If one changes jobs, then the salary account of the new establishment is opened in a different bank every time. So you end up visiting different banks to keep the accounts updated. It is better to have a passbook and to update that, so that you can keep track of all transactions, especially the random fines levied from time to time, GST, minimum balance fine, there is even a fine if your account is reduced from a 'lakhpati status' to a 'less than that status' without the client's sanction for either the promotion or the demotion. Very often the banks treat the clients like dirt, and make us feel that they are doing a big personal favor whenever they process any incoming, outgoing, or updating of our money.
The first and third Saturdays of the month are just 'bank' days. Overheard someone say that all Saturdays will be off days for banks soon, one of the conditions to be put forward during the strike next week. My suggestion is that let banks close on all Saturdays and Wednesdays, and have working hours on Sundays. I am sure that lots of people would support the decision. On working days, it is quite impossible to visit a bank, as all are working in their own offices etc., maybe business persons can do bank transactions at all times, but office workers cannot.
Most of the banks that I have visited have a very constricted entrance. It is almost as though we have to squeeze through. The Bank of India at many branches, has a very constricted entrance. The Central Bank at Fountain is the most beautiful and 'spacy' bank, if only the plastic flower pots would disappear. Citibank is unwelcoming and cold-shoulders all visitors. Clients are treated like low mortals by the high and mighty bankers here.
So often, banks decorate the premises during divali, and the decorations are left on till August, with a very friendly Santa claus poster declaring merry Christmas among the mini divali lanterns, all dusty and forlorn. But I suppose, the officers are too busy to remove the old decorations, as observed, the security guards are also involved in helping clients update passbooks in the vendor machines and generally guiding all and sundry, as to which transaction will be done where and by whom within the bank. One security guard made it his 'duty' to take the passbooks of every customer and put it into the passbook printer, even those who did not want him to do so. And then he was giving advice to each person, to put the extra cash in FD or mediclaim etc. So it seems that the security guard has an insider's information to the bank balance of each visitor.
The Bank of India is very tardy in resolving issues of customers. Very often I have been witness to someone flaring up and abusing the bank personnel loudly. Today, a senior citizen with her adult son lost their tempers because it was the umpteenth time that they had been asked to visit the branch and the needful had not been done, some transfer of the late husband of the party. It seems that the son had to accompany the mother each time and be absent from his job during those times, and yet the transfer was deferred on and on since 3 months. Listening to the expletives exploding from the young man, I could only side with him, as I have been in his shoes so often and not have had the guts to explode. Banks can frustrate us and make tempers flare so so easily and justifiably.
At the Axis bank branch that I visited, another customer was angry too and rightly so, it seems. Very often the bank will absolve itself of a particular unsolved problem, by pointing out that the person in charge is on leave, or that the KYC details have to be renewed, etc etc and all this is done in whispered tones, which is so so irritating too. Here the client had been promised that some foreign transfer of eight thousand dollars would be completed and even after paying rupees eight thousand for the service, the transfer was not done and the gentleman was very very angry, as it had prevented the admission etc etc of some institute abroad for his family member. The person was quizzed about 'who was the officer?' 'can you tell us the time and the number of the request.' It is always the same story, banks do not complete the request and then behave like quiz masters or question the client as though they are sleuths of some sort and we are at their mercy.
'Signatures are not matching',
'KYC has to be renewed',
'All signatories must be present and sign in front of us',
'Come back after a week, internet is not working',
'Who did you speak with on the phone? What is the name of the person and which department?'
'Come back after a month, the person in charge is on leave',
'The Aadhar card name and the pan card has discrepancies of the father's name etc',
'The printer is out of order',
'The ATM is out of order',
'The statement cannot be issued, you must visit the other branch'.
'Even if you do not use the card, the account will be deducted, or give an application to the section in charge.'
'You have been assigned a financial assistant automatically, the charges for that are deducted automatically.'
'Your account has been classified as dormant, you cannot do transactions unless it is activated, give an application.'
'You must not only put in money, you must withdraw too, or the account will become dormant'.
'The instructions for the deductions have come from the head office, we cannot do anything here.'
