Customer Service Week! Customer service week! All businesses are in a frenzy making a lot of noise about it. Some people are asking what this is all about. One customer asked: what happens to the remaining 51 weeks of the year? Today’s article examines the positives about the celebration, what the banks are saying about their uniqueness, the various ways of the celebrations and the other side of the coin. It’s a mixed bag.
Historical Background
The celebration began in 1984, initiated by the International Customer Service Association. In 1992, U.S. President George H. W. Bush officially proclaimed the first full week of October as National Customer Service Week, emphasising the importance of empowering employees to make a difference. It is celebrated to recognise and honour the vital role that customer service professionals play in the success of businesses and organisations. This year, it falls between 4th and 10th October. This celebration is fully sanctioned by Bank of Ghana. The following statement was issued by Bank of Ghana to all banking institutions in October 2024.
“As regulator of the banking sector, the Bank of Ghana requires regulated institutions to maintain the highest standards of customer care and satisfaction and to ensure fair pricing and adequate information disclosures about products and services, always adhering to relevant rules, professionalism and ethical standards. The Bank of Ghana recognises the important role played by customers in the functioning of our banking sector. Indeed, customers are at the heart of banking services, and their confidence and trust in the banking system is paramount to the safety, soundness, and stability of the system and to our economy. On the occasion of the 2024 global celebration of Customer Service Week, we appeal to customers of our regulated financial institutions to familiarise themselves with the provisions of the Bank of Ghana’s Complaints Resolution Mechanism, which affords customers specific channels for lodging complaints about the conduct of their financial institutions”
In 2025 (October 6–10), the global theme is “Mission Possible”, a call to recognize that delivering exceptional customer experiences is always within reach.
What is Customer Service Week?
This is more than just a celebration. It has strategic intentions to reinforce the culture of service and strengthen relationships with both employees and customers.The purpose of the customer service week are:
Appreciation for Front line Staff: It’s a chance to recognize and reward employees who interact directly with customers and ensure their needs are me
Boosting Morale and Teamwork: Celebrations help improve motivation, build camaraderie, and foster a positive work environment.
Highlighting Service Excellence: It raises awareness across the organization about the importance of delivering exceptional customer experiences.
Reaffirming Commitment to Customers: Companies use the week to remind customers of their dedication to service quality and responsiveness.
Encouraging Reflection and Improvement: Organisations assess their service delivery systems and explore ways to enhance customer satisfaction.
How Banks in Ghana celebrated the 2025 Customer Service Week
Ghanaian banks are enthusiastically celebrating Customer Service Week 2025 with a variety of initiatives that highlight their commitment to client satisfaction and service excellence. Here’s a snapshot from the media of how some leading banks marked the occasion:
Source: Citi news 9th Oct:
“Absa Bank Ghana LTD is marking Customer Service Week 2025 with practical service improvements, customer appreciation activities, and colleague engagement across its national network.
This year’s theme, “Mission Possible: Empowering Customers through Teamwork and Innovation,” reflects the bank’s focus on faster resolutions, clearer communication, and easier access to help.
Speaking at the launch of the week’s activities, Evelyn Aquah, Chief Customer Officer, said: “Customer service is not an event for us. It is how we serve customers every day. This week, we are highlighting three priorities our customers care about most: being able to reach us easily, getting clear updates on the status of requests, and experiencing quicker resolutions. Our teams across Contact Centre, branches, and digital channels are aligned to deliver these outcomes consistently.”
Activities during the week will include customer appreciation in branches, free Mobitab (POS) setup for SME customers, extended support windows for high-volume channels, and digital education sessions to help customers complete common tasks on self-service platforms. Colleagues will also participate in refresher sessions on complaint handling, clear communication, and end-to-end ownership of customer requests.
Dr Edward Nartey Botchway, Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana LTD, said: “Our purpose is to empower our customers to bring their possibilities to life. The most meaningful way to do that is by making banking dependable and easy to navigate. Customer Service Week is a reminder of the standard we owe our customers every day. We will continue to invest in the systems, skills, and teamwork that make service reliable.”
