Make sure your users don’t fall into crevasses

Apply for a credit card: Experience crevasses in Westpac’s offerings

Aviram Vijh
Jul 24, 2017 · 12 min read

It is difficult to recount bad experiences while trying to remain neutral; in this case, I was a prospective Westpac customer and a design professional. Nevertheless, this is an account of my experience of trying to apply for and use Westpac’s top-of-the-line credit card, the Altitude Black Card (ABC), and how several small cracks in the experience lead to what is called an experience crevasse in service design.

A few months ago, in response to Westpac’s campaign (targeted at me), I decided to sign up for a credit card, touted as their most exclusive card that offered a range of benefits. The promotional offer promised a zero annual fee for the first year for existing Westpac customers, which was the primary reason I decided to sign up (though I wasn’t a Westpac customer either). So, my experience starts on the Westpac website where I read about the card and decide to apply for it.

Website-Chat service gap: I start the application process and first sign up for a Westpac bank account, as I had to be an existing customer to avail the credit card offer. The sign up process led me to a step where I had to provide identification, which included among other acceptable proofs, a driving license, but did not include a NSW photo-card, which is the same as a driving license minus the driving privilege. I know for a fact that the photo-card can be used for online verification of one’s identity, but perhaps Westpac did not think about it. Ostensibly, my account was created, but had some limitations on it till I completed the verification. On the credit card section, I noticed that the fine print read that you had to be an Australian citizen or Permanent Resident to apply, which I wasn’t.

I initiated a chat with their service representative, who told me that she’ll pass on my feedback (about the photo card) and that my account has been created, but will remain suspended till I go to a branch and finish the identity verification. She told me that I, on a working visa, was eligible to apply as well, but they’ll need a copy of my visa, and that I could apply for it from my ‘suspended account’ as well. I applied for the credit card, and it asked me to verify my identity again (the systems weren’t connected?); like earlier, the system could not finish my identity verification online and advised me to visit a branch. I received an email that said that my card was ‘conditionally approved’ and that I should visit a branch with my identification and income documents.

Website-branch gap: I made time to visit a branch and explained to them that I was asked to come here. They asked me for my customer ID (which I had received when I signed up for the Westpac account), something I was familiar with since I had banked with several other banks. I showed them my photo-card and the officer there said that it is all done. I asked him about the payslips and he said that it is better that I email it to the credit card team as that would be faster! The website asked me to get these documents (including the payslips) to the branch and the branch asks me to email it to some team, which the website could and should have easily facilitated to begin with.

Anyhow, I emailed them to the credit card team and they approved my card. I got a welcome kit and was able to log in to Westpac online and see both my bank and credit card accounts. The card was delivered to my home address, but I had nominated nearest branch (Kogarah) for delivering the debit card, as there was no other option at sign up.

Branch-branch gap: I went to the Kogarah branch and asked for my debit card. They said that they hadn’t received it, and so I though it might just be delayed or something. In a couple of days, I got a call from the Kogarah branch asking me to drop in for some sort of verification. I was utterly confused, as I had finished the verification process earlier, and assumed that this call might be the result of the lack of communication between the two branches.

Online banking-branch gap: I deposited money into the bank account as it was soon going to be time to pay my first credit card bill. A day before the payment was due, I logged in to the online banking platform (where I could see my money) and tried to make a payment. I couldn’t, and in spite of my best efforts, could not figure out why. I had enough money in the account, knew what I needed to do (transfer from the bank account to my credit card account), and received no error or any communication while attempting to pay the bill. I was angry and tense, as the bill was due the following day. I called the bank and the online banking representative informed me that my bank account was inactive! I just couldn’t believe or understand what was going on. I had deposited a large sum of money in it, which reflected in the account when I accessed it online, but apparently, the account wasn’t active. The representative told me that I had to go to a branch and verify my signature, something that never came up in my two interaction with the website, chat with a banking representatives, and two visits to branches. There wasn’t even a simple message on my account when I accessed it online that said something to that effect. Imagine if I needed to transfer my own money from this bank account for some emergency; I wouldn’t have been able to!

