Would you rather get a mortgage from Wal-Mart?
One-third of consumers said they'd pay more for a home loan if it would ensure better customer service. The issue is particularly important for younger borrowers.
A third of consumers say they would pay more for a mortgage if it came with better customer service, and the same number are so frustrated with banks they’d go to Wal-Mart for a mortgage if they could.
The study by the consulting firm Carlisle & Gallagher was aimed at telling banks what they could do to grab a bigger share of the mortgage business. But it also provides a glimpse of customer attitudes toward banks and mortgage companies.
"There is a power shift from banks to customers, who are demanding choices and more transparency into the mortgage application process. This shift makes it nearly impossible for lenders to sustain differentiation based solely on price or product," Tom Mataconis, vice president of consulting and practice services for Carlisle & Gallagher, said in the report. "Trust and customer service are the key differentiators that will allow banks to gain market share in The New Normal."
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Since the real-estate bust, customers have complained how difficult it is to get a mortgage. That difficulty has kept many would-be homebuyers out of the market. But the difficulty in getting a mortgage is not just in qualifying. Customers who are good candidates for mortgages and eventually get one also complain about the difficulty of the process.
Add those complaints to the complaints of customers who have found the process of getting a mortgage modification frustrating, not because they don’t qualify but because banks are inefficient, lose paperwork, don’t respond to phone calls and otherwise provide poor customer service.
With fewer Americans in the position to qualify a mortgage, perhaps those who do qualify will be able to demand better customer service from banks that have to complete for their business.
While the cost of the mortgage still remains the most important factor (84% of respondents rated it the most important factor), trust in the financial institution and customer service also matter to a significant number of customers.
Thirty-four percent of the customers said they would pay for more a mortgage if it came with better customer service, and 52% of those would pay more to guarantee an easier process. Interestingly, the millennial generation was most likely to say they’d pay more to get better customer service.
What do you think it will take to make banks and loan servicers provide at least the same level of customer service you get from Wal-Mart?
| Tags: | loans |
Obtaining a mortgage in today's lending environment will be a hassle no matter what lender you select. The BIG banks and regional are the worst.
The level of service you receive will depend on how well prepared you are as a borrower.
Walmart is NOT lender. They will hook you up with a lender. Walmart gets compensated for this.
ERGO It will most likely cost you more to go that route.
Stick with a LOCAL lender in your market that is reputable.
"The study by the consulting firm Carlisle & Gallagher was aimed at telling banks what they could do to grab a bigger share of the mortgage business"
The banks brought the world down in economic flames with the share of the mortgage business they had. Why on God's green earth would we want them to have an even BIGGER share now?
They never even said sorry for all of the pain and misery they caused - all they did was blame everyone and everything but themselves. I'm still waiting for someone to go to jail for what happened but I won't hold my breath much longer - 6 years is long enough.
Many wild and weird things happen at the many stores of Wal-MART, and you never know when you travel the isles if you are going to run into some un showered stank ho's queef or FART, or maybe even see someone taking scissors to a pair of shorts featuring the Simpson cartoon character BART, and alot of old men go there just to stare at the boobs of some young TART, but some of them have to be careful because of the condition of their HEART, and most anytime you will see someone in the parking lot helping charge a battery of a vehicle that will not START, or someone else slamming into a truck with their shopping CART, or someone shoplifting items from full packages that they have ripped aPART and if you witness this do not STOP but keep walking and minding your own Hibbity, Dibbity, BOP, and a Pee, Pie, Po, POP!!!!
if you all think walmart would treat you right, you would be WRONG !! oh, they might be nice in the beginning to get your business, but if the least little thing went wrong, they will treat you like crap !!! I know....I used to think it was a great company, and when Mr. Walton started and ran it, it was, but now, they are a money grubbing big business BULLY that doesn't give a crap anout anyone but themselves and lining their pockets....and train their associates to do the same. I fell and was injured in one of their stores and was treated like **** !
They aren't any cheaper than other grocery stores, and they make the 'price matching' soo difficult....I would rather shop anywhere else now. You may not believe me, but when/if something happens to you or anyone you know, you will understand what I am saying.
About Teresa Mears
Teresa Mears is a veteran journalist who has been interested in houses since her father took her to tax auctions to carry the cash at age 10. A former editor of The Miami Herald's Home & Design section, she lives in South Florida where, in addition to writing about real estate, she publishes Miami on the Cheap to help her neighbors adjust to the loss of 60% of their property value.
