Credit unions really may stand to benefit from Bank Transfer Dayand consumer dissatisfaction with big banks, a new Harris Pollshows.

The poll results, released Thursday, show that customersatisfaction and retention rates far exceed those of big banks, andthat “big banks could learn from credit unions on delivering anexceptional customer experience,” the national polling companysaid.

The New York-based Harris Poll based its observations on theresults of polling 2,463 adults online by Harris Interactivebetween Oct. 10 and 17. Bank Transfer Day is Saturday.

The poll found that 87% of credit union members said they wereextremely or very likely to continue their business with theircredit union, while 40% said the same for Bank of America, 46% forJP Morgan Chase and 54% for Wells Fargo/Wachovia.

“Customers express their loyalty through their actions, but theunderlying motivation for these actions is rooted in the degree towhich the bank connects with its customers on both a rational andemotional level; which in turn impacts their future intentions ofcontinuing to use and recommend their bank to others,” said CarolGstalder, executive vice president of Market and Customer Insightsat Harris Interactive.

The poll found credit union members are three times as likely ascustomers of Bank of America to experience a trustworthyrelationship (74% vs. 25%) and feel valued as a customer (72% vs.24%), primary drivers of a strong emotional commitment to a relationship, the polling company said.

Similar results were found on social networks, said The HarrisPoll, which observed 50,411 people who agreed to allow the companyto listen in on private conversations through those channels.Harris calls them Lifestreamers.

The company found that while the numbers clicking “like” werenot high in comparison with other pages with similar causes, the“chat percentage” – forwarding, discussing and chatting on Facebookabout Bank Transfer Day – was nearly 50%, exceeding a “chatpercentage” of 32% for the Occupy Wall Street movement.

“Perhaps some banks are beginning to listen to customerdissatisfaction given this week's retreat of monthly debit card fees,” the pollingcompany said. “This level of consumer engagement and resultingaction may indicate a groundswell of support for customers to stopbeing so historically passive when it comes to switching theirprimary bank.”

The effect may become even more pronounced as credit unions,regional and smaller banks streamline methods of switching accountsinto their institutions, Harris said.