By Frank J. Diekmann
Joining lunch buffet lines and vendor hall putting contests in the Pantheon of CU conference must-haves is the anthem sung by every attendee about exceptional member service. Not one, but both hands and maybe even a foot will be raised anytime this question is posed: “Who here offers great member service?”
But is it true?
I can tell you that in my own personal case there is nothing exceptional about the service delivered by my CU—it’s isn’t the kind of bad service that shows up on a member survey—but it’s nothing special. It’s average and transactional, and yet I’m confident if you talked to management at my CU they are fully in the two-hands-plus-one-foot-in-the-air camp.
Could this also be you? No way, right?
Lisa Ford, author of business video series “How to Give Exceptional Customer Service,” told PSCU’s 2018 Member Forum recently many credit unions are mistaken if they believe their member service to be “exceptional.” Indeed, she noted that surveys indicate that only about 8% of consumers rate a retailer as delivering exceptional service.
It’s amazing how the other 92% never show up at any credit union meetings.
This Sums it Up
Comedian John Oliver has recently observed that “bitcoin combines everything you don’t understand about finance with everything you don’t understand about technology.”
What Does He Do During Compliance Sessions?
At one recent credit union conference, the speaker suddenly pulled out a wooden train whistle and blew it. “It’s a training session,” he said, before deciding no pun should go unsaid. “I wanted to keep you on track.”
It’s Getting Creepier–And Frightening
There’s no shortage of discussion and warnings around what artificial intelligence is going to mean to credit unions in the future, and you likely engage regularly with artificial intelligence in some way, such as chatbots and automated phone systems that have you repeatedly shouting—but with great enunciation—“Re-pre-sent-a-tive!”
It is getting increasingly difficult to tell if you’re speaking with a human, and it’s getting creepier. Speaking to CO-OP’s THINK Conference, Nick Thompson, editor in chief of Wired, shared the story of one software writer at his company who recorded hundreds of hours of conversation with his father, who was dying, speaking and then created a chatbot that answered questions in a voice and style of his father, meaning he could continue to “talk” to his dad even after his death.
But what was more frightening to me, and should be to you, as well, was Thompson’s observations around how algorithms could change the way we communicate—or CAN’T communicate.
“This is something we don’t think enough about,” said Thompson.
He pointed to a new Instagram tool that allows users to get rid of any word they choose not to see. The company is using artificial intelligence to analyze the content of a sentence or a paragraph to determine if it’s mean or nice, and to peer into the sentiment of the syntax.
“Now there is a system at Instagram where anything you say that is mean disappears, except on your feed. Google also is building a similar system, and Facebook will probably implement something. Soon we will have all sorts of conversations that are mediated by algorithms. Think about the implications for free speech.”
You can read Thompson’s full remarks here.
I Guess This Is Why He Won
During a Q&A discussion at THINK, swimmer Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian in history, shared this: “My sixth grade English teacher told me I wouldn’t amount to anything. I was picked on and made fun off because of my big ears, because I shave my legs, because I wear tiny little bathing suits. But you are able to fight through because the goals are there. People who have doubted me I have always jammed there words right down their throats. And there is nothing more enjoyable than doing that.”
You can find the full story on Phelps’ remarks here.
Get Ready for 2019!
Strategic planning season is approaching. Just a reminder that if you're seeking market-proven ideas from other credit unions are willing to share in the spirit of cooperation, join us at the CUTomorrow Conference in Austin Sept. 9-11. Not only is it low-priced ($499), you can put a small piece of your NCUSIF rebate to work and get some real ROI. Get the details at cutomorrow.info.
Frank J. Diekmann is Cooperator-in-Chief at CUToday.info and can be reached at Frank@CUToday.info, or @FrankCUToday.