OREANDA-NEWS. On 03 September 2009 was announced, that Swedbank congratulated Mr Valentins Turanskis on becoming the bank’s millionth customer. This makes Swedbank the first bank in Latvia, with whom nearly half of Latvia’s population has already entrusted their finances. Reaching the millionth client milestone is also a sign of quality customer service and customer satisfaction, which Swedbank has been striving to continuously develop and enhance from the very early days of the bank.

“I wish to thank all Swedbank customers because unless there was each one of you we wouldn’t be having the chance to congratulate the millionth client” emphasises Maris Mancinskis, the CEO of Swedbank Latvia. “At the time of Hansabanka, our key success factor was service leadership and customer relations.The times and the backdrop have changed, yet Swedbank’s core values have remained unchanged”, says the bank’s CEO.

Swedbank’s millionth customer Mr Valentins Turanskis opened an account at Swedbank’s Dubulti branch in Jurmala. He did not hold back his surprise, saying: “Being the millionth client is one pleasant thing! In my choosing of the bank, what mattered to me was the range of services, safety and great service, therefore I opted for Swedbank and I am very happy with that choice!”

Swedbank has made the millionth customer a Gold Service Program member, which comes with advantages and premium customer service befitting the status, as well as attractive deposit opportunities and the first 1000 lats in the savings account. Moreover, for a year he will have a chance to enjoy various bright cultural, art and sporting events, as well as strengthening health and enjoying culture in cooperation with the Latvian National Opera, Latvian Basketball Union, Latvian Olympic Committee, and ziedot.lv.

What do Latvian consumers understand by ‘premium service’?

An opinion poll of Latvian residents about customer service shows some surprising conclusions – unlike one may initially think, during time of economic downturn consumers prefer products and services, which are renown for their quality, over lower-priced products and services. 69% of respondents admit that the decisive factor in choosing the product or service is the quality. Only after that come various attractive price offers such as discounts, campaigns, lotteries and cheap price – such a reply has been ticked by 49%. It should be noted that it is women, who are more demanding when it comes to quality – 73% of women and 67% of men see good quality of a product or service as being the key decisive factor.

“Having worked for Swedbank now already more than 10 years and participating in development and perfection of Swedbank’s customer service standards, I’ve come to understand that there is no limit to improvements in customer service. Over time, people grow used to being served nicely, therefore one must be ready to surprise them positively again and again. In today’s economic situation, I increasingly often hear and have experienced myself that businesses have started to focus more on product and service prices at the expense of service quality. But it is now, during crisis, when the role of customer service quality increases – people are not prepared for worse service. This opinion poll has also demonstrated this. Customer service has currently undergone a transformation – it is not just a smile and polite behaviour, it is the ability to offer the client a solution and assistance in a complicated situation, too,” underlines Oksana Sivokobilska, Head of Retail Banking and Board Member, Swedbank Latvia.

As illustrated by data gathered in opinion polls conducted this August and in 2008 – Latvian consumers have a broad understanding of the concept of service. Premium customer service is predominantly associated with good product and service quality – such is the main conclusion drawn from both of the polls where over 1000 respondents were surveyed in Riga and Latvia’ biggest towns.

This year just like a year ago, the majority of Latvian residents describe excellent service as good product / service quality (this year such answer was given by 74%, and in 2008 – by 78% respondents).  The second most popular answer to describe service is price being relevant for the product / service quality (this year - 76%, in 2008 - 75%). Not unlike a year ago, this year the third most common answer was kind treatment at the time of sale (this year - 71%, in 2008 - 68% of respondents). Interestingly enough, this year there was almost double number of respondents, who noted that excellent service means services or products customized to meet the specific requirements of the user – 33% this year and 19% last year, respectively. According to Latvia’s residents, product/service packaging plays the least role in excellent service – such was the answer of merely 6% of respondents (in 2008 - 5%). Also extra benefits arising from use of the product / service (this year - 33%, in 2008 - 31%) and the arrangement and design of the point of sale (this year - 15%, in 2008 - 10%) were also among relatively uncommon replies.