A lot of helpful customer reviews have been written by our Smart Money People. In this post we highlight four of the most helpful financial services reviews and explain why we like them so much.
Satisfied
We’ve all experienced good, bad, and sometimes really average customer service. In this Halifax review a lifelong and loyal customer talks about their experience of both telephone and branch banking. For this customer, the quality of the branch experience is what keeps them satisfied overall.
This review reminds us that the banking landscape is changing. Many recent and planned new banking entrants are focusing on delighting the customer through one ‘standout channel’ – be it a 5* branch experience (e.g. Metro bank) or a next generation mobile banking experience (e.g. Atom bank or Starling bank). These new entrants are choosing to be different, and attracting customers that want a better branch experience, or an innovative mobile banking experience.
Read more Halifax reviews
Poor phone pick-up
This is an interesting review. Charter Savings Bank launched earlier this year, as a new savings focused bank with no branches. This means that you can access your account online or via the telephone. This reviewer was a potential customer that slipped away due to a poor telephone experience.
Of course, all call centres can sometimes experience high volume. However, we like that this reviewer has suggested a number of things that would have made their experience better, for example, being told their position in the call queue, or having an option to leave a message.
Why don’t all the companies we deal with give us an estimated call pick-up time based on the call volume they are experiencing? It’s pretty frustrating to hold for 20min only to hang-up, not knowing if you’re 1min or another 20min away from speaking to an agent.
Read more Charter Savings Bank reviews
Overpriced and bad customer service – online is cheaper.
In the UK, over 50% of all car insurance is now bought via a price comparison website. In fact UK consumers use price comparison sites more than those in any other country. This Swinton review reminds us that shopping around (using at least two comparison sites) and performing a bit of customer research (using reviews) can help drive down the cost of insurance and help customers to find the best product and provider for them.
Read more Swinton reviews
Best for ethical investments in renewable energy
Retail investors have an increasingly wide range of investment options. This is a great thing. But with more choice, and an increasing amount of these investments being self-directed, clear information and transparency is really important, which is why we like this Abundance review.
Read more Abundance reviews
