I’m concerned about Karen,” said Margaret Costanzo to David Reeves. The two bank officers were seated in the former’s office at Menton Bank. Costanzo was a vice president of the bank and manager of the Victory Square branch, the third largest in Menton’s large branch network. She and Reeves, the branch’s customer service director, were having an employee appraisal meeting.
Reeves was responsible for the customer service department, which coordinated the activities of the customer service representatives (CSRs, formerly known as tellers) and the customer assistance representatives (CARs, formerly known as new accounts assistants).
Costanzo and Reeves were discussing Karen Mitchell, a 24-year-old customer service representative, who had applied for the soon-to-be-vacant position of head CSR. Mitchell had been with the bank for three and a half years. She had applied for the position of what had then been called head teller a year earlier, but the job had gone to a candidate with more seniority.
Now, that individual was leaving—his wife had been transferred to a new job in another city—and the position was once again open. Two other candidates had also applied for the job.
Both Costanzo and Reeves agreed that, against all criteria used in the past, Karen Mitchell would have been the obvious choice for head teller. She was both fast and accurate in her work, presented a smart and professional appearance, and was well-liked by customers and her fellow CSRs. However, the nature of the teller’s job had been significantly revised nine months earlier to add a stronger marketing component. CSRs were now expected to offer polite suggestions that customers use online banking, mobile banking, and ATMs for simple transactions. They were also required to stimulate customer interest in the broadening array of financial services offered by the bank. “The problem with Karen,” as Reeves put it, “is that she simply refuses to sell.”

STUDY QUESTIONS
1. Identify the steps taken by Menton Bank to develop a stronger customer orientation in its retail branches.
2. Compare and contrast the jobs of CAR and CSR. How important is each

(a) to bank operations and

(b) to customer satisfaction?
3. Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Karen Mitchell and other candidates for head CSR.
4. What action do you recommend for filling the head CSR position?