Bank Personnel’s Perception of Banking Services . . . . Pinar, Eser and Strasser 87 Marketing Management Journal, Spring 2010 INTRODUCTION In today’s dynamic marketplace, consumers have more choices and a wide variety of alternative banking services. A main challenge for banks is to understand how a customer decides which bank to choose when many of the banks offer similar products and services, such as free checking, phone access, and on- line and/or mobile banking. Stickler (2001) states that two things that can differentiate one bank from another and attract the customer: (1) customer service and (2) how the banks present and sell their products and services. Customers tend to go where they are made to feel welcome and offered the best quality service (Stickler 2001). However, if customers are not aware or informed of the products and services that a bank offers, they may not have any reasons to go to or stay with that bank. Therefore, banks must effectively communicate their products and services to their customers and target market. To this end, it is essential for banks to examine how their bank personnel perceive the services and activities that they offer to their customers. Schneider, Parkington and Buxton (1980) reported that bank employees’ perception of the organization they work for is closely related to the customers’ perception of the quality of service that the organization provides. A study by Yayla, Kaya and Erkmen (2005) showed that the ultimate success of any service quality program implemented by a bank can only be gauged by creation and retention of satisfied customers. They claim that the role of customer-contact personnel in the attainment of these goals is of paramount importance. Thus, they recommended that in delivering high quality services to the external publics (i.e., customers), banks should not ignore the specific needs of their internal publics (personnel), notably their customer-contact employees. These studies suggest that whether or not bank personnel perceive the services as being important for creating customer satisfaction will have a significant impact on the quality of services actually delivered and, in turn, impact actual customer satisfaction and banking performance. Therefore, the overall purpose of The Marketing Management Journal Volume 20, Issue 1, Pages 87-104 Copyright © 2010, The Marketing Management Association All rights of reproduction in any form reserved BANK PERSONNEL’S PERCEPTION OF BANKING SERVICES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR SERVICE QUALITY MUSA PINAR, Valparaiso University ZELIHA ESER, Baskent University SANDY STRASSER, Valparaiso University This exploratory study examines the perceptions of bank personnel regarding bank services offered to customers by the banks in Turkey. The specific objectives of the study are to examine the perceptions of the bank personnel regarding the importance of the bank services; to compare the personnel perceptions of bank services by selective demographic profiles; and to discuss the implications of the results for service quality. The study found significant perceived differences of bank services by personnel position, gender, and age, but not education level. These differences, or “gaps”, if not taken care of, could have adverse impact on bank service quality and in turn, on bank performance. The study presents a framework showing the potential impact of bank personnel characteristics on bank service quality. This framework and the results of the study could help managers to improve the quality of banking services offered to customers.