National Bank
Content
Service Encounter Journal
Submitted to:
Sir Kashir Asgher
Submitted By:
Zubair Ahmed
Zahid Hameed
BAHRIA
CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY
ISMALABAD
Introduction
As service industry is increasing rapidly businesses are focusing on their services and
standardizing there service procedures. We encountered ten different services from different
industries to experience and evaluate their service for our journal. Industries including Banks,
telecom and food chains.
Worst Service encounter
The service encounter which we chose as the worst service encounter was National Bank of
Pakistan F8 Markaz Islamabad. As National Bank is a public bank and all government related
fees are deposited their like traffic tickets and government taxes etc. I decided to go there in
person to make a pay order so that I can thoroughly judge and experience their service. Our
expectation were high because before going there I did some home and we came to know that
national bank F8 Markaz has one of the highest account deposits in Islamabad region.
At first I couldn’t find any parking space for our car and so I parked our car in a street nearby
and walked for like 150 meters. I entered the branch and huge crowd was there on every table
waiting for their turn even some people were standing. I had no idea that from where should we
begin because there were no signs for anything except for the cash counter. At first I was thought
that there must be a customer service counter of customer service officer somewhere because it’s
compulsory in Banks but there was none. There were total thirteen employees in branch
including Branch Manager, three office clerks and two security guards. Mangers chamber was
well furnished but the rest of the work place was a mess, piles of files on tables. No proper
guidelines were there for walk in customers. Tables and chairs combination was really bad, there
was a token system installed but it was out of order.
First i asked an officer for some information sitting near to the entrance of the bank, he replied
while looking at his computer “kindly wait a minute”. After a while I asked him our queries and
he rudely replied “go to that table” so I went there then he did the same. It took twenty minutes
to understand what task will be done at which table. Then one of the bank officer gave us time
helped us, but he was attending other customers at the same time due which it took time.
Employees were not following any standard procedure to facilitate their customers. Then I filled
the form and went to the cash counter to deposit the cash for our Pay Order. After receiving the
pay order the said officer told us to go to manager for second signature on Pay Order but
manager was not there. So again I had to wait then after five minute manager arrived and counter
signed on our Pay order. It took me 40 minutes to make a pay order and then I left the branch
decided to never come again to this branch because it like torturing yourself.
There were many flaws in National Bank service first of all their location, management knows
that national bank more accounts and walk in customers compared to other Bank. Management
should open their branches where they can provide parking facilities to their customers. Various
studies has shown that in order create customer experience the office environment functions as a
successive tool as the customers are more likely to evaluate the product/service positively if the
surrounding is more pleasing (Bitner, 1992). Having huge deposits National bank can easily
change internal layout of their branches by installing latest equipment and good furniture. Which
will put a positive impression on their account holders and walk in customers. Kotler defined
atmospherics “the design and atmospherics must be used to modify consumer behavior and
efforts must be made to design such environment which produce particular emotional effect in
consumer that increase the purchase chance” (Kotler, 1973). It’s very important for management
to train their staff who are working in frontline dealing with customers. These employees should
be well trained and they should how to deal with their customers. Focus should be on the
customers need and they should be fulfilled within time, rather than on their own operational
work.
Employees should manage their work and there surrounding properly they should speak to the
customers politely with a smile. Regarding continues hard work employees should work on their
stress level so that they can communicate with the customers properly. Also employees should
Focus on their dress code which two piece suit.
