Mohamed Sultan Ghannoum Al Hameli
Our belief in the importance of customer service goes back to the financial crisis of 2008. Our Chairman was charged with leading the Bank through a very difficult period that affected all global financial markets. The Board and management agreed that customer service would be one of the pillars of growth going forward.
The most important consideration has always been the customer. How do we keep customers with the Bank? The answer: present them with a customer experience that they will never forget. That is at the root of the Bank's strategy.
One cannot do this just as a Board or as Management. It takes the staff as a whole. Management was successful in raising the bar, and the staff rose to the challenge.
The Board recently confirmed this strategic pillar going forward, directing the Bank to keep investing in an elevated customer experience.
Sir Gerry Grimstone
The Bank understands that you cannot create good service by a set of instructions. It all comes down to the culture of the Bank, its root instincts. Respect for customers starts with the people in the Bank having respect for one another. If you have a stable management team, if you treat people well, that harmony moves out into the outside world.
ADCB treats its customers and clients with respect. That is how you win.
Aysha Al Hallami
To add to your point, here we operate in a very competitive environment. Every bank provides essentially the same products and services. In order to differentiate ADCB amongst its peers, we had to provide something unique: an unmatched customer experience.
From my own experience, when I walk into a branch where no one knows me, anonymously, I see how well they treat me. It feels good knowing that this is not because I am a member of the Board. This is how they treat everyone. It is part of the culture that is embedded in the Bank. It makes me proud to be part of ADCB.
Sir Gerry Grimstone
As you said, the way you differentiate yourself in a very crowded banking market is by the quality of service that you give to your customers. Customers nowadays are very, very sophisticated. Through the Internet, through comparison websites, just through the sheer availability of information, customers are much more powerful than they were before.
One of the ingredients of ADCB's success has been this ruthless attention to customer service. In a relatively small market such as the UAE, a sophisticated and intelligent market, the word of mouth gets around. That has underpinned the Bank's strategy.
Mohamed Sultan Ghannoum Al Hameli
Just to add to that, it is about dealing with people. In the name ADCB, the “C” stands for commercial. Customer service is not just about the retail experience. It is very important to attracting and growing that commercial business that ADCB stands for — from small to medium size enterprises to mid – and large corporates who are looking for a great experience with the Bank and who want us to be partners in their success.
Mohamed Ali Al Dhaheri
Customer service is very important to any banking institution. Having strong customer service would always be a key factor in the success of any bank.
Aysha Al Hallami
Customers come to ADCB because we have better software, with better online and mobile applications. We make it easy for them.
Mohamed Sultan Ghannoum Al Hameli
ADCB makes banking simple again. The Bank has continuously focused on digitalisation and automation. Customers can interact with the Bank through a phone or a tablet, and execute transactions from the device seamlessly. The gap between customer and bank is shrinking.
Aysha Al Hallami
To emphasise the point: keeping up with the technology is the most challenging and costly endeavour for the Bank. It also introduces risks like cyberattacks, which can threaten the entire banking system. We have to keep spending on enhancing our internal models, on technology and on differentiation.
"Great service creates loyalty to the Bank, and leads to great word of mouth that attracts more customers to the Bank."
Sir Gerry Grimstone
If you do not invest to keep up with change, what happens? You get left behind. To maintain the position as the most customer-responsive bank in the UAE, ADCB has to invest.
Going back to Charles Darwin, who are the most successful organisms over time? The ones which adapt to changes in their environment. We have had such dramatic changes in technology and customer empowerment, if ADCB had not adapted to that it would not be in the position that it is in today.
Mohamed Sultan Ghannoum Al Hameli
Last year, ADCB was listed amongst the top ten searched brands in the UAE, and was the only domestic brand. For me, that was something to be proud of. People in the UAE put ADCB in the company of Apple and Google. It really is remarkable.
Mohamed Ali Al Dhaheri
Great service creates loyalty to the Bank, and leads to great word of mouth that attracts more customers to the Bank.
Aysha Al Hallami
Today, even if other banks are offering better deposit rates, we still have people depositing their money with us just because of the service and the experience they are getting with us.
Mohamed Sultan Ghannoum Al Hameli
Customers are willing to pay a premium to get better service, a better mobile application and a better experience. We were the first with Internet banking and offer the best mobile app. Competitors tend to copy what ADCB does — a sure sign that the Bank is recognised as a leader.