I visited the branch for a third time where I was asked to verify my signature. I was exasperated and told the lady that if even more thing goes wrong after this visit, I’ll simply throw the card and not pay anything. She arranged for the branch manager to attend to me, and that lady blamed the internet banking teams, maintaining that she was tired of dealing with such scenarios. The signature was verified and I was able to pay the credit card bill. They waived the late payment charge that got levied in the following month. We also literally discovered that the missing signature was the reason I hadn’t received a debit card yet, and she said that they’ll now be able to order it if I want one, but I’ll need to pick it up from the Kogarah branch! I said I didn’t want it as I was not going to the branch again (the Kogarah branch was a small one and was closed on weekends). One good thing they were able to do was link my bank account to my credit card, to enable me to use it like a debit card for withdrawing cash etc, and I think that it was (and is) a great feature.

Brochure-call center gap: The brochure that I received with the credit cards talked about being eligible for two additional lounge visits to Priority Pass lounges with no instructions whatsoever on whether this was something that happens automatically (can I walk into one of these lounges?) or required me to do something first. I called the Altitude Black Priority Line, where a ‘personal concierge’ was supposed to help me. Now this guy had no idea about the Priority Pass lounge offer, and kept telling me about the American Express lounges, which I was also able to access by virtue of holding the card (I knew about that). His colleague then asked me to visit extremely poorly designed website, which was full of marketing crap and had nothing about how to claim these Priority Pass lounge visits. Finally, I unearthed the process of enrolling for this scheme, something which could have been explained in one sentence.

Call center-computer gap: After a few months, I noticed two fraudulent transactions on my credit card account, which to my surprise, had slipped under the bank’s radar. These high-end credit cards are supposed to have very advanced security systems, which make it hard for fraudsters to misuse the card without the holder’s knowledge. Transactions totaling USD$2200 had sneaked through without requiring my authorization (even though they were large, overseas transactions) or alerting the banks security systems. Jolted and nervous, I called the ‘personal concierge’ and spent around 15 mins explaining what had happened. The lady on the other side blocked my card and said a new one will be sent. My concern was about the fraudulent transactions, but she transferred me to someone else to talk about it because the ‘fraud department had to look into it’. It was a cold transfer, which meant that I had to frustratingly explain everything over again to the new representative. The agent was cold and unemphatic, and instead of helping me relax, read out script after script about what would happen if the fraud investigation found that the transactions weren’t fraudulent!

Eventually, things did get resolved.

Computer systems-customer gap: The replacement card was accompanied by a plethora of fancy brochures and documents, but all of them were out of context. I was not a new customer and did not want several pages of advertising and promotional content to be sent to me when I just had my card blocked for fraud. More annoyingly, there was nothing in the communication to help me transition from my old, blocked card, to the the new one. For example, a payment was due in the next four days. Was I to make it to the old card account or the new one (which was empty)? What would happen to my auto-pay arrangement that was in place with the old card? How was I to access my statements that were linked to my old card? Eventually, I managed to figure out the answers to these questions with a combination of calls to the bank and looking up for information online.

What do we learn from this story?

  • Smalls gaps, or ones that seem small from the service provide’s perspective, accumulate to form experience crevasses for the customer. A service design approach that joins the silos together from a customer perspective can and would make a huge difference.
  • In many cases, the staff try their best to help, but are often blindsided by the systems in place, which prevent them from doing so.
  • Promising a gold standard to customers (personal concierge etc.) without actually having systems and plans in place to deliver those standards is worse than promising and delivering bronze.

