Improving service delivery in the financial sector: a case study

Poor service delivery is endemic in Rwanda and it is seen as the worst in the region. Our case study of the financial sector confirms the findings from earlier research that there is a lack of an embedded value of customer service excellence in Rwanda. Neither management nor front-line workers consistently take responsibility for delivering good customer service. The islands of good practice stand out as untypical of the general experience. There is a general tolerance of poor service delivery by Rwandans and expatriates quickly adapt to accepting poor service delivery which is often tolerated because of a lack of an alternative. Complaints are often not resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant and there are rarely formal complaints procedures in place. Managers and customers are vaguely aware that service delivery needs to be improved but do not understand what steps need to be taken to improve service delivery. Service providers do not have policies, practices and procedures or strategies in place for customer relations management and there is little evidence of a commitment to the enhancement of the quality of service delivery. Yet providing good customer service makes business sense. Organisations that are focused on their number one priority delivering excellent services to their customers are more profitable.