THE EVALUATION OF CUSTOMER SERVICES IN BANKING INDUSTRY (A CASE STUDY OF FIRST BANK NIGERIA PLC)

CHAPTER ONE

1.0   INTRODUCTION

Forms of banking have been in existence about 500 BC. The early bankers (the jews) lombandy in Italy transacted their business in the benches in the market place. The word.” Bank” It self is derived from Italian word “BANCO” which means “Bench” when a banker failed them this bench was broken up by the angry people (i.e depositors) hence the word “BANKRUPTCY” was derived from the “BANKCORRUPTION” which means broken bench.

This types of banking into not begin until the sixteenth century. Italian goldsmiths working in London began to expand their business activities to include safe keeping of valuables and money, when such valuables are represented and thus began to change hand in place of many and valuables. And become our present day bank notes.

The goldsmith with an age for profit were quick to realize that some of the money deposited with than could safely be bend out and realize interest. The practice was to be rewarding and many establishment tried to take advantages of this way to make easy profit. 

Unfortunately due to bad management there were unconditional leading which led to the collapse of the business. In an attempt to alleviate. This undesirable situation the British government established the bank of England in 1694 and gave it the sole right to issue banknote. Being the first bank of England it soon brought about either the closure of the main banking system contained throughout the centuries, until when there are only major banks in England and all able to trace their origin back to the 16th and 17th centuries.

1.1   BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY

Banking business all over the world is all about providing various services to customers. These services range from accepting deposits from customers, payment of cheques on their behalf, issuing of advances and loans to them. All these are aimed at customers patronage where there is effective and efficient services provided by the bank.

Customers service is any activity that is aimed at pleasing or satisfying a client or customers to encourage more and more patronage.

Banks are not left out of these, this is because the existence is dependent on how much satisfaction they were able to give their customers.

However customers service in the banking industry for sometime now has been at a high deteriorating level. Bankers no longer recognize the importance of customers satisfaction to the growth of their business.

They keep them than necessary on the grave, give them embarrassment by treating them harshly and even in some cases, there is unusually harassment from the banks security men. The security men are in the habit of harassing their customers in the area of parking of cars, perhaps, because some of them are illiterates, they do not know that a customer is considered a king and a king can do no wrong.

Also, the area of maintaining absolute secrecy concerning all issues relating to customer’s account and other transaction affairs is also lacking in banks.

This is making customers to lose confidence in their bank. A bank that enjoys large patronage of customers is likely to have a higher profit compared to the one with lower patronage.

In this research work, the researcher shall examine those areas that the banks are lacking in terms of providing efficient and effective services to customer the relationship between customer and the bankers, their right as customers and provide recommendation on how banks especially First Bank of Nigeria Plc can improve on it’s customers services relationship.

1.2   STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEMS

Banking business is able about providing various services to customer. These services range from acceptance of deposited, payment of cheques. And soon on behalf of the customers, issuing of advice and loan to customers but this services have not be an effective due to the following reasons:-

a.     Insufficient manpower:- This problem of lack of competent employee has led to the slow performance of their services to customers.

b.     Lack of proper incentives from banks to their employee: Incentives have a long way to go in motivating the employee for put in more of their best in performing their duties. The move on individual is encourage the better he can per. In carrying out his responsibility. But most of our banking sectors today find it very difficult to respond to this aspect of their employer which has course a lot of setback in their services to customers.

c.     Unqualified officer/employees:- One of the major challenges we are facing in our banking industries today is the problem of unqualified employee that are not competent in discharging their duties that has lead to serious delay when attending to customers in their day to day activities in the banking sectors. Which make customer querying unnecessary before being attended to. 

d.     Lack of infrastructural facility e.g power which has led to network failure most a times, this problem have of course fluctuation in the services rendered by banks to their customer over the years, unstable power supply is one of the major challenges that have hamper the effective services banks could have provided to their customers.

e.     High interest charges:- Most customers find it very difficult to request for loans from our banks because of the level of interest they may be charged which has led to slow saving and investment which to some extent has affected the growth of the economy of our nation Nigeria.

1.3   OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

The objectives of this study could be summarized as follows:

a.     To ascertain the quality of the service rendered by banks to their customers.

b.     to evaluate the inability of the banks employee to provide effective and efficient customers services.

c.     In order to know the customers Responses as regards whether  they are satisfied with the services rendered to them or not.

d.     to also know possible areas in which banks can improved the quality of their services to customers.

e.     To also evaluate areas in which they have not been able to deliver satisfactory services to their customers

f.      Analyzing the customers needs and want from the marketing point of view as seeing the customers as kings and the reason for their existence as banks.

1.4   RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

Generally speaking , lot and lots of problems have been encountered daily by customers. It has been found that there are always long queue, rudeness and aggressive noise in the banking hall indicating the state of satisfactory services rendered by bank.

Since study/observations, generally, this statement being tentative stands the chance of being accepted out rightly or rejected. For the purpose of achieving the objectives of this research work, the following hypothesis will be tested. Hypothesis is a tentative statement about problem.  

Ho: Effective customer relationship does not enhance the performance of banks.

Hi:   Effective customers relationship enhances the performance of banks.

1.5   SIGNIFICANCE  OF THE STUDY

This study is tailored towards evaluating customer services in our banking sectors which over the years has not be efficient enough as expected from customers. Since patterned towards enhancing the effectiveness of customers services in banking sector.

