In terms of accolades for performance, Rocket Mortgage has emerged as the Meryl Streep of mortgage lenders. The retail mortgage lender earned the top spot for client satisfaction by JD Power – its 21st accolade from the consumer intelligence firm and the ninth time it’s topped the venerable list.

The JD Power Mortgage Servicer Satisfaction Study surveyed customers to gauge satisfaction levels for more than 30 of the nation’s largest servicers. Rocket topped the list with a score of 686 on a 1,000-point scale, followed by Guild Mortgage (668) and Chase (665).

Mortgage Professional America reached out to LaQuanda Sain (pictured), executive vice president of servicing at Rocket Mortgage, to learn what goes into reaching the top echelon of satisfaction among lenders. Sain leads the company’s mortgage servicing business with a team located in Detroit and Phoenix. The company has some 2.5 million servicing clients, according to corporate literature.

“It’s really important that all our team members are trained and passionate about our clients,” Sain told MPA during a telephone interview. “So, while I do have a dedicated team – actually three different teams dedicated to speaking with clients in various communication methods – the whole team is focused on client satisfaction. That’s what makes us different. We all have one mission, and our mission is to be the most compassionate, hands-on servicer that we can possibly be in making sure we support our clients in whatever they need us to support them in.”

Technology plays a central role

The use of technology looms large in the customer satisfaction alchemy: “Technology plays a huge role in everything we do at Rocket Mortgage,” Sain said. “We let technology do what computers do best, and we let our team members do what they do best. When you think of technology, it can do automated things. Humans bring that empathetic view of what is happening.”

Sain has a track record in the realm of customer service, having joined Rocket in 2013 as an investor reporting analyst with 11 years of industry experience. During her tenure at Rocket Mortgage, the company earned the top customer service ranking from JD Power for eight consecutive years from 2014-21. According to her corporate bio, she earned bachelor’s degrees from Davenport University and Wayne State University and a master of business degree from the latter.

Rising consumer anxiety puts customer satisfaction in greater focus

The issue of customer satisfaction has come into greater focus given rising anxiety levels among consumers in an era of volatile business rates. The proportion of mortgage servicing customers identifying themselves as financially unhealthy was 54% in the JD Power survey -- not- indicative of an ability to pay bills, but a sense of being financially strained against a backdrop of inflation, the survey found.

“It’s at times like this, when market conditions and personal financial health are strained, that great customer experiences can have the biggest influence on loyalty and advocacy,” Bruce Gehrke, senior director of lending intelligence at JD Power, said in a prepared statement. “Servicers that recognize proactive customer outreach and effective problem resolution as opportunities to build stronger client relationships - rather than obstacles to overcome - are in a great position to differentiate themselves and set a new standard for the industry to follow.”

According to the survey, overall satisfaction among financially unhealthy customers is 107 points lower than among customers in the financially healthy category. Additionally, the survey found default risk was up by 4% this year among mortgage customers.

“When you think about a mortgage, we’re helping our clients with one of the largest financial transactions they’ll ever make,” Sain said. “We take that responsibility very seriously. We know and we understand how important a home is and we want to help homeowners be able to enjoy their space, create memories, create generational wealth and live their dreams. We can only do that by ensuring we unlock that customer satisfaction and provide the world-class experience they deserve.”

Despite the accolades, Sain said Rocket is continually improving its customer service efforts to best meet clients’ needs. “We always want to be the best,” she said. “That is a mission for us. We want to have the best processes, we want to have the happiest team members, we want to have the happiest clients, the best client experience. That’s something we hold near and dear.”

To continue on that path requires constant tweaking, she suggested: “We are constantly improving; it never stops. We’re proud of the things we do, and we know in order to do that we need to continue to evolve.”

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