certain that this mandate thrives.

What the point? If a corporation with 180,000 employees world wide can succeed in delivering extremely high customer service consistently everywhere they do business, then it proves the point that customer service can be taught, employee’s can be trained to deliver quality customer service, and it can become part of  the corporate culture deeply embedded in every employee’s actions and thus its real and honest and it works very well.

If a corporation this size can successfully train its employees to deliver quality customer service, not just paying lip service to the concept but with meaningful commitment, then the small business you manage can certainly do an equal if not better job with less then a dozen or so employees. However in my experience, I find Citizens bank is unsurpassed and its employees are the standard for everyone else to measure their efforts against.

They do such a good job we can learn from them as few small  businesses I know can compete with them in this area.

Take a lesson, as customer service is one of the most valuable components of successful business. It supports loyal customers, stimulates repeat business, expanded invoices, steady growth and development. Poor customer service results in declining sale, low repeat business, no loyalty and customers that shop for price only. Quality customer service promotes word of mouth advertising which is the best, the most effective and the cheapest. It has me writing about it for many to read.

Simply stated, if Citizens can do it with 180,000 employees, a small business should also be able to  do it as well, if not better.

Review your customer service standards and develop a training program and then call a meeting Monday morning and announce your new focus and direction, like Citizens bank. Call for assistance.413-549-2966.