Dubai Bank - A case study on providing customer service excellence in the UAE

In light of Dubai Banks recent acknowledgment as ‘Best Islamic Bank’ and ‘Most Improved Bank’ within Ethos Consultancy's 2009 UAE Service Quality Bank Benchmarking Study, Dubai Bank’s Head of Service Quality & Performance Development, Lutfi Alshukaili prepared the following case study.

Dubai Bank – Key Service Quality Objectives:

Competing against 29 banks across the UAE, last year Dubai Bank was ranked 21st within Ethos Consultancy’s 2008 Annual Service Quality Bank Benchmarking Study. We recognised the threat of competition and the impact to our business and therefore developed a service quality strategy to transform Dubai Bank into the “service provider of choice” for customers in the UAE.

The aim was to become the market leader in service quality by providing a distinctive and memorable customer experience across all delivery channels.

The strategy had four key objectives:

1. Develop a service culture focused on enhancing and providing consistent customer experience across all channels and touch points. These included Dubai Bank branches, sales teams, call center and other alternative electronic delivery channels (i.e. website and online banking).
2. Establish service quality performance as a key element and contributor to business profitability, growth and customer retention.
3. Achieve a ranking as one of the top 5 banks within Ethos Consultancy’s 2009 UAE Annual Service Quality Bank Benchmarking Study
4. Achieve ‘Best Islamic Bank’ within Ethos Consultancy’s 2009 UAE Annual Service Quality Bank Benchmarking Study and to be acknowledged as the number one Islamic Bank service provider within the UAE.

Dubai Bank – Service Quality Initiatives and Action Plan:

A Service Quality Strategy for Retail Banking was formulated based on a comprehensive SWOT analysis of the 2008 service delivery measurement inductors and on Ethos Consultancy’s 2008 Bank Benchmarking Study results. This analysis allowed Dubai Bank to identify four key areas of focus and to develop the tools necessary to accomplish our objectives throughout 2009:

• Review and Enhance Service Standards: Establish standards for each touch point and function to ensure standardisation and consistency in the levels of service quality being offered.


• Internal and External Service Measurement tools: Introduce various internal and external service measurement tools, i.e. mystery shopping, after sales service surveys, customer consultant award and service audits. These were introduced to measure performance and provide regular and ongoing feedback on the level of adherence to the set standards.


• Skill and Knowledge Development: Focus on enhancing the skill set and knowledge of the frontline staff across all our delivery channels. This involved identifying skill-gaps and accordingly designing and developing tailor-made training and development programs. These were delivered based on traditional methods as well as one-on-one coaching and on-the-job training.


• Employee Engagement and Motivation: As an internal measurement to motivate employees and assess the effectiveness of the various measurement tools and training deployed by the Service Quality Team, we introduced various tools to reward employees and a mechanism to receive regular feedback from our internal customers (managers and frontline staff). This involved reward and recognition programs, cross functional team meetings and frequent workshops across all touch points and job functions.

These initiatives fostered our overall strategy and provided us with ongoing feedback on the performance and service provided through all delivery channels.

Dubai Bank – Key Achievements in 2009:

• Service Standard Delivery Standardisations: Overall we have seen a consistent service delivered across channels based on the set service standards.


• Steady Increase in Results: There has been a steady increase in the results of our internal and external service measurement indicators. Notably all delivery channels are performing above the set targets. These were measured through internal and external programs.


• Performance in 2009 UAE Bank Benchmarking Study: Dubai Bank achieved 2nd position overall in Ethos Consultancy’s Bank Benchmarking Study, a jump of 19 places from 21st in 2008 to 2nd in 2009. Dubai Bank was awarded ‘Best Islamic Bank’ and ‘Most Improved Bank’. All delivery channels achieved exceptional results:
  • Branch performance increased 18.1%. Jumping from 71.3% in 2008 to 89.4% in 2009
  • Call Center performance increased 48%. A jump from 41.9% in 2008 to 89.9% in 2009
  • Website performance increased 11.8%. Increasing 68.7% in 2008 to 80.5% in 2009

Dubai Bank - Company Profile

Dubai Bank is a leading Islamic bank, offering a comprehensive range of Sharia-compliant products and services that cater to the needs of its retail, corporate and investment banking clients. Since its launch in September 2002, Dubai Bank has placed service, transparency and convenience at the forefront of its operations, introducing a wide range of unique products and services to the market. It believes in providing innovative solutions for its customers, both Emiratis and expatriates, offering Sharia-compliant products & services.

Dubai Bank has an extensive range of customer touch points, including telephone, SMS, Online and Mobile banking, in addition to its network of branches and ATMs in all major Emirates across the UAE. The bank operates 22 branches across the UAE, including eleven in Dubai, five in Abu Dhabi and two in Sharjah, as well as branches in Ras al Khaimah, Fujairah, Khorfakkan and Ajman.

Dubai Banks customer-centric and innovation-driven approach has led the bank to win many industry awards, including the “Best Islamic Bank” and “Best Islamic Credit Card” awards in 2009 received from leading industry publications.