For a sixth year in a row, Canadian credit unions have achieved the highest customer service ratings out of all financial institutions in Canada, according to the latest annual banking awards by market research firm Synovate.
Adrian Murphy, vice-president of syndicated research for Synovate Canada, said in an interview with BIV that the unique relationship credit union members have with their institution is one of the key reasons for the consistently high satisfaction rates each year.
“Credit unions have an almost personalized relationship with their customers, who are, of course, members. The strong scores the credit union system continues to generate reflect the heritage and ongoing relationship they have with their members, in addition to how their services are delivered.”
Credit unions also achieved the highest scores out of any financial institution providing daily banking services for their in-branch services and the level of value credit union staff seemingly placed on a member’s business.
Murphy noted that the survey did not compare levels of customer service between financial institutions, but provided a ranking of how customers viewed their primary financial institution. “They’re only rating their own provider; they’re not asking to rate a provider they’re not familiar with.”
ING Direct, which provides direct banking services without a branch network, had the highest scores for their relatively high interest rates and low service charges, and generally for their products and services.
Among the big-five banks, TD Canada Trust held the top ranking for overall customer service for a sixth year in a row, and also held top spot in seven other categories from their products and services, ATM and online banking services to being the most likely to be recommended to friends and family.”
“When you look at TD, they are extremely focused in how they emphasize customer service. They’re very deliberate in opening more branches, expanding their branch hours during the week and on weekends, and so on. Initiatives and programs like that do translate into the customer response that you are seeing.”