POWERS Explain How Consultants Are Helping the Credit Industry During Hard Times

Business performance consulting like that provided by POWERS can help credit card issuers treat their customers more fairly. When a consultant takes a look at the complete picture, they can point out areas where a bank or credit card issuer can do a better job.


Credit card companies in the United States are governed by several laws that regulate their fairness and their ways of doing business. These federal laws are meant to protect you from fraud and to protect the credit card company from legal action. This protection has the end goal of ensuring that you are protected from unsavory or insecure business practices.

These laws include the Truth in Lending Act, the Fair Credit Billing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, and the Credit CARD act.

Under these laws, you have the right to be treated fairly when dealing with these institutions. The laws prohibit unfair practices like raising the interest rates on existing balances without any defaults or allowing you to go over-limit and then charging an over-limit fee.

These laws require that credit card companies are transparent about their fees and rates, allowing customers to decide which card is right for them.

Dealing Fairly with Customers
In the past, credit card companies have not had the best customer service. Their actions were often punitive in nature, and their practices were sometimes unfair. Business performance consulting can help to ensure that credit card companies fulfill their obligations under the law by ensuring that all of their provisions are clear and coherent.

Customer service agents must be taught to be professional, helpful, and willing to go the extra mile to make sure you understand your rights and obligations. Calling or emailing a credit card issuer for help can be a stressful process, and many people prefer to avoid it for as long as possible. Consultants can encourage customer service to improve to the point where calling a credit card company is not an imposition. In this day and age you should feel comfortable contacting your credit card company.

Better Efficiency
Consultants can help lenders reshape their business practices so that they are as efficient as possible. They can help to train live chat and phone support personnel to make sure that they can resolve customer problems and answer questions in a friendly but prompt manner. This efficiency and approachability will then be passed along to the consumer.

Improving Company Culture
POWERS and other business performance consultants can also help credit card issuers change their company culture. Company culture covers everything from a business’s mission and goals to the way they treat customers every day. It also has a great deal to do with whether employees are happy in their jobs. Stressed, overworked, and mistreated employees have a difficult time providing a high level of customer service.

When companies take care of their employees, they are more likely to gain a positive reputation for customer service and they will be able to gain more accounts.

Human Resources
Business performance consultants can further help credit card companies to reshape their human resource responses. HR employees are often overworked and have difficulties dealing with the diverse needs of a large employee population. Consulting will help them draw up a firmer list of procedures and help them deal with events by prioritizing their activities.

Human resources professionals who work for credit card companies need the support of upper management to make sure they can treat employees fairly. They need upper management to make solid policy decisions and to firmly handle any problems that may occur. When human resources professionals are left with the role of the enforcer, they cannot have a good rapport with the members of their team, and any degree of internal dysfunction will inevitably be passed along to the consumer as a by-product. 

Streamlining Processes
A good consultant will be able to optimize customer onboarding processes, along with other necessary points in the customer’s journey. Streamlining these processes reduces the number of employee hours that are needed to deal with these issues.

In some cases, AI models may be brought online to streamline the workload. For example, AI chatbots can help online credit card customers with easy questions like inquiries about their balance or a specific transaction. When the issue becomes too complex for an AI to handle, the text chat can be transferred to a qualified customer service professional.

This makes the entire process much easier to navigate so you can skip the long sign-up process and get back to your life as soon as possible.

Training Management
Front-line employees need to be trained in accordance with company guidelines, but so does upper management. Management roles need to be planned out with equal care.

Even if a person does not have direct customer contact, they need to be aware of all of the procedures that happen at lower levels. It also follows that well-trained middle and upper management employees are able to handle their jobs better and with more compassion.

Protecting the Bottom Line
All of these provisions can help credit card companies improve their customer service and customer retention. They also protect the card issuer’s bottom line by making sure no money is wasted or inappropriately diverted.

Business consulting firms like POWERS have the ability to reshape the daily routine of credit card issuers. Their assistance can help lenders reimagine customer service. Improving culture is a way to change a company from the inside out and provide you with the best experience possible.




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