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special featureCustomer Service - Best practicesL. Srinivasan *Banking - The Paradigm shiftThe banking sector has undergone an incrediblemetamorphosis in the last few decades. Heavy ledgers,registers and balance-books have been replaced bysleek, state-of-the art computers. Bankers no longerhave to do manual accounting, reconciling, tallying,writing the day-book or preparing the weekly balancesheets. It has been a long and exciting journey from themonotonous brick-and-mortar banking to the presentdayAnywhere and Any Time Banking. Customers todayare not necessarily the customers of a branch; they arecustomers of a bank !The transformation is seen in all facets of banking.The deposit and loan products of the olden dayswere handful and simple. Now banks offer complexproducts, using mind-boggling terminology! - To namea few : flexible savings bank accounts with sweep-inand sweep-out facilities, un-fixed (!) fixed deposits,teaser home loans, floating rates, channel financing.All transactions are system-generated and customersas well as bankers bank heavily on computers.Road-map for virtual banking- the other side ofthe story :From the present-day Core Banking Solutions(CBS) environment, banking sector is moving, inall seriousness, towards Virtual Banking. Withtechnology-enabled products such as internet banking,mobile banking, ATM-cum-debit cards, credit cards,Smart-cards, PoS machines and Overseas Travel cards,banks offer sophisticated services to customers.In the race towards virtual banking environment,Banks should appreciate the multi-faceted dimensionsof Indian economy and the unique requirements ofIndian customers. It will be a win-win situation bothfor the bankers and the customers, if computers areused only as tools to serve the customers faster. Indianbanks may move towards a new-age banking butthey should retain the core values that have all alonginspired them. Let us discuss specific issues. :Talk to customers :Customers, especially Indian customers, want totalk; and they want the bankers to listen to them.They belong to different economic and social strataof society. Their literacy and communication levelsare different. It will be good for bankers to understandand appreciate the sharp variations among theircustomers. Banks have different types of customers -besides high-profile modern-age customers, theyserve pensioners, women, illiterate customers andsocially marginalized people. Banks must exhibitsympathy and empathy towards them and shouldfine-tune themselves to understand the needs ofthese customers.The physiological, psychological and the financialneeds of customers :Customers have all types of needs. If they wantto come to a brick and mortar branch, they mustbe welcome there. Their physical needs such asa good ambience, water and seating arrangement,must be met. More important are their psychologicalneeds - a warm smile, attention, understanding andassurance.Smile at the customers :A computer does not smile. Only a banker can smileat the customers. Customers want the bankers tosmile sincerely and not give them a dry, hesitant or* Senior Manager, Indian Overseas Bank Staff Training College (IOBSTC).The Journal of Indian Institute of Banking & Finance October - December 2011 27