Creating a Customer Service Experience That’s Actually About the Customer

Customer service should be about the customer

When is the last time you called your cable company or mobile phone carrier and enjoyed a simple phone prompt, fast answer and rapid resolution of your problem? It’s probably been a long time. Much more common is being subjected to an automated maze of prompts more confusing and convoluted than a carnival Hall of Mirrors.  If you are lucky enough to finally succeed in speaking to a human, the agent is often under-trained, scripted and likely to put you on hold for an indeterminate length of time.

Even worse is when the toll-free number is the only way to have your issue resolved. Too often, the dreaded phone channel is the only path to resolving an unrecognized charge or misapplied payment. A poor service experience only adds to your stress and frustration.

Too many companies view service as an expense to be minimized. They reserve their staff for cross-selling and then squeeze the service department budget to expand profits. They force you into clumsy and poorly-designed automation because your wasted time doesn’t hit their bottom line. The message I hear is, “We want your money, but we really don’t want to interact with you.”

At Varo, we think differently. We put the customer at the center of everything we do, especially customer service. Not only are we implementing industry best practices and our own ideas of what constitutes great customer service, but we are working directly with our independent customer advisory panel to build a better service experience.

We are told that service should be easy and intuitive, and it is an opportunity to delight and build customer loyalty. Service is a great way for customers to tell us about their needs and helps us ensure we are providing our customers with the best experience across the board, in app and out. A great service experience can take the stress out of important financial matters.

Our phone prompts offer automation, but also offer direct access to an agent without a hassle during business hours. Our agents are friendly and well-trained. We equip them with the knowledge and tools to service customers on the first call. We review the calls for quality and coach agents to ensure every customer has a delightful interaction. It’s one of the ways we show our customers what they mean to us.

Good service is more than just a smart app and a satisfying telephone experience. It’s a philosophy of helping customers achieve financial success through a simple, insightful, intuitive banking experience built on a foundation of caring about customers  instead of treating customer service as a cost-minimization exercise. Varo’s mission and approach is not the same as traditional financial institutions, and we’re proud of it.

Jill Godsey is Varo's Head of Operations and BSA Officer. She is helping bring the customer back to the center of Varo's customer service experience. When not helping Varo, she can be found cheering on her sons' stellar football teams.