Over the last few years services at the banks have been in total disarray. It was only those business tycoons who emptied the banks and fled the country that were well served.
For years the service at the Syndicate Bank in Ribandar has been extremely pathetic. Due to lack of staff and poor internet connectivity, people having to wait at times for hours was the norm. After the merger, the bank has been now re-christened as Canara Bank but that poor unacceptable service has just gone from bad to worse. The ordeal customers have to face is unacceptable particularly the hardship endured by the Senior Citizens.
This may be the plight of customers in other banks too which the authorities cannot remain silent spectators as every bank customer is entitled to proper and prompt customer service. Banks exist to serve the financial needs of the people, the very people that they depend on for their existence.
It is imperative that the Reserve Bank officials pay surprise visits to banks across Goa and see for themselves the agony customers have to suffer. They could start their crackdown at the now Canara Bank in Ribandar. Corrective measures must be taken to ensure that all banks function the way they should. Banks that do not fall in line must be penalized and blacklisted for very poor service and failing to meet customer needs.
Every bank is required to run professionally with optimum customer service as their goal and mission. Banking is not just a business or a system vital to the economy of the country but it is a personal service that must work hand in hand with its clients efficiently and smoothly to satisfy their needs. In this technological and an expanding skilled employment market, there is no excuse for such poor deplorable service.
If Banks don’t urgently change their uncaring and stone age mode of operation, by putting the customers needs first, then the words of Bill Gates will certainly come to pass “Banking is necessary, Banks are not’’
