MODEL POLICY ON CUSTOMER GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL
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State Bank of Indore's Model Policy on Customer Grievance Redressal is based on
the following principles:
i. All initiatives and strategies of the Bank will have customer as its prime
focus.
ii.Prompt and efficient customer service is essential for business growth.
iii.A suitable mechanism must exist for receiving and redressing customer
grievances. The details of grievance redressal mechanism are to be placed in the
public domain. All grievances must be dealt with promptly and courteously. Any
mistakes made by the Bank will be rectified immediately.
The above principles have been incorporated into the Bank's Policy on Grievance
Redressal.
I. Grievances relating to branch transactions:
In case of any difficulty in transactions, the customers may approach the
officer concerned or the Manager of the Division or the Branch Manager, who will
ensure that the customers' banking needs are attended to. However, if this does
not happen, customers may demand the complaint book, which will be available at
all branches, and lodge a written complaint. A copy of the 'complaint' shall be
handed over to the customer, duly acknowledged. The branch shall make efforts to
ensure that the redressal of the complaint takes place expeditiously and in any
case within a maximum period of three weeks. If for any reason the branch is
unable to redress the grievance within three weeks, the customer will be
informed of the reasons and the action taken for early redressal.
ii) In case of difficulty experienced at the branch, or unsatisfactory reply in
respect of complaint lodged with the Branch, the customer can approach the
Assistant General Manager/ Deputy General Manager of the Regional/ Zonal Office
under whose administrative control the Branch functions. The contact particulars
of the Regional/ Zonal Office may be obtained from the Branch or from the Help
line at the concerned Regional/ Zonal Office. The Help line number(s) will also
be made available on the Bank's website.
iii) The customer may also write to Regional/ Zonal Office under whose
jurisdiction the Branch functions. The addresses and contact details of the
Assistant General Manager/ Deputy General Manager of the Regional/ Zonal Office
are available at the branches. Customers may also obtain them by calling the
Help line.
II. Grievances relating to technology related transactions
i) Considering customers' expectations, lack of familiarity and the need for
broadening the customer base, Bank may consider introduction of exclusive
mechanism for redress of grievances arising from use of alternate channels.
Presently, an exclusive toll free Help line 1800-112-211 is available for A.T.M.
related matters. Customers may also contact the nearest card issuing branch or
e-mail contactcentre@sbi.co.in for redressal of their complaints. In case the
customer is not satisfied with the handling of his/her complaint, he/she may
contact the Deputy General Manager (ITS) at Head Office, at Indore. The contact
details/e-mail address will be made available on the Bank's web site at
www.indorebank.org.
ii) For assistance in Internet Banking transactions, the customer may contact
the same Help line as for ATM card transactions. He may also post his grievance
online on the Bank's Internet banking web site at www.onlinesbindore.com. The
system will generate a 'ticket number,' immediately on a grievance being posted
"on-line." The customer can track the 'status' of his grievance using the unique
identification number / ticket number.
III. Nodal Officer for handling customer grievances:
Our Bank has identified General Manager (Operations), at Head Office level as
the Nodal Officer, who will be responsible for the implementation of customer
service and complaint handling for the entire bank. The Chief Manager (GB) at
all Regional/ Zonal offices will handle complaints/grievances in respect of
branches under their administrative control.
IV. Acknowledgement of grievances and redressal:
i) The Regional office, Zonal Office or the Head Office; as the case may be,
will acknowledge the receipt of grievance(s) within five days of receipt and
initiate action towards resolution of the grievance(s) within a maximum period
of three weeks. The customer will be kept informed of the action taken, the
reasons for delay, if any, in redressal and the progress in redressal of
grievance(s).
ii) In case a customer is unhappy with the service or redressal provided by the
bank, he/she may also approach the Banking Ombudsman located at State Capitals
for redressal. The customer will be given the necessary guidance in this regard
by the branches and the Help line(s). The contact details of the Banking
Ombudsman of the respective region are on display at each branch.
V. Review Mechanism
1 Managing Director :
The redressal of customer grievances takes place mainly at three levels -
Branch, Regional/Zonal office and Head Office. A large number of grievances are
addressed by customers directly to the Managing Director. Where the issues
raised in the grievance is considered serious, the Managing Director shall call
for a report on the causes that led to the grievance, the redressal thereof and
further action taken. Such grievances will stand 'disposed off,' only on
specific approval from the Managing Director.
2 Bank's Board
An analysis of customer grievances received and review of grievance redressal
mechanism shall be placed before the Bank's Board of Directors every Quarter. A
similar review will be carried out at the Bank's four Zonal Offices, in respect
of grievances received from customers in their area of Operation.
3 Customer Service Committee of the Board
A Model Policy on Bank Deposits is in existence since 2004. The Customer Service
Committee of the Board shall also be responsible for examining loan policies and
service issues for individuals as borrowers. The Committee would also examine
any other issue having a bearing on the quality of customer service rendered.
This Committee would also review the functioning of the Standing Committee on
Customer Service.
4 Standing Committee on Customer Service
The Managing Director of our Bank will chair the Standing Committee on Customer
Service. Apart from two to three senior executives of the Bank, the committee
would also have two to three eminent 'non-executives' drawn from members of the
public as its members. The committee would have the following functions.
- Evaluate feedback on quality of customer service received from various
quarters. The committee would also review comments/feed-back on customer service
and implementation of commitments in the Code of Bank’s Commitments to Customers
received from BCSBI.
- The Committee would be responsible in ensuring that the bank follows all
regulatory instructions regarding customer service. Towards this, the committee
would obtain necessary feedback from Zonal/Regional Heads.
- The committee would also consider unresolved complaints/ grievances referred
to it by functional heads responsible for redressal and offer their advice.
- The committee would submit report on its performance to the Customer Service
Committee of the Board at quarterly intervals.
- The committee shall also deal with complaints related to non-com-pliance with
the Code of Bank's Commitment to Customers.
VI. Pre-empting occurrence of customer grievances
Customer grievances provide valuable feedback on the quality of service at
branches and whether the initiatives taken by Bank in technology and
re-engineering of business processes are having the desired impact on business
growth and improved customer satisfaction. Bank also understands the importance
of sensitizing staff to handling customer transactions / requests with courtesy,
empathy and promptness. Customer Relations Programmes; shall be organized at all
branches at least once every quarter where staff and customers meet and interact
freely on service related issues. While these shall be structured meets, the
customers will also be free to meet the Branch Manager/ other Officials at
Administrative Offices to discuss their grievances. Bank shall also conduct
training programmes regularly for staff on customer service and for minimizing
customer grievances. The Bank shall also conduct periodical customer
satisfaction surveys to understand customers' perceptions of our Bank's service
and to identify priority areas, which need improvement.