Westpac promises customers an Ask Once experience

Westpac promises customers an 'Ask Once' experience

Westpac has today publicly announced its 'Ask Once' promise to customers, stating when it comes to resolving queries customers will only have to ask once.

The bank's Ask Once promise is the result of more than two years organisational change leading up to the announcement.

"Ask Once has formed the basis of our business strategy over the past two years as we have worked to improve customer service with a tangible result – Ask Once, said Westpac's Chief Executive, Ann Sherry.

"At Westpac, we believe whatever the question, you should only have to ask once to get an answer. Westpac customers won't be getting the run around – it's about taking responsibility for customer queries and following them through to their resolution.

"While this may seem a simple statement to make, we needed to change our culture, systems and processes to get to the stage where we can confidently commit to our customers that they will only have to Ask Once."

"Our aim is to set ourselves apart from the competition and ultimately deliver enhanced customer and staff satisfaction as well as shareholder value."

In 2002 research undertaken by Westpac indicated customers had to ask four or more times before a problem was fully resolved.

"Our view was this wasn't good enough. In 2002 we made the decision to become an Ask Once organisation. We have already seen positive evidence of how our initiatives are working with a 14% increase in our customer satisfaction ratings from 12 months ago in AC Nielsen's quarterly ratings. This was the largest increase of any of the banks," Ann Sherry said.

"By publicly launching Ask Once, we are putting a stake in the ground and stating our intent to be the best when it comes to customer service.

"We're confident in our ability to deliver a promise that gives our customers a clear picture of what they can expect from Westpac.

"Ask Once is aimed at making us the No. 1 service organisation in the financial services industry."

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