Update — July 21, 2017

So far, this report was mostly objective, but adding this section to document a recent experience I had at the Westpac ATM in Sydney Markets (Homebush West) and at their branch in the same area. When I visited this branch earlier (detailed in the Online banking-branch gap section above), they had linked my credit card to my savings account, allowing me to withdraw money from my savings account without needing a debit card. In, fact, I praised this idea in my review above. However, on July 21, I tried to use my credit card (the AMEX one for the they issued two, a MasterCard and an AMEX card), the ATM informed me of a $2 charge for withdrawing money (NOT a cash advance..withdrawing from the savings account). I couldn’t figure out why, as I was using a Westpac ATM. I went to the branch and the lady there took 10 mins to try and access my account using my AMEX card, but failed. She asked for my debit card, and I told her I didn’t have one, as these credit cards were linked to my savings account (I wasn’t carrying the MasterCard one on me). Eventually, I had to give her my savings account number (had to get it from the Westpac app on the phone).

She said that she can’t give me money, to which is said that I haven’t come to ask for money, but to know why I am being charged a fee at a Westpac ATM. She couldn’t figure out and said that I can’t do so with my AMEX card, but couldn’t tell me why. She handed me over to presumably a senior colleague who told me that he couldn’t help me because they needed my ‘original card’. By now, I was getting a little frustrated and I asked if the AMEX card was a duplicate one! He said this is an AMEX card and that he needed the Westpac card! In hindsight, I know he was referring to the MasterCard. For me, they are both Westpac cards, as I only applied for one Westpac Altitude Black Card and they gave me two cards, presumably because the AMEX card can’t be used at all merchants. There was no other distinction in my head, and nor was any distinction made between the two when the cards were issued, or in the three previous visits I had, including one where they ‘linked my credit card to my savings account’.

I told the guy that at this very branch, they linked my credit card to my savings account and he retorted by saying that “Who linked it…I am the one links the cards?”, to which I asked him if he remembered every card he linked over the last one year. He then angrily turned his monitor towards me to tell me that there was no record that I ever visited that branch to link my credit card to my savings account. Now, I can understand that the system isn’t designed to keep track of which branch people link their cards, so I told him that I don’t know why there wasn’t a record but that I was sure that I did so at this branch (in fact I told him that I am your customer and that you really ought to believe me (and the fact that I had documented the experience in an article!). In the interest of saving my time, I told him that even if I agree that I could only use my ‘original card’ (the MasterCard) to withdraw money, why is it that the ATM, instead of informing me that I can’t withdraw money with the AMEX card, is charging me a fee (and therefore allowing me to withdraw the money if I agree to pay the fee)? He said he didn’t know and that he can’t help me with what happens at the ATM.

I told him that I wasn’t informed of any of this, and that this is all I came here to figure out. He then started giving me rubbish about this being part of the communication I received while signing up for the card (passing the buck). I asked him to show me where this was documented and he said that I should apply for a new account to find it myself. I then asked him to come with me to the ATM to see what’s going on and he refused to do so. Things had heated up by now, and I would have expected the branch manager to be informed and to step in to placate me, but nothing of that sort happened. Eventually, the lady who originally served me, asked for my number and said that she’ll call me to discuss the matter (to which I again stated that there is nothing to discuss over the phone…I came in with a simple question that they couldn’t answer). She did call me that evening, and though that was kind of her, all she did was apologize.

If we put on our design hats for a second and think of what went wrong, while being gracious enough to ignore the fact that the staff failed in basic customer service etiquette, we’ll see that the root cause was again the gap between an online offering and the awareness of the product in a branch. If they knew the product well (or even better, if the system would have been designed in a way to tell them exactly what’s happening), they would have:

  1. Told me while linking my credit cards to my bank account that I could only use my MasterCard for withdrawing cash.
  2. Told me in response to me query over the counter that I could only use my MasterCard for withdrawing cash and apologized for not informing me that this was the case when I linked my cards.
  3. Known themselves that for me, both cards were Westpac cards and therefore they shouldn’t be using vocabulary such as ‘the original card’ when no differentiation between the two was made.
  4. Known how to treat ‘high value’ customers who hold the most expensive and privileged card that Westpac issues.

Instead, I was called a liar and I still don’t know why the ATM is asking for a service fee when I try to withdraw money from my savings account using my Westpac issued AMEX credit card.

Aviram Vijh

Written by

Designer, writer, and leader. Key interests include usability, ergonomics, service design & product innovation.

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