Hugh McCulloch an American banker
once gave some advice to banks one of which he said ‘Treat your customers liberally, bearing in mind the fact that bank
prospers as its customers prosper’. This quote I believe should remain at
the front burner of any bank that wishes to prosper while building a win-win
position for the bank and its customers. Over the years, First Bank Nigeria PLC
has remained the darling bank of so many Nigerians which can be seen from the
level of loyalty displayed by their customers. Most septuagenarians and above
in Nigeria today have their accounts with FBN and are not willing to break that
bond. Kudos really ought to be given to the bank for having been able to come
this far. However, I will love the Management of this Institution to remind
many members of the bank in all branches across Nigeria the main purpose of the
bank which is to always put its
customers, partners and all stakeholders at the heart of our business.
Some branches seem to have
forgotten that vision and if not immediately managed, will cause a bad
reputation to the bank. On the 29th of November 2017, a video went
viral on the internet of how a customer was duped of her money in the banking
hall. Apparently, one Mrs Uju had dropped her girl at the bank with the
instruction to pay in the sum of ₦212,000.00 into her account, the girl went
into the banking hall which at the time had no security guards to even direct
customers. She made her way upstairs to make the payment when a man dressed as
a bank staff walked up to her and offered to assist with the bulk cash. The man
went into the bulk room (which is supposed to be restricted for staff only) and
started a conversation with the girl and another officer with the aim of
distracting the girl. In a short while, the video showed the man sneaked out of
the hall with the cash in his hand. The victim has made several attempts to get
this case investigated or to even get compensated all to no avail only with the
response that the bank cannot be blamed.
In as much as I want to believe
that the decision makers in the bank are yet to know of this case, I wish to
remind them that as an institution, it is their responsibility to first and
foremost, protect their customers. They owe their customers the duty of care
which completely was breached in this case. It is enough carelessness on their
part not to have security personnel stationed in the banking hall to guide
customers which is the proximate cause of this huge financial loss to the
customer. This duty of care can also be seen to have been breached when they
failed to investigate this case and see how to compensate the customer instead
of leaving her to the fight alone. Abandoning this customer to her fate is
nothing but gross wickedness, irresponsibility and unprofessional.
I agree that the bank might want
to defend themselves by claiming a contributory damage on the part of the
customer (which I agree) but not to leave the customer all by herself in the
case. If the bank chooses to claim a contributory damaged on the customer, then
the compensation of the loss if not fully should be partly returned. Empathy is
key in business and until one learns to put himself in the shoes of the other
person, he won’t understand how best to serve the person. While further
investigations remain on-going, we call on the Management of First Bank to
quickly look into this situation rather than leave their customer in pain.
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