Dealing with call centres..
As I know quite a few people in the BFSI space I try to solve problems at levels higher than the call center. However I have a Icici bank credit card. As long as there is no manual interference things go on fine. However this time I missed my credit card payment because their site would not open (the page that allows you to make payments from other banks)..so I called the call center:
Girl at cc: Sir may I have your name..?
Girl at cc: May I have your card start date…?
I: it is Sep 05
Girl: May I have the end date?
I:…grrr…
Girl: May I have your official address?
I: You do not even have it.
Girl: May I have your billing address:
I:…….blah..
Girl: May I have your mother’s maiden name:
I: You do not have it.
Girl: May I know what is the problem?
I: I am not able to make a payment.
Girl: Sir which bank?
I: Hdfc bank
Girl: Sir it must be a problem at Hdfc bank.
I: I am not able to open the page which takes me to Hdfc bank
Girl: If it is a problem at our bank it will show on my screen. So it must be a problem with Hdfc bank.
I: I am unable to open this page for the past 3 days..so I am late in making the payment
Girl: If there is no problem at Hdfc bank, Sir, you can make the payment from Hdfc bank site.
I: I am not registered @ Hdfc bank for 3rd party or utility payments.
Girl: Sir you can pay cash.
I: Thank God….my conversation is over.
Thank God the only thing I have is an Icici bank credit card.And I am paying Rs. 400 + service tax BECAUSE THEIR SITE DOES NOT OPEN…mera bharat mahan.
My wife has a SB a/c….hope to reduce the balance soon.
Sam
ICICI can make grown men cry! I have yet to come across a person who has something nice to say about ICICI bank, numerous customer service awards not withstanding!
Nakul Bajaj
I am quite happy with ICICI and the service
The best online trading, a very good and honest relationship manager. And yes it takes me 2 minutes to give the details of my CC and i always end up getting a solution.
HDFC is also good, but do think ICICI is better.
Subra, You wont get a higher rate of interest in any other bank.
And yes. HDFC bank online service is giving a problem. Why get angry at ICICI. They did not create tha inconvinience. U might like to use the ICICI online service. Its quite good as well and your money gets credited quicker from ICICI bank to ICICI CC
Cheers
Nakul Bajaj
Sam,
You have one person who does have something good to say
Karan Khaitan
Hi Subra Uncle….
Her questions were funny…:p:))
I somehow dont like banks like HDFC and ICICI.
The employees at Bank of Baroda are so much better…Once I had to get a DD made for admission fees. And I reached at 3:10pm and bank closes at 3. Still they got it done for me…
NPR
If you stick to online services only, ICICI Bank is best. If you have a personal rapport with THAT concerned branch, Sarkari banks are better. PSU Banks’ online & technology services are getting better too. Has anybody recently used SBI Online Banking ? You will be surprised! However, for Sarkari Banks – service quality varies according to Bank, THAT branch and THAT officer / employee. So, rapport helps. And because of this & importantly so, individual experiences vary.
Some of the selected sarkari Banks are the best, infact. For example, Corporation Bank or SBofTravancore or SBofMysore are distinctly better generally over other options.
subra
agree with most of the posts…need contacts, as long as there is no human intervention the system is fine. The minute there is human intervention..OMG there is trouble…
chirag
Hi Subra
I have had many similar experiences. Especially with citi bank and they say it is their “policy”.
Ajay
Just now got off the phone with the ICICI call center… I managed to go through their IVR maze just to be told at the end that all agents were busy and I need to try again in sometime 🙁
Diwakar
The service quality and the customer interaction carried out through branch personnel is slowly giving way to ‘systems’. Not sure whether all the functions can be addressed through these call centres which have one of the highest attrition rates. There have been times when I have spent a good amount of time explaining and making the employee understand what the issue is, as she was new. Call centres pertaining to the telecom industry are worse. The insurance sector is also going the banks’ way with most functions being outsourced to call centres.
subra
I can imagine the anger of a customer in Canada, US or UK – imagine if we cannot stand a call center here…they call..and find somebody who cannot even pronounce their name..yuck! Long live Obama
subra
i am still trying to pay..and it says..”sorry for the inconvenience…this page cannot be opened..”
i am really sorry for the icicidirect customers..Good old telephone broking with my broker is far, far superior..
