Newfield National Bank grew quickly to 12 branches, but the PC resources were not keeping pace with the bank’s growth. Tellers had to share computers, resulting in wait times for customers, and reduced efficiencies in customer transactions in general. Newfield National turned to Cybernet for the perfect solution: the iOne—GX31 all-in-one LCD PC. By deploying an iOne-GX31 at each teller window, teller efficiency and customer satisfaction increased dramatically.
The Customer
Newfield National Bank has 12 branches in southern New Jersey and is known for its exemplary customer service throughout their branches. The more relaxed, slower pace of doing business in small-town America offers many benefits to the customers of banks like Newfield National. Patrons appreciate the friendly service from employees who know your name before you hand over a deposit slip. The ability to talk to top management when you have a problem. The comfort of knowing your bank cares about your community because it’s part of that community, not an impersonal institution run from some imposing skyscraper miles and miles away.
The Business Challenge
However, enjoying a less hectic lifestyle than their metropolitan cousins doesn’t mean Newfield’s customers are willing to give up fast, efficient service. They’ve got the Internet, cell phones and satellite television, so they don’t expect their banking transactions to be carried out at anything less than state-of-the-art speed. But the computers used by the tellers at Newfield’s 12 branches were proving to be an obstacle to providing up-to-date service. The challenge to correct the problem fell to Michael Flem, the bank’s vice president of management information systems.
Michael had inherited a system that was a compromise, one forced by space limitations at the teller stations plus the technology that was available when the system was purchased. Along with a standard mouse and keyboard, each unit included a bulky CRT monitor and desktop PC, which in the existing work area only allowed one computer for every two tellers. That meant that tellers had to share a workstation and sometimes had to wait for their partner to finish a task before they could complete their customer’s business.
At any bank, you expect to wait a few moments for your teller to process a transaction. But it’s not so easy to be patient if your teller has to stand there idly, paperwork in hand, waiting to use the computer. And if you have to wait for a glitch to be resolved that’s not even your glitch, even a very loyal customer’s tolerance will start to wear thin. Although Newfield National is well established in the region, management knows it’s not the only bank around. Eroding customer satisfaction could lead to loss of market share and reduced profitability. In today’s tumultuous financial industry, that could threaten the bank’s continued long-term existence.
The Cybernet Solution
For Michael, it was interesting to work on a hardware problem from a customer service perspective, rather than strictly considering capacity or power. Obviously, the answer would be to give each teller his or her own machine, and to do that Michael would have to find the optimal space-saving solution. Recalling a mailer he received and doing some Internet research, he decided to test the
Cybernet iOne-GX31 All-In-One PC, which has the processing unit inside the flat-screen LCD monitor.
When the two
iOne-GX31 test units arrived, plug-and-play installation got them up and running quickly. For the tellers, eliminating the box and old-fashioned monitor immediately transformed their workspace into a more professional-looking and more organized environment. It also made them more productive by completely eliminating any wait to get on a computer. After putting the
iOne-GX31 through its paces on the job with no issues, no problems and no surprises, Michael recommended Newfield National install the
iOne-GX31 at every teller’s window in every branch.
Key ResultsToday Michael reports that the
iOne-GX31 systems at the bank are reliably “doing what we wanted them to do, and are more efficient in space and use” while helping keep the customers happy. So that even people with a little more time on their hands won’t have to waste a second due to outmoded technology, and so Newfield National Bank can continue to be the leading institution in its region.