Best Service Encounter
Just last Saturday, I took a visit to Warid telecom business centre for re-issuing of my lost ‘sim’
card. My experience of this service encounter started from the moment I contacted them for help
and support. In this initial indirect personal encounter I required from them to block my sim card
as it could be used by third parties. My high satisfaction level which resulted from this initial
service encounter could be attributed to a number of facts. Firstly when I called their helpline the
call was quickly received and the customer representative was very friendly and polite in
listening to my query. The representative was very particular in taking care of small
communication related etiquettes which in this case was to not only listen to my query but also
assure me that he is listening to me attentively and sincerely by affirming whatever I said with a
brief ‘yes’. In this way I never felt like I’m the only one speaking there although I was the one
doing all the talking but the representative was reciprocating my speech with affirmation. After
listening to my inquiry, the representative briefly restated my request to make sure that they have
actually identified the problem, which again shows efficient and proper communication as I was
reassured my message has got across to that person. The representative after doing the needful
explained to me in detail the procedure of re-issuing of sim card and in the end politely
suggested if I needed to know any other thing. So all in all this first experience ended on a
positive note
For the issuance of sim I had to visit their franchise or business centre. Now again it was quite
easy to look up Warid business centre from online search and they had a user friendly online
page which quickly guided me to their main business centre address. It was located in blue area
and a mere five to seven minutes drive from my university. The center could be seen from right
across the main road to Blue Area and it didn’t take me much time to locate it. Externally the
building is designed in a very attractive glass covered pattern so the location and the external
appearance is welcoming indeed. There was ample parking space around the plaza and usually
one faces a hassle while parking around busy commercial plazas but here the parking issue was
largely solved thanks to a small parking space for Warid employees leaving the vicinity of the
plaza free from their parked cars. For customer center they have opted for the ground floor which
is directly located underneath the main entrance to the building hence easy to identify it and is
effortlessly accessible. I noticed that while passing through the walkthrough gate to the building
the guard standing there politely offered me with the small tray for my phone and keys and once
on my way out picked up the tray and helped me to collect my things without turning round as I
have experienced many a times. These are a few subtle things which I was looking out for and I
was not disappointed so far.
As soon as I stepped into the business centre premises I was welcomed with a mellow music
playing in the background setting the character of the customer center. As I made my way into
the office I saw impressively done internal marketing with standees positioned at strategic points
offering the latest information on different Warid products as well as small wall charts
advertising the latest internet or ‘sms’ bundles. At some places the entire wall was covered with
logo and advertisements. It may sound irrelevant to the service encounter but it complimented
their objectives and what they were doing there and it was done in such an elegant manner that it
was worth mentioning. The layout was done in a very sophisticated manner with minimalist
approach in terms of furnishing and to achieve this, furniture was placed adjacent to walls or
columns of the buildings making the centre appear spacious. The interior was decorated with
plants, especially climbing plant, vines, really lending the office that fresh look. I cannot say
much about lighting as I visited during day time and that particular customer care area is mostly
built with simple glass walls so it was mostly natural light. Still the lights inside were turned on
and were a bit bright. I would have hardly taken a few tentative steps towards what I thought
were customer representatives that a young fellow introduced himself with a big smile on his
face and the official card he was wearing clearly told me that he is an employee there. So I made
myself clear on why I am here and the guy whose designation on card said floor manager
politely issued me a slip from the automated machine and very politely suggested that I wait a
while as all customer representatives were busy at that time. Although I waited for around ten
minutes but my wait was made more bearable with excellently done waiting room all with
television and comfortable seats and the floor was done with polished wood. As my turn came up
the automated system in clear audible voice announced the slip number and besides this,
customers could also follow the numbers which were also being displayed on the screen to know
if their turn came up. I made my way to the respective booth which displayed my slip number
and I was again greeted with a big smile by the customer representative. They attentively and
sincerely listened to my query and then inquired if the sim in question was in my ownership to
which I answered yes. The customer representative simply followed a procedure of verifying my
identity via biometric system and after validating my thumb impressions at the back end with
NADRA he issued me the new sim. All this process hardly took ten minutes and I was issued a
new sim card. Upon seeing that I am prepaid customer the representative briefly explained the
cheaper data packages I could utilize so this exceeded my expectations of not only reacquiring
the sim card but also learning about the latest packages. All in all the service was fast and I was
quickly dealt with. My experience from the moment I contacted Warid by phone to the moment I
left their customer care centre was a resoundingly positive experience.
