Realising financial targets is not an end in itself for the Rabobank Group. A sound financial situation is essential to help our customers achieve their ambitions. Our focus in on the customer. For this reason, we attach considerable value to satisfied and loyal customers. This gives us indications about the extent to which our products and services meet the wishes of the customers.
Customers are satisfied with service offering of local Rabobanks
In 2007 individual customers of local Rabobanks rated their satisfaction as 7.5 (2006: 7.5). This is in line with our long-term objective of 7.5. Compared with the competition, Rabobank scores well on points such as telephone accessibility, quick referral to the right person, staff knowledge and complaints handling. In addition, customers believe that Rabobank provides advice when they really need it. It emerges from the survey that customer loyalty is high in 2007. Loyalty dropped at all surveyed banks, but it dropped more strongly at the competition than at Rabobank.
Rabobank also measures customer satisfaction among private banking customers each year. In 2007 customer satisfaction was awarded a 7.5 (2006: 7.6). Customers were happy with our professionalism, reliability and customer-friendly processes, the multitude of possibilities for reaching Rabobank, as well as our leading products and clear customer information. They claimed that the rate of customer satisfaction could rise even higher, however, if the local Rabobanks were to act more pro-actively and decisively by broaching the right subject at the right time.
Satisfaction among customers in the small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) segment rose in 2007 compared with 2006. Entrepreneurs in this segment value personal attention through close contacts with their account manager or adviser. Services to small businesses improved. They are satisfied with the speed of telephone responses and feel welcome at Rabobank. This group of customers would, however, like more transparency in banking charges. The relationship with larger SME customers remained good. This group is happy with their account manager and therefore feels committed to Rabobank.
The extremely high rate of customer satisfaction in the agricultural sector levelled off slightly. Agricultural customers are very positive about their agricultural account managers. They would, however, like to see even more competitive financial products from Rabobank and would welcome more transparency in banking charges. Agricultural entrepreneurs also attach great value to being appreciated as business clients. Traditionally, agricultural customers and Rabobank have had very strong ties. This translated into a high level of loyalty in 2007 as well.
Positive customer response to Rabobank Group subsidiaries
In the annual survey conducted by the Incompany business magazine, private banking customers chose Schretlen & Co as the best private bank in 2007. Rabobank Private Banking was ranked second.
At De Lage Landen, the integration of Athlon Car Lease and Translease did not come at the expense of the customer satisfaction. In 2007 Heliview chose Translease as the most customer-friendly lease company in the Netherlands, while Athlon Car Lease shared second place. Customers rated their overall satisfaction with both lease companies as 7.7 (2006: 7.6) and 7.5 (2006: 7.3) respectively.
The intermediaries working with Obvion were satisfied with the services of this organisation. Thanks, in part, to the strong and long-term relationship with its intermediaries, Obvion won the Gouden Spreekbuis in 2007. This prize is awarded annually by Blauw Research to the mortgage provider with the best image among intermediaries.
Complaints handling
Rabobank wants its customers to be satisfied, which includes having a proper complaints procedure available to them. Complaints are effective signals, constituting a valuable source of information for service quality assurance.
Note: In 2007 the Complaints Service of local Rabobanks received 3,059 complaints compared with 2,950 complaints in 2006, representing a 4% increase that can partly be attributed to complaints about the relatively new Rabo Mobiel product. To reduce the number of complaints or prevent their recurrence, Complaints Handling developed 19 suggestions for improvement in 2007 (2006: 23), a number of which have been implemented. The figures for Rabo Bouwfonds relate to the former FGH Bank and Rabo Vastgoed entities. Robeco saw the number of complaints increase in 2007. This increase is of a temporary nature and can be ascribed to the fact that the mortgage accounting system was transferred to another party. Adjusted for this effect, the number of complaints fell slightly. The substantial increase seen at De Lage Landen (DLL) in the Netherlands was caused by the fact that Athlon was included in the complaints records in 2007. The increase at DLL outside the Netherlands was caused by the large number of complaints registered in Germany that relate to the change-over to the high VAT rate and the introduction of complaints records in Italy in September 2007. The increase in the number of complaints at Rabobank International outside the Netherlands was due to the large number of complaints from Australian retail customers due to IT problems that affected Internet banking. At Sarasin, the complaints procedure was updated in October 2007. Figures are as yet unavailable.