Ashal Jauhari
Dear Friends, My 2 Cents in this discussion.
I have relationship with both – the No. 1 Bank in India – SBI & No. 2 ICICI. Till date My experience with both of them is nice. Interestingly in case of ICICI, some times even the executive were unknown to the own policies & practices & I had to discussed at lengths to get things done.
But In all, My relationship with ICICI is still going on.
Regarding SBI, OMG, it’s a all new bank. My prev. experience with SBI in 206-2007 was very poor but Mr. O. P. Bhatt has done a real fantastic job. Interestingly within SBI, I used some loopholes to earn some extra bucks thru their loyalty prog. for online banking & within 2-3 days the same loop holes were plugged permanently by SBI.
So I’m happy with both of these banks.
Thanks
Ashal
Deepak Shenoy
It might be an HDFC bank problem. I had hajaar trouble recently – I have an HDFC bank card and an HDFC account. If my hdfc netbanking fails, I’m screwed – and that’s what happened for nearly a week. On one lucky night at 12:30 am, the netbanking site opened, and I could pay my cc bill.
One way to pay is using Visa Money transfer – HDFC charges some Rs. 25 for that, but then you need to be registered with Third Party transfer for it.
You should demand your money back from ICICI; and it’s not just the late payment fees, I think you’ll be charged INTEREST for whatever’s on your card, from the purchase date to date of payment. Pls to check.
subra
No Deepak it was an icici problem – it was not even going to Hdfc. Also had a problem at the Hdfc site – when i made the payment (at 4am today) it did not show any signs of the transactions completing – so did it again..Alas! double payment ho gaya :).
If i have to call a call center and ask them to reverse Rs. 500, I would rather give up a trip to Barista :).
At the call center level even the thought of talking to them and explaining is quite draining..why waste a day ..? rather go out and make some money. Easier to earn 500 rather than trying to recover from icici bank.
PS: why do I keep saying banking is the most profitable business? Inertia!
Jagbir
well, Why not use AutoDebit facility for credit card payments? You can enable/disable it by a single click. I’m having credit card from both ICICI and HDFC since 2006 and never had any payment issues. All you need to do is to maintain enough balance in your saving bank a/c. Even in case where my saving a/c doesn’t have enough balance for full payment of credit card dues, HDFC AutoDebit fetched minimum required amount without any hassle. I am satisfied with both banks but give higher marks to HDFC. ICICI customer care is pathetic.
Jagbir
just to add in my earlier comment, AutoDebit never happened before DUE date of payment. It usually trigger one day after Due date. In case of any dispute or you figure out wrong charges in your credit card bill, you can simply turn it off and pay the bill manually/netbanking for that month.
subra
actually call center management is all about the sequencing of the questions and for doing what how much of security walls do you need. Take a simple case a friend wanted to tele check-in. He was flying Indian Airlines. They asked him all the questions, took the details and then asked for his frequent flying number. He was not a FF in IA..they said..”Oh you cannot tele check in”.
It would have been much better if the had started with “what is your ff number…?’This is a technology issue, not the kids fault…:)
ICICI Bank Care
Dear Sam,
We are from the customer service team of ICICI Bank. We are concerned about what led you to form such an opinion about us. We would like to assure you that maintaining good customer relationships and providing the best service possible is important to us. This is the reason why we have been awarded for our sincerity and concern. We would like to know if there is any problem that you have faced and would like to assist you in solving it. Please write to us at care@icicibank.com with your complaint and contact details and we will do our best to resolve it.
Regards,
ICICI Bank Customer Service Team.
ICICI Bank Care
Hi Jagbir,
We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. Please write back to us with your specific issue and contact details at care@icicibank.com. We will contact you soon to address your concern. Kindly refer “747240” in the subject line.
Regards,
ICICI Bank Customer Service Team.