1. What were the gaps between the customers’ expectations and perceptions in the process described? The idea of having a Personal Banking Consultant (PBC) seemed a great one at the time it was suggested. For a modest annual fee, we would get a differentiated range of ‘relationship’

financial services designed for busy business people like us. These were listed in an attractive glossy ‘membership’ brochure and included: a larger overdraft facility with preferential interest rates, free annual travel insurance, a rewards point scheme, a ‘gold’ credit card with no credit limit, and our own PBC (Sue) and her personal assistant (Richard), who would be there to help whenever we needed them. Every other aspect would be as before, but our accounts would have to be transferred from our old branch in the south (where we lived until 6 years ago, but never bothered to transfer our accounts) to the north, where we now work. Having a remote bank branch had not been a problem until recently. If we needed anything done with any account, we simply had to ring the Assistant Manager in the south and he arranged it. But recently, a South West Region Office was established, and all phone calls were handled remotely, so it had become more difficult to maintain this personal relationship. Moreover, our business and private accounts were handled by separate people at different offices, using different telephone numbers. We were ready for a change!