50 Case Studies for Management and Supervisory Training

Case 19: Good News, Bad News: Part 1

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Case 19 (continued)

Case Discussion:

Good News, Bad News

Summary: Part 1—The $3.75 Mistake

As a recent graduate of State Bank’s Management Trainee Program, Ted Banacek had been pro-

moted to the assistant manager’s job at one of the busier branch offices. One week when Ted’s

manager was away on vacation, a customer asked for a refund on a charge for $3.75 made to her

checking account. After reviewing the details, Ted decided not to make the refund for various

legitimate reasons. The customer, unhappy with the decision, went to the teller line to finish some

other business.

Shortly thereafter, Ted noticed that the customer was talking with Judy Miller, a new

accounts clerk. It appeared that they were talking about Ted and that other employees were lis-

tening in. Ted did not think any more about it.

Later that day, after the branch was closed, a teller came into Ted’s office and told him that

Judy had been openly critical of the way Ted had handled the customer. Now, after hearing

Judy’s remarks, other employees were making fun of Ted’s “$3.75 mistake.”

Answers to Case Questions

1. Is there a problem here worth dealing with? If yes, what is the problem and how should

it be handled? If no, why not?

There are several potential problems here that call for action either immediately or in the future.

The first issue is whether Ted should have refunded the $3.75 fee. This is in large part a matte

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of company business policy. In this case, the fees were part of the agreement and the cus-

tomer’s notification was beyond the grace period. Whether the bank has a policy on custome

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satisfaction to supersede fee collection is the key issue here.

The second problem reveals itself in Judy Miller’s apparent ignorance of the bank’s fee col-

lection business goals. It appears that the staff is not aware of those goals either, or if they are,

they do not accept them. This is a potential problem that needs to be corrected soon.

The most obvious problem, though, is the behavior Judy Miller exhibited when she openly

spoke ill of another employee rather than seeking to fix the problem. She also stirred ridicule

of the manager among the rest of the employees. This situation should be dealt with directly

and immediately.

2. What kinds of customer service standards should exist for all employees in situations like

this? How should those standards be communicated and enforced?

There are two main standards that apply here. The first has to do with how customer fee com-

plaints should be handled. This should be a matter of bank policy and basically involves the

decision about whether fee collection is more important than customer satisfaction. Whateve

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the decision, front-line service employees should be notified of it and trained in how to apply

this policy.