Job description
Customer service section
My internship was successfully accepted at the Khaleeji Commercial Bank, Riffa branch, and commenced on 3rd March and ended on 30th April 2013. During this period, I was placed at the customer service section, where attending to customers’ needs was the main activity.
Benefits of the internship experience from the students perspective
I gained worthy experience during my internship period at the bank. I learned how to handle customer requests and complaints and forward them to the responsible staff at the bank. Any customer, who came for the first time to open a bank account, could not proceed until he or she was issued with a Customer Information File (CIF). I was also shown how a transaction is usually initiated until it is finally accomplished within a short time. My bank supervisor advised me on several occasions to exercise control over the challenges while a customer is waiting in the queue for services.
I developed a positive experience of managing workload within my desk in a given time without giving up or postponing it to the next period. Managing the group of staff as teams strengthened my ability to organize my duties and interact with them irrespective of their job groups, cultures, nationalities, and their nature.
Weekly logs of the week
During the internship period, I attended a financial meeting in Bahrain chaired by S. H Almahmoud. The chair of the meeting explained the bank’s core business and Islamic finance products ventured by the bank. He ensured that we were conversant with the Sharia and Islamic laws before proceeding with our internship roles.
Each day of the internship period in the customer service section was often coupled with a lot of customer and staff interactions. Customers came with different purposes ranging from opening a new bank account to applying for a Visa Card. The bank policy required customer service section staff to practice friendly interactions with incoming customers.
Experience gained
Generally, I learned a lot, especially how to approach customers with different problems and attitudes. It is worth mentioning that lessons taught in school found their way to actual practice during the internship period. I was able to handle office politics which would have impeded my performance. Repeatedly, I found that not all companies especially banks use the same policies and guidelines. For example, it is a policy for the Khaleeji Commercial Bank to treat a customer as always right. This has been effective for them and not a priority for other banks. Total-experience gained formed a firm foundation on how to deal with organizational behaviors and utilized the experience taught in college.
Tasks related to the retail department at the Riffa branch
The retail department of the Khaleeji Commercial Bank forms the customer service section. All customers make inquiries about various Islamic finance products offered by the bank. Customers with special needs and attention can find help within the retail department. These services are crucial in helping customers fill different application forms and making them understand terms and conditions before signing them. Risk management is another crucial feature of the retail section.
A customer is usually shown and explained to on risks associated with the banking products to allow him or her to consider the consequences. At the end of the day, suggestions to the bank managers are usually made to allow the bank to improve on their products and enhance competitiveness and effectiveness over the other banks.