The bank aims to use the week to reaffirm its service commitments and to encourage feedback across channels, including the Contact Centre, the Absa mobile app, branches, and social platforms. The insights collected will be used to guide future enhancements to customer journeys.”
Source: ADB website
“The Agricultural Development Bank (ADB) PLC celebrates Customer Service Week with a commitment to foster customer-centricity and enhance the bond between the Bank and its customers.
In a distinctive move, senior figures from the Bank including the Managing Director, other Top Management Officials, Heads of Departments, and Area Managers and their Assistance are taking on direct roles as customer service officers at various branches of the Bank. The additional roles, which are scheduled to be a regular activity, are intended to create another platform for direct interaction between senior management and customers.
In his comments, the Managing Director of the Bank, Alhaij Alhassan Yakubu-Tali indicated that the Customer Service Week celebrations are an important occasion that constantly reminds us about the value of our customers. “It gives us an added opportunity to interact with our valuable customers and to receive feedback that will help shape our operations and also help our customers grow,” he said.”
UBA website
Africa’s Global Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has officially flagged off its annual Customer Service Week for the year 2025, embracing the global theme “Mission: Possible” to reaffirm its unwavering commitment to making the impossible possible for its customers across Africa and beyond.
Speaking on the launch, UBA’s Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Oliver Alawuba, said that the bank prides itself as customer-centric, and does all it can to ensure the satisfaction of its customers across all touchpoints.
This week is not just about celebrating our customers, but about renewing our pledge to make the impossible possible for them, because at UBA, we remain committed to not just meeting expectations; but we are also committed to exceeding them.”
Also speaking, UBA’s Group Head, Customer Experience, Michelle Nwoga, noted that this year, noted that this year’s celebration marks a renewed commitment to deepening the bank’s focus on customer satisfaction and doing even more to deliver value at every touch point.
Source: Business Ghana
Standard Chartered Bank Ghana
Theme: Celebrating clients with warmth and appreciation.
Activities: Personal interactions from leadership, tokens of appreciation, and month-long celebrations across branches.
Focus: Reinforcing trust through compliance and consistent service excellence.
First National Bank Ghana
Theme: A decade of help, a future of more…Mission: Possible.
Significance: Coincides with the bank’s 10th anniversary in Ghana.
Highlights:
Celebrating front line staff as service heroes.
Acknowledging customer patience during platform upgrades.
Offering memorable experiences across branches
These celebrations reflect a broader commitment across Ghana’s banking sector to elevate customer experience, foster trust, and build lasting relationships.
The other side of the Story
News Ghana. October 6, 2025
In an article titled: “Banks Celebrate Customer Service Week as Complaints Data Tells Different Story”, News Ghana, states that after the usual fanfare: colorful decorations, themed uniforms, refreshments for customers, and enthusiastic social media posts about putting clients first, but data from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) showing 695 formal complaints lodged against financial institutions in 2023 suggests the hospitality doesn’t always extend beyond the first week of October.
Quote: “The gap between Customer Service Week performance and the other 51 weeks of the year has become something of a running joke among Ghanaian banking customers. Branch managers who suddenly appear cheerful and attentive during early October often seem to vanish back into their offices once the decorations come down, leaving customers to deal with the familiar frustrations: long queues, distracted tellers scrolling through phones, and complaints that disappear into bureaucratic black holes”.
Next week, I will examine various other means of celebration on a global front, address more of the pros and cons and some tips to include in the celebrations to arrive at a win-win decision for subsequent celebrations. Congrats.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Alberta Quarcoopome is a Fellow of the Institute of Bankers, and CEO of ALKAN Business Consult Ltd. She is the Author of Three books: “The 21st Century Bank Teller: A Strategic Partner” and “My Front Desk Experience: A Young Banker’s Story” and “The Modern Branch Manager’s Companion”. She uses her experience and practical case studies, training young bankers in operational risk management, sales, customer service, banking operations and fraud.
CONTACT
Website www.alkanbiz.com
Email:alberta@alkanbiz.com or [email protected]
Tel: 233-0244333051/ 233-0244611343
To be continued
The post Risk WATCH with Alberta Quarcoopome: Mission possible: How banks celebrated the customer service week (1) appeared first on The Business & Financial Times.
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