GHS MORTGAGE

Don’t get Bill Berkelbach wrong—a 95.3% customer satisfaction rating is terrific. It’s just that, with help from Premier Service, the president of GHS Mortgage suspects his business unit can do even better. That’s why he has set a goal of 97% customer satisfaction for 2005.

GHS Mortgage provides GMAC’s real estate franchisees and company- owned offices with the opportunity to extend their services—and in turn, increase revenues—by offering home buyers a wide variety of mortgage products. In 2004, GHS Mortgage originated more than $3 billion in home loans.

GHS Mortgage incorporated Premier Service into its operations in 2003, and Berkelbach says it’s made a huge impact on both customer satisfaction and the feeling among his staff that they truly are making a difference. “It’s extremely gratifying to be part of a company and a corporate culture that appreciates the value of differentiation,” he says. “The powerful simplicity of Premier Service—listen, commit, perform, measure and evaluate— permeates everything we do.”

Indeed, GHS Mortgage sends a mortgage survey to every borrower, asking for their feedback on loan program options, the approval process, timeliness of closing, accuracy of figures, responsiveness and a host of other issues pertaining to the process.

“It all relates to our company’s core purpose statement: We are redefining the way people buy and sell real estate by creating seamless, one-stop, Premier Service experiences,” Berkelbach says.

Carl Edwards, national vice president for GHS Mortgage’s company-owned mortgage operations, says the company “lives at the intersection of the customer and the agent. That is, we need to meet both of their needs simultaneously. Premier Service allows us to create a discernible and different experience during the first 30 seconds of a customer’s interaction with our company, and we carry those standards through to closing. Premier Service gives sales associates a higher level of confidence regarding how their referral will be handled.”

Bob Sparrow, GHS Mortgage’s national vice president for franchised offices, concurs. “GMAC Real Estate sales associates who have implemented Premier Service in their businesses want to know that their customers are receiving the same level of service in their mortgage experience. The power of creating that predictability is huge—transactions close on time with the least stress. Additionally, our goal is to help ensure that the GMAC brand-building benefit derived from the best-in-class GMAC Mortgage monthly statement drives referrals back to our GMAC Real Estate sales partners.”