Bibliography
www.nbp.com.pk
www.waridtel.com
Bitner, M. J., (1992) “Servicecap: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and
Employee”, Journal of Markting, Volume. 58,pp. 57-71
Submitted to:
Sir Kashir Asgher
Submitted By:
Zubair Ahmed
Zahid Hameed
BAHRIA
CAMPUS
UNIVERSITY
ISMALABAD
Introduction
As service industry is increasing rapidly businesses are focusing on their services and
standardizing there service procedures. We encountered ten different services from different
industries to experience and evaluate their service for our journal. Industries including Banks,
telecom and food chains.
Worst Service encounter
The service encounter which we chose as the worst service encounter was National Bank of
Pakistan F8 Markaz Islamabad. As National Bank is a public bank and all government related
fees are deposited their like traffic tickets and government taxes etc. I decided to go there in
person to make a pay order so that I can thoroughly judge and experience their service. Our
expectation were high because before going there I did some home and we came to know that
national bank F8 Markaz has one of the highest account deposits in Islamabad region.
At first I couldn’t find any parking space for our car and so I parked our car in a street nearby
and walked for like 150 meters. I entered the branch and huge crowd was there on every table
waiting for their turn even some people were standing. I had no idea that from where should we
begin because there were no signs for anything except for the cash counter. At first I was thought
that there must be a customer service counter of customer service officer somewhere because it’s
compulsory in Banks but there was none. There were total thirteen employees in branch
including Branch Manager, three office clerks and two security guards. Mangers chamber was
well furnished but the rest of the work place was a mess, piles of files on tables. No proper
guidelines were there for walk in customers. Tables and chairs combination was really bad, there
was a token system installed but it was out of order.
First i asked an officer for some information sitting near to the entrance of the bank, he replied
while looking at his computer “kindly wait a minute”. After a while I asked him our queries and
he rudely replied “go to that table” so I went there then he did the same. It took twenty minutes
to understand what task will be done at which table. Then one of the bank officer gave us time
helped us, but he was attending other customers at the same time due which it took time.
Employees were not following any standard procedure to facilitate their customers. Then I filled
the form and went to the cash counter to deposit the cash for our Pay Order. After receiving the
pay order the said officer told us to go to manager for second signature on Pay Order but
manager was not there. So again I had to wait then after five minute manager arrived and counter
signed on our Pay order. It took me 40 minutes to make a pay order and then I left the branch
decided to never come again to this branch because it like torturing yourself.
There were many flaws in National Bank service first of all their location, management knows
that national bank more accounts and walk in customers compared to other Bank. Management
should open their branches where they can provide parking facilities to their customers. Various
studies has shown that in order create customer experience the office environment functions as a
successive tool as the customers are more likely to evaluate the product/service positively if the
surrounding is more pleasing (Bitner, 1992). Having huge deposits National bank can easily
change internal layout of their branches by installing latest equipment and good furniture. Which
will put a positive impression on their account holders and walk in customers. Kotler defined
atmospherics “the design and atmospherics must be used to modify consumer behavior and
efforts must be made to design such environment which produce particular emotional effect in
consumer that increase the purchase chance” (Kotler, 1973). It’s very important for management
to train their staff who are working in frontline dealing with customers. These employees should
be well trained and they should how to deal with their customers. Focus should be on the
customers need and they should be fulfilled within time, rather than on their own operational
work.
Employees should manage their work and there surrounding properly they should speak to the
customers politely with a smile. Regarding continues hard work employees should work on their
stress level so that they can communicate with the customers properly. Also employees should
Focus on their dress code which two piece suit.
