SAN FRANCISCO—Expanding on its commitment to communicate with investors in an open and transparent manner, Charles Schwab today announced a new program launching this summer called Clients Speak, which will feature online ratings and reviews by its clients. Schwab is the first major U.S. brokerage firm to enable clients to give feedback that can be publicly viewed, accessible to anyone seeking a third party perspective about the experience of being a Schwab client.
“At Schwab, we strive to earn the trust and loyalty of our clients by listening and responding to their needs, in every interaction. Now we are creating a new level of transparency in the way we work with our clients by giving them an additional channel to provide feedback and making it publicly available for everyone to see,” said Jonathan Craig, senior vice president of Schwab Investor Services. “We believe this kind of transparency is especially important in our industry, not only for our clients but also for non clients who are evaluating brokerage firms. Consumers tell us they want to hear from others like them so they can make more informed decisions when choosing a brokerage firm.”
As part of Schwab’s monthly client satisfaction surveys, the firm invites clients to submit reviews of the Schwab One® Brokerage account and the Schwab IRA account. Clients can rate the accounts on a five-point scale and in multiple areas including customer service, investment help and guidance, web site features, and fees and commissions. Clients can also indicate whether they would recommend the account to others and add comments to share with others.
Schwab Bank clients who have a Schwab Bank High Yield Investor Checking® account are also surveyed and invited to rate their checking account and provide feedback on the Clients Speak Website.
Schwab worked with Bazaarvoice, an unaffiliated company that has created similar programs for world-class brands around the globe, to implement their Ratings & Reviews solution.
“Six years ago, Bazaarvoice was founded with the vision of bringing the voice of the customer into the center of the brand experience,” said Greg Brown, Vice President of Financial Services at Bazaarvoice. “Schwab’s launch of Clients Speak marks an important first for the brokerage industry and another key milestone for our company. We are very proud to work alongside Schwab as they set a new standard of transparency by encouraging open sharing to help consumers confidently choose a brokerage firm.”
A preview of Clients Speak is available at reviews.schwab.com. Adding the ability to rate and review the Schwab experience from Schwab.com pages is just one of several enhancements to Schwab.com that are underway and scheduled to be completed in the coming months.
About Charles Schwab
The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE:SCHW) is a leading provider of financial services, with more than 300 offices and 8.1 million client brokerage accounts, 1.4 million corporate retirement plan participants, 736,000 banking accounts, and $1.7 trillion in client assets. Through its operating subsidiaries, the company provides a full range of securities brokerage, banking, money management and financial advisory services to individual investors and independent investment advisors. Its broker-dealer subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (member SIPC, www.sipc.org), and affiliates offer a complete range of investment services and products including an extensive selection of mutual funds; financial planning and investment advice; retirement plan and equity compensation plan services; referrals to independent fee-based investment advisors; and custodial, operational and trading support for independent, fee-based investment advisors through Schwab Advisor Services. Its banking subsidiary, Charles Schwab Bank (member FDIC and an Equal Housing Lender), provides banking and mortgage services and products. More information is available at www.schwab.com and www.aboutschwab.com. (0611-3889)
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About Bazaarvoice
Bazaarvoice’s Software as a Service (SaaS) social commerce solutions have powered more than 200 billion customer conversations on more than 1200 brand web sites like Best Buy, Blue Shield of California, Costco, Dell, Macy’s, P&G, Panasonic, QVC, and USAA in 68 countries. The company connects organizations to their influencers through a unique network that reaches hundreds of millions of consumers around the globe, enabling authentic customer-powered marketing. Through syndication, analytics, partnerships, and consulting, Bazaarvoice brings the voice of the customer to the center of their clients’ business strategy, proving “social” can drive measured revenue growth and cost savings for manufacturing, retail, travel, and financial services companies. Headquartered in Austin, the company has offices in Amsterdam, London, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, and Sydney. For more information and access to client success stories, visit www.bazaarvoice.com, read the blog at www.bazaarvoice.com/blog, and follow on Twitter at twitter.com/bazaarvoice.