Financial institutions are again being criticised by members of the small business community, this time for what they said is the poor customer service being meted out to customers including members of their sector.

Heads of associations participating in a recent Jamaica Observer Business Forum said that while banks and other financial institutions claimed to have ramped up some services and even moved to tailor new products targeted at members of the vulnerable sector, enough is still not done as majority of businesses remain dissatisfied with the current levels of engagement.

Donovan Wignall, president of the MSME Alliance, referring to what he believes to be a general customer service crisis affecting the country, said that urgent redress is seriously needed if businesses are to move forward with efficiency. Through the Small Business Association of Jamaica (SBAJ) which comprises a large cross section of small businesses, he said that members are now actively championing the need for better customer service in the banking sector.

Wignall said with COVID-19 pushing a number of these institutions to digital and in some cases cutting back staff levels, the end results have been far from satisfactory for many clients of the banks.

“When the banks first started out, they did so as customer service organisations, however, that is not the case now. Transferring money from bank to bank for us is a challenge — 72 hours to wait for transfers across institutions is really a challenge for small businesses as cash flow for us is very important in getting business done.

“Also, if you have an infraction it may take the banks hours, days and even months to sort out issues and even when you try to call them, this is still a problem as sometimes the phones go unanswered,” he shared.

Amid complaints regarding onerous charges from banks, Wignall said he has no issue in paying the fines on condition that the charges match the quality of service provided. He said that while some improvement has been seen post-COVID, a lot more work needs to be done especially within the areas of customer service.

“I think that ostracising the customer is a disservice — if it is that the banks being the way they are, should continue on the same path, then some alternate means of financing has to be found or the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) will have to step in to ensure that there is some basic level of customer service being offered to the general populace, not just small businesses,” he said.

Opal Levy, director of membership with the SBAJ, further taking financial institutions to task on other issues, said that while the banks were busy creating new products for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), there are concerns that these products were not being crafted by personnel who truly understand the sector.

“I believe that business bankers need to understand business, the thought process and analysis needed for small businesses is very different from that in corporate banking. The skill sets needed to deal with how the banks deal with small businesses versus larger clients especially when dealing with issues of loan and financing is often missing. If we don’t have a building up of that skill set in the banking sector, we are going to have a problem,” she said.

Levy advised that even as banks move to increase operational efficiencies by incorporating more digital solutions, a balanced/hybrid approach be taken so as to ensure that all segments of clientèle are supported.

“I don’t think these institutions have really undergone the necessary change management and training to really move to meaningful implementation of initiatives. We really have to begin to look at who is positioned where, as the stigma is very real for our sector. What we have found from our own assessment is that the people who can make the decisions and take the necessary steps needed to foster growth and transformation of the sector are not necessarily the ones guiding the implementation process,” added president of the Young Entrepreneurs Association (YEA) Cordell Williams Graham.