Dependability and Consumer Pleasure in Retail Banking

In the modern customer centric competitive arena, satisfaction, quality and reliability prove to be key factors reciprocally interrelated in a causal, cyclical relationship. The higher the (perceived) service quality, the more satisfied and reliable are the customers. In particular, financial institutions (i.e. banks) realized the strategic importance of customer value and seem to be continuously seeking innovative ways to enhance customer relationships. In fact, as the offers of many financial services are very similar and slightly differentiable, reliable customers have a huge value,since they are likely to spend and buy more, spread positive wordof mouth, resist competitors’ offers, wait for a product to become available and recommend the service provider to other potential customers. This paper focuses on the dimensions that were reported in the marketing literature. Firstly, the paper will try to investigate which dimensions are important in customer relationship with the banks. Then, the paper tries to study the effect of social network in establishing long lasting relationships that will minimize the customers’ switching costs, according to the perceptions of both relationship bankers and their clients.