Best Service Encounter
Just last Saturday, I took a visit to Warid telecom business centre for re-issuing of my lost ‘sim’
card. My experience of this service encounter started from the moment I contacted them for help
and support. In this initial indirect personal encounter I required from them to block my sim card
as it could be used by third parties. My high satisfaction level which resulted from this initial
service encounter could be attributed to a number of facts. Firstly when I called their helpline the
call was quickly received and the customer representative was very friendly and polite in
listening to my query. The representative was very particular in taking care of small
communication related etiquettes which in this case was to not only listen to my query but also
assure me that he is listening to me attentively and sincerely by affirming whatever I said with a
brief ‘yes’. In this way I never felt like I’m the only one speaking there although I was the one
doing all the talking but the representative was reciprocating my speech with affirmation. After
listening to my inquiry, the representative briefly restated my request to make sure that they have
actually identified the problem, which again shows efficient and proper communication as I was
reassured my message has got across to that person. The representative after doing the needful
explained to me in detail the procedure of re-issuing of sim card and in the end politely
suggested if I needed to know any other thing. So all in all this first experience ended on a
positive note
For the issuance of sim I had to visit their franchise or business centre. Now again it was quite
easy to look up Warid business centre from online search and they had a user friendly online
page which quickly guided me to their main business centre address. It was located in blue area
and a mere five to seven minutes drive from my university. The center could be seen from right
across the main road to Blue Area and it didn’t take me much time to locate it. Externally the
building is designed in a very attractive glass covered pattern so the location and the external
appearance is welcoming indeed. There was ample parking space around the plaza and usually
one faces a hassle while parking around busy commercial plazas but here the parking issue was
largely solved thanks to a small parking space for Warid employees leaving the vicinity of the
plaza free from their parked cars. For customer center they have opted for the ground floor which
is directly located underneath the main entrance to the building hence easy to identify it and is
effortlessly accessible. I noticed that while passing through the walkthrough gate to the building
the guard standing there politely offered me with the small tray for my phone and keys and once
on my way out picked up the tray and helped me to collect my things without turning round as I
have experienced many a times. These are a few subtle things which I was looking out for and I
was not disappointed so far.
As soon as I stepped into the business centre premises I was welcomed with a mellow music
playing in the background setting the character of the customer center. As I made my way into
the office I saw impressively done internal marketing with standees positioned at strategic points
offering the latest information on different Warid products as well as small wall charts
advertising the latest internet or ‘sms’ bundles. At some places the entire wall was covered with
logo and advertisements. It may sound irrelevant to the service encounter but it complimented
their objectives and what they were doing there and it was done in such an elegant manner that it
was worth mentioning. The layout was done in a very sophisticated manner with minimalist
approach in terms of furnishing and to achieve this, furniture was placed adjacent to walls or
columns of the buildings making the centre appear spacious. The interior was decorated with
plants, especially climbing plant, vines, really lending the office that fresh look. I cannot say
much about lighting as I visited during day time and that particular customer care area is mostly
built with simple glass walls so it was mostly natural light. Still the lights inside were turned on
and were a bit bright. I would have hardly taken a few tentative steps towards what I thought
were customer representatives that a young fellow introduced himself with a big smile on his
face and the official card he was wearing clearly told me that he is an employee there. So I made
myself clear on why I am here and the guy whose designation on card said floor manager
politely issued me a slip from the automated machine and very politely suggested that I wait a
while as all customer representatives were busy at that time. Although I waited for around ten
minutes but my wait was made more bearable with excellently done waiting room all with
television and comfortable seats and the floor was done with polished wood. As my turn came up
the automated system in clear audible voice announced the slip number and besides this,
customers could also follow the numbers which were also being displayed on the screen to know
if their turn came up. I made my way to the respective booth which displayed my slip number
and I was again greeted with a big smile by the customer representative. They attentively and
sincerely listened to my query and then inquired if the sim in question was in my ownership to
which I answered yes. The customer representative simply followed a procedure of verifying my
identity via biometric system and after validating my thumb impressions at the back end with
NADRA he issued me the new sim. All this process hardly took ten minutes and I was issued a
new sim card. Upon seeing that I am prepaid customer the representative briefly explained the
cheaper data packages I could utilize so this exceeded my expectations of not only reacquiring
the sim card but also learning about the latest packages. All in all the service was fast and I was
quickly dealt with. My experience from the moment I contacted Warid by phone to the moment I
left their customer care centre was a resoundingly positive experience.
Bibliography
www.nbp.com.pk
www.waridtel.com
Bitner, M. J., (1992) “Servicecap: The Impact of Physical Surroundings on Customers and
Employee”, Journal of Markting, Volume. 58,pp. 57-71
