Working Lives

Working Lives: The Lady Banker Who Exposed a Grandson’s Fraud

Working Lives:  Bank Customer Care Staff

For this Working Lives, we spoke to customer service staff (a mix of those working in call centres and in branches) in three different banks about their jobs. We got to learn the technical names for some of the issues we face as bank customers e.g. “dispense errors” and we also got a peep into how prevalent fraud seems to be in the sector, at least the variety perpetrated by family and friends trying to get their hands on other peoples’ cash. Nothing on the level of Hushpuppy.

Working Lives: The Lady Banker Who Exposed a Grandson’s Fraud

“Sometimes we get to share in the joys of our customers. Once an old pensioner came in to check his balance. He thought she had mistakenly given him another customer’s account balance. He went to our customer service unit to confirm the account balance. He was so happy to discover he had been paid his pension for two years. We were happy for him.

When did you start the job?

I resumed 3rd March, 2018

How did you get the job?

Through the HR grapevine. A friend told me that Zenith bank was recruiting. It was not advertised on any social media platform or newspaper. I submitted my CV by hand to the HR department. I was invited for the aptitude test. I passed the test and scaled the interview. Four people interviewed me.

What did you study in school?

I studied Statistics at Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta.

How were you trained to do the job?

I learnt mostly on the job from my supervisors and other experienced people. But this was after a 3-week training.

How many customers do you attend to in a typical day?

This depends on the unit and capacity I am working in. I work as a teller, in customer care and in funds transfer. On average 40 people.

Also Read: Working Lives: The Banker Who Encountered a Chinese Man with Ekiti Accent

What are the most common problems or demands?

Whenever I work at the customer service unit, customers’ complaints are mostly about dispense error, difficulty in using our various e-channels and fraudulent transfer of their funds. Fraud happens mostly when those customers have trusted with details of their accounts decide to use the information they have to initiate transactions on their accounts.

Fraud also happens when customers are tricked into telling fraudsters their PIN or CVV details; the fraudsters call pretending to be bank staff. A customer got debited several times for transactions she didn’t initiate. She said one ”e-tunez” was taking her money. She was really unhappy with the debits and she thought the bank didn’t protect her account from fraudsters. we found out from checking the reported transactions details that someone had been buying songs from iTunes using her card details. Further questioning revealed that her children use iPhones and they knew her debit card pin. She was still insistent that it wasn’t her children. 

On a good day, what percentage of them are happy with you?

About 80%: 10% show indifference and the other 10% are not happy.

How do you deal with customers who are not happy?

I apologize. If it gets out of hand my supervisor steps in. We have been trained to keep quiet whenever a customer is showing displeasure, do our jobs and move on.

 What are the trickiest issues to deal with?

Transaction errors. Error in information inputted for a customer into the system that consequentially stops them from using their accounts. Fraudulent transaction- this is particularly tricky. A customer got OTPs on her phone for change of password on her Mobile Application, she claimed to have not requested to change her password on her Mobile Application so we advised her to download a new application from playstore and change her pin and password since it was obvious that the current one had been compromised. She claimed to have changed it and left only to come back the next day to report an unauthorized debit of N100,000 from her account. She requested for refund of the debited fund, but it takes a while as the bank would need to investigate the transaction to see if she didn’t initiate it herself in a bid to defraud the bank. She sent mails to our head office reporting me and my colleague and recommending that the fund be deducted from our accounts. In the end she got her fund back.

What customers are easiest to deal with?

Happy customers don’t bring stress from their homes. They are easy to work with, they stand in line patiently, they don’t transfer aggression, they take instructions because their minds can receive the instructions given, they don’t shout when there is delay or error on their transaction. Literate customers, they understand instructions easily. Rich customers. They make less demand than someone with N4,000 balance. 

Profile the typical problem customers

Bankers or ex bankers. They are eager to show off their knowledge of banking and often don’t want to wait in line. Then illiterates. They are very presumptuous. They hold very dearly to the rumours and myths about banking processes that they have heard. It is extremely difficult to explain the right processed to them.

Your best days on the job ?

The days I am given the opportunity to work in different units. Satisfactorily resolving a customers’ issues or complaints makes me happy. An old man came to the bank and was shocked to find out his account had been cleaned out. He was extremely furious and demanded we investigated. We showed him the pictures of the person making the withdrawals and he found out it was his grandson. He didn’t get his money back but he knew who was withdrawing his money and that made me happy.

Sometimes we get to share in the joys of our customers. Once an old pensioner came in to check his balance. He thought she had mistakenly given him another customer’s account balance. He went to our customer service unit to confirm the account balance. He was so happy to discover he had been paid his pension for two years. We were happy for him.

Your worst days on the job ?

The days I make mistakes and delay customers. And days when customers decide to show they are indeed kings and address me very disrespectfully for no reason.

The most difficult customers you have ever dealt with?

The people who don’t understand the banking process and assume they do. They make the worst kind of customers. They don’t listen.

How has the coronavirus pandemic changed your job.

We have started working again from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. 5 days a week but the number of customers allowed in the banking hall is still limited in accordance with the Federal Government’s directives on opening the bank for business during this pandemic. The numbers of customers I attend to have reduced and I no longer work under pressure.

Also Read: Working Lives: The Banker Who Loves GTBank’s Fun Fridays 

How much do you earn? Do you consider it fair?

N101 thousand naira. No, it’s not fair. 

What is the career path for your job?

You go from operations to marketing and then management. However, there isn’t much progress for members of staff employed on contract because if takes a long time before contract members of staff are converted to permanent staff.

Are you following the path or looking for something else?

I am looking for something else. Growth in my bank is painfully slow especially for someone in operations. I plan to go into management consulting. It is not my dream to be a banker.

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