I’ve been a customer for nearly 20 years and since the bank has moved to the other side of the Kemps Crnr bridge with a new team, its become the worst nightmare of a bank!
If there were’zero’ stars, I would have given that rating.
There is so much wrong with it, that a blind man would see it the moment one enters the bank, and yet, the Bank Managers - from top to bottom - including the general manager of the branch, are completely oblivious!
So here’s a list if BoI Head Office is genuinely cared about giving better customer service or saving its reputation: ARE YOU LISTENING, BOI?
There’s a single guy called "The Officer" who is the only guy through whom EVERY process moves. Updating yr KYC, getting a form, withdrawing some trivial amount in cash, each & every thing! There’s no one else who seems to know a single process in its entirety, or even knows some process! In fact, I sometimes feel the cleaning lady’Tara’ knows more about customer requirements than some of the bank managers here!
NO CONCEPT OF CUSTOMER SERVICE:
2.a. ALL employees seem constantly busy but there’s never anyone to cater to the customer! There will be 6-7 people waiting to withdraw cash, but only 1 teller. And in spite of the clients’ impatience, the cash officer sits in the background near the window safeguarding his age old’galla’ - literally an iron’peti’ which he locks and unlocks multiple times every few mins! But he won’t come forward and help customers.
b. Guy named ALI does NOTHING all day; except speak in a loud voice joking & yelling at people across the floor, simultaneously a perpetual frown of stress and anger on his face!
c. The Bank Manager(Sardarji fellow who sits in large cabin, no offence meant to Sardarjees) was busy getting flower garlands hung from peon before Ganpati festival, oblivious to multiple clients(including senior citizens) complaining about having waited more than half hour to withdraw cash.
2.d. KYC mobile no change given 7 days back still not updated!
The management of bank branch has absolutely NO CONCEPT OF PRIVACY:
a. The ATM and NEFT machines are placed in a way such that ALL the work you do on the m/c - including your password, your a/c no, your amount withdrawn - can be seen by anyone standing around, behind yr shoulder.
3.b. "The Officer" multitasks work for 3-4 people simultaneously, so every person who walks in thinks it is their prerogative to shove their passbook/ checkbook/ letter/ cell phone with boss on line, into his face. even if another client is talking to the officer.
3.c. Few years ago, spoke to 2 managers, including Sardarji GM, about putting a sign "Please wait here in Q’ at the cash counter. they said, "That is only for international banks. hamara idhar process nahi hai"! So, as you may be picking Rs. 50, 000 or Rs 2 lakhs, someone is there standing right behind your shoulder counting your money with you!
- DON’T WORRY ABOUT MODERNIZATION!
4.a. The Star Token claims to have "Military Grade Security". Of course it would be! You cant do a single freaking transaction once you are abroad! Tried a simple cash transfer to a different bank 6-8 times once 2 years ago. not one transfer went through and their CSRs had nothing registered as’fails’. go figure.
4.b. Installed update of new Star Token through Retail banking link. Well, seems they will send new password to Cell Phone only! I travel abroad quite often, so my cell phone changes each time I am back in India. but hey, they won’t send the password to an email address which people usually use for a decade! Why? Blame the terrorists, they’ll say! Why can’t BoI give the option of sending validation OTP passwords to an email address instead of the cell phone?
4.c. Still not sure if Star Token Internet banking will associate all my a/cs with a single userID! No one can seem to confirm!
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Seriously, if it were my business, spending a day here would have made me FIRE EACH AND EVERY EMPLOYEE, STARTING WITH THE GM.
- The WORST thing. people are generally disrespectful through their absolute indifference to customers; sometimes even speaking to them in disrespectful tone and language! Unacceptable.
There’s much else I could write that would make jaws drop, but don’t want to have myself identified - implicitly or explicitly - since I’m genuinely concerned of reprisals. In a bank where there are so many errors to begin with, how much does it take to move something here to there and claim "we don’t know how it happened’?
If I were a journalist, I’d be writing a blog on experiences with BoI
If you are a new bank customer. PLEASE SAVE YORUSELF THE TROUBLE. Go to an HDFC or Baroda or ICICI or anything. even Bank of Maharashtra works better . and seek peace in yr life!
Hari OM!