'A magnifying glass is available on request.' And this is pinned on a notice board that is eight feet high! Perhaps binoculars should be made available too.
All these petty excuses to avoid processing simple requests like updating a passbook or to withdraw a teeny tiny amount, makes us go 'out of order' too.
The first and third Saturdays of the month are just 'bank' days. Overheard someone say that all Saturdays will be off days for banks soon, one of the conditions to be put forward during the strike next week. My suggestion is that let banks close on all Saturdays and Wednesdays, and have working hours on Sundays. I am sure that lots of people would support the decision. On working days, it is quite impossible to visit a bank, as all are working in their own offices etc., maybe business persons can do bank transactions at all times, but office workers cannot.
Most of the banks that I have visited have a very constricted entrance. It is almost as though we have to squeeze through. The Bank of India at many branches, has a very constricted entrance. The Central Bank at Fountain is the most beautiful and 'spacy' bank, if only the plastic flower pots would disappear. Citibank is unwelcoming and cold-shoulders all visitors. Clients are treated like low mortals by the high and mighty bankers here.
So often, banks decorate the premises during divali, and the decorations are left on till August, with a very friendly Santa claus poster declaring merry Christmas among the mini divali lanterns, all dusty and forlorn. But I suppose, the officers are too busy to remove the old decorations, as observed, the security guards are also involved in helping clients update passbooks in the vendor machines and generally guiding all and sundry, as to which transaction will be done where and by whom within the bank. One security guard made it his 'duty' to take the passbooks of every customer and put it into the passbook printer, even those who did not want him to do so. And then he was giving advice to each person, to put the extra cash in FD or mediclaim etc. So it seems that the security guard has an insider's information to the bank balance of each visitor.
The Bank of India is very tardy in resolving issues of customers. Very often I have been witness to someone flaring up and abusing the bank personnel loudly. Today, a senior citizen with her adult son lost their tempers because it was the umpteenth time that they had been asked to visit the branch and the needful had not been done, some transfer of the late husband of the party. It seems that the son had to accompany the mother each time and be absent from his job during those times, and yet the transfer was deferred on and on since 3 months. Listening to the expletives exploding from the young man, I could only side with him, as I have been in his shoes so often and not have had the guts to explode. Banks can frustrate us and make tempers flare so so easily and justifiably.
At the Axis bank branch that I visited, another customer was angry too and rightly so, it seems. Very often the bank will absolve itself of a particular unsolved problem, by pointing out that the person in charge is on leave, or that the KYC details have to be renewed, etc etc and all this is done in whispered tones, which is so so irritating too. Here the client had been promised that some foreign transfer of eight thousand dollars would be completed and even after paying rupees eight thousand for the service, the transfer was not done and the gentleman was very very angry, as it had prevented the admission etc etc of some institute abroad for his family member. The person was quizzed about 'who was the officer?' 'can you tell us the time and the number of the request.' It is always the same story, banks do not complete the request and then behave like quiz masters or question the client as though they are sleuths of some sort and we are at their mercy.
'Signatures are not matching',
'KYC has to be renewed',
'All signatories must be present and sign in front of us',
'Come back after a week, internet is not working',
'Who did you speak with on the phone? What is the name of the person and which department?'
'Come back after a month, the person in charge is on leave',
'The Aadhar card name and the pan card has discrepancies of the father's name etc',
'The printer is out of order',
'The ATM is out of order',
'The statement cannot be issued, you must visit the other branch'.
'Even if you do not use the card, the account will be deducted, or give an application to the section in charge.'
'You have been assigned a financial assistant automatically, the charges for that are deducted automatically.'
'Your account has been classified as dormant, you cannot do transactions unless it is activated, give an application.'
'You must not only put in money, you must withdraw too, or the account will become dormant'.
'The instructions for the deductions have come from the head office, we cannot do anything here.'
'A magnifying glass is available on request.' And this is pinned on a notice board that is eight feet high! Perhaps binoculars should be made available too.
All these petty excuses to avoid processing simple requests like updating a passbook or to withdraw a teeny tiny amount, makes us go 'out of order' too.
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