I respect LIC as a company. It’s great, has a great customer base and is possibly the only option for most in our country of 1.3 billion people.
LIC is live proof of a great concept, but poor execution and worse staff. I visited an LIC office (residency Road Blr) to pay the premium for a policy and the experience was worse than that of a government office. I would submit that the policy was probably one of the worst mistakes of my life. Not because its a bad product, but because LIC has no clue how to address its customers.
The officers attitude are that they are doing us a favor just by talking to us. The branch manager was a nice guy but absolutely no help whatsoever.
I wonder why there is always a huge rush of people in the office. I noticed that many of them are just sitting around (possibly resting a while before they continue their journey).
Nobody seems to care that the office is a mess. Computers are kept on tables meant for writing, and then there are writing pads for the officers. Wonder where the poor customer can write something on. Talking of which, writing a whole lot of stuff is an integral part of the experience with LIC. If you cant write, you can take someone along who can do it for you and then they make you sign an affidavit that its been written on behalf and its all correct. What a joke.
I am still asking myself which is cleaner, the office or the pavement outside it. The worst part is that the phone numbers provided on their website dont work. The only option left is to go visit the dump.
Obviously the citizens of this country are used to LIC and havent seen anything better. Its clearly not for the literrate or even moderatly civilized people of this country. Its ironic, but LIC is insuring people in this office; I am sure that one can contract a whole lot of dangerous diseases if you spend some time in there.
And what about them agents.I talked to a guy who was stinking away to high heavens. And more over he was trying to advice me on what I should do for getting my problem sorted out. To me they looked like they were a bunch of lazy bums sitting and wishing away their time, while LIC paid them money and gave them a place to sit (the agents corner).
Now I do not blame the poor staff for the state of affairs. Its obviously a culture which has been allowed to set in. LIC should be a management case study to be taught in premier business schools across the nation. It would be a lesson on what to avoid like the plague.
If others like SBI and even the railways can do it, LIC is just being outright lazy. Its a shame that a company with such a huge customer base cannot command respect from citizens.
LIC is a concept which is mostly dead in the water. The informed common man of our couuntry shy away from them. And for good reason.
References: https://scribd.com/doc/29277240/REPORT-ON-LIC-OF-INDIAPage 31