Four reasons why I'm very comfortable with comfortable banking!

Proudly displaying the customer experience trophy

I've decided I can become very used to comfortable banking! And couldn't we all do with just a little bit more of that!

Maintaining your financial affairs in the midst of international travel can become quite an intense matter, with all sorts of issues potentially coming between you and successfully concluding the activity you're trying to conduct. With all of that potential stress, the last thing you need is a poor customer experience.

Perhaps I was just lucky, but the bank I chose to deal with, probably more due to proximity than anything else at the time, was Canada's TD bank, one of the largest in the country, transacting specifically with the Neyagawa/Dundas branch. To cut it short, the customer service was exemplary, and I left with a smile on my face. That's normally good enough, but running a customer facing business myself, I was really keen to try and articulate just what it was that had me feeling so good about the experience. Herewith a short analysis:

• Firstly, there were smiles from the tellers on duty when I walked in. SMILES! I don't think I've ever walked into a bank anywhere on Earth where I was greeted by smiles from everyone.
• Secondly, the efficiency with which I was directed to the right person to help me was great, so nothing short of expectations there either. An ice cold, quality mineral water was also very welcome on a very hot day, having cycled to the branch to conduct my financial affairs.
• Then, meeting a financial services representative, there was some joviality as we had a short chat about my stay here during our holiday. This is tricky ground, as some people would prefer to get straight to the transaction at hand, while others would be quite happy to have a short chat about their experience. I guess the real skill here is being able to read your customer, and to determine the correct level of introductory conversation. 
• Finally, the transaction was conducted swiftly and without error. This is a huge expectation I have when conducting business with a bank, on both counts, even though my transaction was probably not necessarily the run-of-the-mill banking stuff. Well, quick and friendly works for me every time. Note, this is not to say I don't tolerate error. It simply means that if an error has been made, that I expect efficiency at resolving it.

Of course, I left with a smile on my face, not omitting to take a picture of the trophy above, a model of a green leather chair. You see, TD Bank leverages the 'comfortable banking' imagery, probably rightfully 'selling' the comfortable experience I had just lived. Perhaps branch 3171 was an exception in terms of customer service. Well, I hope not. Indeed, I hope the competition between branches is very high, with the almost singular objective between them being to win the coveted trophy, thereby keeping their customer service standards up and thereby continuing to delight the customer.

Well done branch 3171 for making my day!