For Canadian discount brokerages, the idea of providing great client service is a moving target. Not too long ago service used to refer to the ‘offline’ world and meant having a face-to-face interaction at a branch. That gave way to the telephone, and the telephone to email, and email to web chat and web chat to social media.
The result of this communication evolution is that online brokerages are forced to cater to a wide spectrum of touch points that consumers can now access in order to manage their online investments. While consumers benefit from being able to (theoretically) stay connected to their brokerage howsoever they please, the reality is that client service at any brokerage on any channel is only going to be as good as the brokerage’s investment on it.
DIY investors shopping around for online brokerages based on client service should take note of this. If client service, and specifically telephone service, is of interest, then Dalbar Canada’s recently released direct brokerage evaluation of telephone client service interactions is worth looking into. And, while many brokerages are finding their way through the myriad of new technology touch points, telephones, it seems, still matter to online investors.
Who You Gonna Call?
Where and how telephone-based client service fits into today’s highly screen-driven age is a bit confusing. On the one hand while some issues can be resolved via online only methods there are times when getting someone on the phone is necessary.
From highly specific account inquiries to routine trading strategies, such as ‘journaling’ or exercising options, there are still many roads that require DIY investors to turn to telephone agents to address their needs. Of course, when a website goes down or a trading outage occurs, the only way to get an answer is to turn to the phone. Those interactions, as it turns out, impact how a client experiences doing business with that provider and what they ultimately tell others about those experiences.
Dalbar Canada, a financial service analysis firm, understands the value and impact quality service has on direct brokerage client relationships and has been measuring the quality of telephone interactions for many years now.
Given that brokerages use the results of Dalbar’s evaluations in their advertising, it is important for DIY investors to understand some context behind the results.
Widening the Circle
According to Dalbar, “quality” of client interaction at a direct brokerage is broken into four key components:
- product and procedural knowledge
- professionalism
- ease of doing business and
- the ability to deepen relationships with clients
These categories reflect strategic points around which a firm can either strengthen or weaken the relationship with their clients. While what a telephone agent knows is certainly crucial, how they communicate that information goes a long way in providing a positive experience. Whether the agent takes a ‘big picture’ view of clients question or simply responds literally to the question asked also influences whether a client leaves the call feeling frustrated or satisfied. What Dalbar measures when they analyze the interaction between provider and client is therefore a clear snapshot of the ‘human’ element of the brokerage experience.
It should be mentioned that one of the parameters these awards either don’t measure or report is the availability (i.e. hours to reach an agent) nor the duration. So, while it may be nice to get a nice person, there is still something to be said about getting a person when you need one, even outside of market hours.
If you’re feeling as deflated as Patriot’s football this week, hopefully the fact that markets ended the week on a bit of a positive note is enough to cheer Friday. And, if recent market movements haven’t got you puzzled enough, at least Miss Universe Canada’s costume has got pundits and social media focusing on something other than the plunging price of oil. Like the beauty pageant contenders, Canadian brokerages are definitely dressing up their offers to score big points with DIY investors.
Fortunately for self-directed investors, one Canadian research firm (Dalbar Canada) measures client experience for most of the Canadian discount brokerages as part of their direct brokerage service evaluation (DBSE) program. As part of the DBSE, Dalbar Canada also recognizes the high achievers in their evaluation with their Direct Brokerage Service Award.
This week it was bone-chillingly cold everywhere in Canada except for the discount broker deal space (and maybe Vancouver). Several big promotions heated up the deals space this week in what is likely a sign of the fierce competition for self-directed investors’ assets to come this RSP deadline season. Just in time for all that were a couple of big announcements too. One from a discount broker lowering their commission fees and another from a discount brokerage customer service evaluation. Closing out the roundup, we’ll take a look at the investor forums for some valuable lessons for those venturing into wild west of online trading.
In a related vein, this past week 
Although the roll-out hasn’t officially hit full stride, Canada’s second largest stock exchange, the CNSX, is rolling into 2014 with a change to its name and logo. Going forward the CNSX will now be known as The Canadian Securities Exchange or The CSE. We’ll continue to provide more information on what the change will mean for the exchange and what the impact will be to retail investors. The new website can be found (appropriately) at 
