Customer Service
Tammy Greene Hittler
Assistant Director of Compliance, St. Louis, Mo.
Tammy Greene, Assistant Director in Scottrade's Compliance Department, remembers finding a customer letter addressed to Rodger O. Riney, the Founder and CEO, on her desk. Rodger had attached a yellow post-it note to it saying, "Tammy, please look into this and let's discuss."
"My first reaction was 'uh oh, what did I do?’" Tammy said. "After all, how often is it that the president asks to discuss something with you directly? With my heart pounding, I went to his office and immediately was greeted with a smile, and we discussed the complaint along with the response we would send to the customer.
"I remember thinking, 'Wow, this man really cares about his customers!' Much to my surprise, I started seeing this happen so often that I soon realized that Rodger wanted to see every letter that came in addressed to him no matter where it had originated within the firm; he wanted to participate in the response. Most importantly, he wanted his customers to know that he cared about their concerns."
And so began the system of "Rodger's pal," Tammy said. Each month, a member of the Compliance staff meets with Rodger, and they address all complaints that are addressed to him. He participates in what he wants said in these letters, and if it is a problem on our end, he will do what is right for the customer. In some cases, he will contact the department or branch associated with the issue.
"Probably the most amazing meeting I had was when a woman had written a letter expressing her dissatisfaction with a check that had been delayed posting to her account. Although it was resolved by the time we received the letter, the president called this customer personally and apologized.
"I often ask myself, how many companies have presidents that actually read customer letters and participate in the responses?" Tammy said. "I bet not many."
