For an unprecedented ninth year running, credit unions have once again topped the league table for the best customer experience in Ireland according to the Customer Experience Insight (CXi) Report for 2023. Not only did credit unions beat 149 other organisations to retain this top position, they also further improved their already winning CX score, widening the customer experience gap between them and their rivals to achieve the highest score ever seen in the CXi Ireland survey.
As an active member of the credit union movement in Ireland, St. Colman’s Credit Union continued support of the Ballinrobe and Claremorris Common Bond Areas has contributed to this achievement.
Report author and CEO of The CX Company Cathy Summers said the main reason credit unions are so successful at delivering customer experience excellence on a consistent basis is because they are embedded in the community and focused on driving change to meet their customers’ needs rather than just driving change to make their organisation more efficient. Summers said their CX record means credit unions are well placed to further compete with the banks for more complex products as well as the more traditional financial offering.
Sinéad Stagg stated, “Credit Unions are local member focused organisations, that place communities at the hear of everything they do, which is most certainly the case for us at St. Colman’s Credit Union. We are proud of the work we do and the part we have played in this national achievement. Consistency is important to us, and we are committed to further building on our services and the value we offer to our members and broader Ballinrobe/Claremorris community that we serve in to the future”.
Commenting on the announcement, David Malone, CEO of the Irish League of Credit Unions (ILCU) said that the ILCU was delighted to see the customer experience from credit unions topping the standard for companies in Ireland.
“This unprecedented ninth win is recognition of the dedication and hard work of credit union staff and volunteer directors across Ireland. Their relentless focus is always on being there for our members, for communities and uniquely when compared with our competitors, on being not-for-profit. The credit union social ethos allows us to focus solely on how to best deliver for our existing and potential new members. This means we continue to offer a face-to-face customer experience in over 400 community locations where our 3,000 expert staff and 3,000 directors provide a professional service and essential financial supports to their members. On top of that our customers who wish to engage with us through the ever-growing credit union digital offering can choose to do so at their convenience.”
The Customer Experience Insight (CXi) Report is published annually by the CX Company based on a survey carried out on their behalf by Amárach Research. Over 29,640 experiences were evaluated using The CX Framework and performance under six key Emotional Drivers. In addition companies were evaluated on the basis of value, affordability, willingness to pay more for a better experience, preferred channels of interaction, loyalty, whether the experience has improved and how important employees are to the customer experience.