Clients have confirmed that it is expensive ... and the options for the answering machine are not sufficient

The waiting time to speak to bank customer service centers is up to 20 minutes

• Some banks use a number that starts with "600", which is charged to the customer.

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A survey conducted by Emirates Today showed that waiting times to speak with customer service centers in local banks ranged between five and 20 minutes through numbers, most of which begin with the non-free number '600', for various inquiries, while in the event of reporting a lost or stolen bank card Wait times are much shorter, not exceeding two minutes, sometimes even one minute.

According to the survey, which covered the customer service centers of 10 local banks in Dubai and Abu Dhabi in which the largest percentage of customers are concentrated, the response of the answering machine included messages of awareness of fraud risks or requests to ensure the renewal of identity papers, such as an ID card or a call to rely on services through smart applications or The website or leave a message and request a call back, given the pressure the call center is facing from other clients.

long time

According to what banks ’clients said,“ the options provided by banks through the answering machine are sometimes insufficient or not useful, and it takes to speak with a customer service employee, ”noting that“ listening to automatic options and waiting to talk to the employee takes a long time, and it is also expensive. From a financial point of view ».

facilitation

Commenting on, the banking expert, Amjad Nasr, said, “It is always required in customer service centers to be characterized by ease and ease that suit all levels, given that banks deal with different categories and not only the highly educated segment that mastered the use of technology and applications on smart phones.”

He added that "some clients do not have complete ability to choose the appropriate number for the required service, and here banks must periodically review the options in the call centers and follow them up."

Nasr indicated that “call centers, their role is to facilitate easy and fast access to the required services,” noting that “some banks are distinguished by this, as they place the most used services in the first options, and facilitate direct communication with the employee.”

strategy

In turn, the banking expert, Awatef Al-Harmoudi, said that some banks use a number that starts with "600", whose cost is on the customer, while other banks use the number "800" and bear its cost, noting that the use of one of the two numbers is due to the strategy of each bank and its internal policy.

She explained that "some banks view the toll-free number as a cause for frequent contact with services that the customer can do via the (online), and thus bear the cost of repeated calls, unlike the number that starts with (600), so the calls are for the necessary things only."

compete

Al-Harmoudi added that “banks usually compete to provide the best customer center service that works around the clock, as all banks have the capacity to bear the communications of their customers, besides that there are standards they adopt for the minutes that must be waited, but there are certain times of the month when there is pressure on centers. Contacting banks, such as holidays and travel seasons, weekends or payroll time, and thus the waiting times will be prolonged.

She went on to say that "banks, in return, are required to provide alternatives to the branches that have been closed, foremost of which is facilitating contact with customer service centers, especially since there are sensitive transactions that require direct communication between the customer and the employee."

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