Good service
Appropriate advice
At Rabobank, we want to tailor our services as much as possible to the knowledge, experience,
financial position, objective and risk appetite of our clients. For instance, after attending a
meeting with an adviser, each client should leave with appropriate advice and a good feeling,
even though it will not always be possible to fulfil all of our clients' wishes. This objective is the
aim of a project entitled 'Een Goed Gesprek' (A Good Talk), which offers support to employees
so that they can provide customers with even better advice on their financial needs and goals.
Rabobank wants to enter into long-term relationships with clients, which will last even when
times are tough.
Support for retail clients in difficulties
Rabobank believes it is important to provide proper support to customers in financial
difficulties. The bank contacts clients with payment arrears immediately, and works with
each client to find a suitable solution, such as a repayment arrangement. The employees
working in the non-performing accounts department provide tailor-made support, which
often results in a repayment arrangement being made. In 95% of the cases involving mortgage
clients in financial difficulties that were handled by the non-performing accounts department,
arrangements were made under which the client could avoid selling their home. With a view
to providing proper, fair services to clients in financial difficulties, an internal evaluation
committee was established at the end of 2009. This committee checks if every option has
been explored to prevent a customer from going bankrupt.
Support for corporate clients in difficulties
Rabobank continues to stand by its clients when times are tough. Within Bijzonder Beheer
Rabobankgroep (BBR, Special Asset Management), clients facing problems with their business
receive intensive support from expert account managers. Working closely with the client and
the local Rabobank, the BBR account manager draws up a plan to improve the performance of
the business, which also takes account of the interests of the bank. For 2011, Rabobank expects
that the number of new non-performing loans will fall and the quality of the non-performing
loan portfolio will gradually improve.
Rabobank does its best to provide good services that meet the needs of clients. Consumers
are using new media and virtual contacts to an increasing extent, and banks cannot ignore
these digital phenomena. Today, dialogue with clients is no longer restricted to contact at the
counter or on the telephone. Facebook, Flyves, Twitter and Linkedln are becoming increasingly
important communication channels. Rabobank has a special team that deals with questions
asked by clients on Twitter, among other things, to which clients have responded favourably.
We intend to continue to expand our social media activities.
Customer satisfaction
In the 2010 customer satisfaction survey, Rabobank scored 7.6 for customer satisfaction
among retail clients, which was unchanged on the previous year. We intend to continue to
improve our services in 2011 as well, using the interests of customers as a starting point.
Complaints procedure
It goes without saying that Rabobank does receive some complaints. We are very keen on
working with clients on finding a solution. It should also be noted that complaints are a
source of valuable information that we can use to make further improvements to services.
A clear explanation of the complaints procedure can be found on the website and in a special
client brochure. A large proportion of the complaints received relate to disputed ATM and POS
transactions. In addition to these disputed transactions involving bank cards, there has also
been an increase in disputed credit card transactions, particularly online credit card payments.
In addition, the credit crunch has had a very detrimental impact on stock market prices, which
has led to clients expressing their disappointment at the performance of the investments
made through Rabobank.
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Focusing on the customer