It’s easy for leadership teams to assume service is strong—until they dig deeper and realize the member experience isn’t keeping pace with expectations or competition.
Sure, satisfaction surveys are glowing. NPS scores are sky-high. But here’s the catch: satisfaction doesn’t predict future business—experience does. And in a world where Amazon remembers your last order, Netflix guesses your mood better than your therapist, and your bank’s competitor is whispering “switch” in every mobile ad… “pretty good” service isn’t cutting it anymore.
Welcome to the Service Blind Spot.
It’s the silent killer of member growth and loyalty. It sneaks in when you’re too focused on your net income, your new fintech partner, or your shiny branch remodel. It settles in when your KPIs look fine, but your members quietly drift to whoever makes their lives easier, faster, and more personalized.
Let’s shine a light on this blind spot—because if you can’t see it, you can’t fix it.
Three Blinders That Block Better Member Experience
1. Confusing Efficiency with Empathy
Faster isn’t always better. That chatbot that closed a service ticket in 14 seconds? It may have missed the actual need—like a member worried about fraud on her mother’s account. Credit unions can automate a lot, but automation without empathy just feels cold. And cold doesn’t retain loyalty.
2. Assuming Service Happens at the Teller Line
Branch staff are still vital. But let’s be real—members don’t line up to say thanks for the coffee bar. Service now begins (and often ends) on a screen. The most emotional, make-or-break moments—loan approvals, fraud alerts, card blocks—often happen digitally. If your digital service doesn’t feel like your brand, you’ve got a blind spot.
3. Relying on Complaints to Spot Problems
No news is not always good news. The vast majority of frustrated members don’t complain—they leave. Or worse, they stay and stop engaging. By the time someone’s venting to your call center, you’ve likely lost ten more who didn’t bother to speak up.
One 10X Credit Union Got Curious
One 10X Credit Union in the Midwest noticed something odd: new member growth was up, but engagement was down. Members were joining… but not sticking around. Instead of blaming rates or tech, they got curious.
They dug into journey mapping, secret shopped their digital channels, and hired Gen Z interns to critique every onboarding experience. What they discovered was eye-opening: the credit union’s service sounded great in mission statements but felt outdated in practice.
They rebuilt onboarding into a multi-touch, personalized experience. They empowered staff (even tellers) to text new members after loan closings. They tied service to real metrics—like activation, usage, and member-initiated contact.
Six months later, member engagement metrics spiked 27%, and the credit union saw a sharp increase in member-initiated product requests. Why? Because they didn’t just fix the service—they made it strategic.
Service as a Strategic Predictor of Future Business
Service is no longer the “soft stuff.” It’s a crystal ball. If members don’t feel served, they won’t feel loyal. And loyalty isn’t just a feeling—it’s a behavior. It’s product usage, retention, referrals, and margin. Service drives it all.
That’s why it’s a core pillar of the 10X CU Service System. It’s not about gimmicks. It’s about building experiences that multiply trust, deepen relationships, and drive long-term growth. Great service doesn’t just retain—it attracts.
Five Moves to Banish Your Blind Spots
Want to avoid the slow fade of member trust? Here are five actions every credit union can take right now:
1. Audit the Moments That Matter
Don’t just map the member journey—walk it. Especially the stress points (loan denials, overdrafts, fraud alerts). Ask: Would you recommend this experience to someone you love?
2. Add Experience Metrics to Your Scorecard
Track beyond NPS. Monitor member effort scores, first-contact resolution, and emotional sentiment in digital feedback. If your service isn’t easy, human, and helpful, it’s hurting you.
3. Empower Staff to Personalize, Not Just Process
Teach front-line teams to notice the why behind the what. Give them leeway to follow up, offer insights, or make a member’s day. One warm text message can do more than 10 banner ads.
4. Build a Mystery Shopping Program for Digital
You’re probably mystery shopping your branches. Are you testing your mobile app, online loan app, or chatbot? If your experience frustrates a 32-year-old parent juggling a baby and a budget, they’ll bounce.
5. Make “Service Strategy” an Executive Agenda Item
If you only talk service when things go wrong, you’re reactive. Instead, bake it into monthly leadership discussions. Review experience wins and failures like you do loan growth or delinquency.
Your Members Aren’t Judging You in Isolation
They’re comparing your credit union to every other retail and digital experience in their lives. Starbucks. Spotify. Southwest. If your experience feels like 2008, you’re telling them their loyalty doesn’t matter.
You don’t need a massive overhaul—just a better lens. The most successful credit unions don’t wait for service breakdowns to fix service. They lead with it. They 10X it.
Because when you stop treating service like a department and start treating it like a strategy, everything else grows.
Jeff Rendel, CSP, is President of Rising Above Enterprises.
He works with credit unions across the country as a speaker, strategic advisor, and creator of the 10X CU System for growth, leadership, and service.
📞 (951) 310.7275 | 🌐 www.jeffrendel.com | ✉️ jeff@jeffrendel.com