This study will be of immense benefit to undergraduate and other shareholders in banking industry who are eager to know how customers services can be performed effectively without any unnecessary delay or waste of time in the bank. It is also conducted to look for possible means or ways in which banks can give their customer full confidence to go into business with the bank without any fear in poor services delivering which has been the experience of the past.

At the end of the study we intend to probe out problems in the past, causes of those problems and also to provide recommendation that will be of great help to our banking industry in rendering services to their customers.

1.6   SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The case study of this research work is registered to first Bank of Nigeria Plc, Yakubu Gowon Way, Kaduna.

The purpose of this work is to evaluate customers services in the banking industry over the years which has not yet been able to meet the demands and satisfaction of customers over the years.

a.     To find out reasons for banks failure in customers satisfaction.

b.     to evaluate areas or differences in banking sectors that has contributed to poor service delivery to customers.

c.     To analyzes ways in which urgent attention is needed to improve in order to provide quality services to their customer.

1.7   HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF FIRST BANK OF NIGERIA PLC

        First Bank of Nigeria Plc, for over a century has distinguished itself, a leading banking institution and a major contributor to the economic advancement and development of Nigeria economy.

Found in 1894 by a shipping magnet from Liverpool sir Alre jones the bank commenced as a small operation in the office of elder Dumpster and co in Lagos. It was incorporate as a limited company in march 1984, with the head office in Liverpool. It started business under the corporate name of Bank for British West Africa (BBWA) with a paid up share capital of 12000 pound starting after absorbing. It predecessors, the Africa Banking corporation.

In the early of its operations, the bank recorded an impressive growth and worked closely with the colonial government in performing the traditional function of a central Bank to justify it’s West African coverage a branch was opened in Accra Gold coast (now Ghana) in 1896 another in freedom, sierra Leone in 1898 that marked the genesis of the bank international banking operation. The branch of the bank was opened in old Calabar in 1900 and two years later services were extended to northern Nigeria. To satisfy the needs of its customers, first bank has diversified into a wide range of banking strategies which includes corporate and retal banking relationship. Trusteeship and insurance brokerage. To reposition and to take advantage of opportunities in the changing environment, the bank embarked on several restructuring initiatives in 1957 it changed it’s name from Bank of British West Africa in 1969, the bank was incorporated locally as stand Bank of Nigeria limited in line with the companies Degree of 1968 changes in the name of bank occurred in 1979 and 1991 to First Bank of Nigeria Plc respectively. In 1985, the Bank introduced a decentralized structure with fire regional administrations. This was reconfigured in 1992 to enhance the banks operational efficiency. In 1996, the bank introduced the FBN century 11 project to revolutionize it’s operation in line with the dynamics of the environment. In addition as a part of its strategy of progressive internationalization in November 2002, the bank become the first financial institution in Nigeria to established a  subsidiary bank in the United Kingdom.

To demonstrate it’s commitment to it’s customers and the development of Nigerian economy. The bank has since broadened it’s loan and credit portfolios to various sectors of the economy. The bank has improved tremendously judging from a number of a parameters including number of branches, growth and deposit base assertive and size of loans and advances reliability. Sound banking practices has continually placed the bank in its leadership position. In line with its mission statement to remain true to its name providing the best financial services possible”. The bank will consistently transform itself as it forges ahead in its second century of qualitative banking services to the customers and nation in entirely.

1.8   DEFINITION OF TERMS  

        Current account:

Account in a bank form which the customer can drawn money whenever he wants with the use of cheques book or ATM card. It does not attract interest rather customer pay commission on turnover. Savings account.

        Saving account:

This account is to encourage lower income earner to inculcate the savings habit. It is now withdrawal by third party. It attracts interest passbook is used for withdrawal.

Banker:

A person in an important position in the bank. He is a financial doctor that stand as intermediary between the deficit and surplus sector of the economy.

Customer:

Is a person or corporate body that has some sort of account wit the bank be it current, saving or deposit.

        Bailee

Person (bank) who received property with the bank for a period of time.

Bailor:

Person (customers) who keeps property with the bank for a period of time

Bankruptcy:

(Person) who has been declare by a court not to be capable of paying his debt and who’s his affairs is in the hand.

Call over:

This is a means of checking the accuracy of item entered in various account by calling from the voucher to the entry by two person other them the ledger keeper.

Clearing:

This process of collecting proceeds of cheques by presenting to the drawee banker branch of cheques drawn on them which are received by the bank clearing the days business this presentation is normally in the clearing house at the central bank.

Collection Banker:

 A banker who received cheques drawn on other banks or branches and collects the proceeds for credit of the customer account.

Advance:

This is overdrafts of loan granted to customer the department dealing with the lending of money is called the advance department.

Collateral: These are assets, good and property of all kinds of an individual given as a seeming for a loan to be given.

Bearer:

The person in possession of a bill of cheques payable to him.

Cross cheques:

These are two parallel trans verse lines across the face of a cheques to ensure safe transmission of the money from sender to received

Drawer:

It is a person who signs a cheques or bill of exchanges.

Drawee:

 This is a bank on which a cheques is drawn on the person to whom a bill of exchange is addressed.

Dormant Account:

Is an account that  has not been operated for some time normally a year.

Treasury:

It is a safe or strong room where cash and valuable of a bank are kept.

Proof:

This is a record kept daily of all transaction passed over any account and also means of checking the accuracy of figures.