What if bank CEOs spend a day each month serving customers directly, listening, observing, and experiencing what their clients go through? Would it change the culture of banking? Would it bring a new wave of empathy into boardrooms too often dominated by spreadsheets and strategies? These are not rhetorical questions. They arise from a simple, persistent truth; too many banks still struggle with poor customer service.
If a bank wishes to be respected, trusted, and remembered positively, its foundation must rest on exceptional service. Customer experience is not an accessory; it is the very soul of a financial institution. You may have the most advanced digital systems, the most polished marketing campaigns, and the most detailed financial reports yet, if your customer leaves the branch unsatisfied, everything else loses meaning.
Not long ago, I walked into a bank branch with a simple request; to renew my expired debit card. The parking area was nearly empty. A single customer waited quietly in the lounge. Two others entered just after me. I glanced toward the branch manager’s office, only to find it empty. I assumed he was out meeting clients or chasing sales targets, the modern ritual for managers under pressure to grow numbers rather than relationships. With that thought, I took a token and waited for my turn.
Moments later, I was called by a Customer Service Representative. “Yes, tell me,” she said in a tone of routine politeness.
“My debit card has expired, and I can’t use it for shopping or withdrawals,” I explained, handing her the card and my ID.
She examined the card, frowned slightly, and made a quick phone call. Then came the line I had heard too often; “Our embossing machine isn’t working. You’ll need to visit our next branch.”
“When will it be working again?” I asked, hoping for some certainty.
“I don’t know,” she replied with visible indifference.
I requested to see the BM, but he was absent. The assistant manager, I was told, was at counter number one. I approached her politely and repeated my request. She gave me the same response; “The machine is out of order, and there’s nothing we can do. Please go to another branch.”
Then I asked what I thought was a fair question: “Does your CEO know that customers face these kinds of problems?”
Her answer was immediate: “This has nothing to do with the CEO. It’s an IT issue. They should fix it.”
Her response stayed with me long after I left the branch. True, the problem was technical. But the real issue was not the broken machine; it was the broken link between leadership and the customer’s experience.
A CEO may not fix a machine, but the tone of customer service across an organization begins at the top.
Customers do not care which department failed. They do not care if it’s an IT or operations issue. They only care that the service they expect — and pay for — is delivered with efficiency and respect.
This is why I believe CEOs should occasionally engage directly with customers. Not to perform a symbolic gesture, but to reconnect with the true heartbeat of their institutions. When leaders witness firsthand what customers go through — the delays, the confusion, the indifference — it reshapes their understanding of success.
It reminds them that beyond policies, systems, and targets, banking is ultimately about people.
When top executives step into the world of their customers, something remarkable happens. The staff becomes more attentive, realising that the leadership genuinely cares about the people who walk through those doors. The atmosphere shifts from hierarchy to humanity. Employees begin to see that good service is not just the job of the customer service desk; it is everyone’s responsibility — from the boardroom to the teller counter.
We can learn from global leaders who understood this principle. The late Herb Kelleher of Southwest Airlines used to write directly to passengers. Howard Schultz of Starbucks often visited outlets quietly to experience the service as an ordinary customer. Their leadership styles proved that empathy is not a department — it is a habit of great organisations.
Banking, too, needs this habit. In a world where every bank offers similar products and digital platforms, it is the warmth of human service that distinguishes one from another. Technology may drive convenience, but compassion builds loyalty.
Should CEOs of banks be involved in customer service? Absolutely — not everyday, not as a publicity stunt, but as a continuing reminder that leadership must listen before it leads. Machines can fail, systems can crash, but empathy must never go out of order.
When leaders understand the customer’s voice, they discover the real meaning of banking — not just managing money, but nurturing trust. And at that moment, a simple visit from a CEO can turn a frustrated customer into a loyal advocate, and a struggling bank into a respected institution.
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