Sri Lanka It's Happening

November 21, 2007

People's bank is one of the most inefficient banks in Sri Lanka. It's state owned so what can you expect? You can certainly expect better service than what you get at NDB Bank. At least that's what an employee at the NDB Wattala Branch said to me.

Around two years ago, I opened an foreign currency account at NDB. At the time they were offering a Visa Electron (debit card) and were just one of two banks to offer this service. When I inquired I was told that the card can be used for online transactions as well. This was a crucial factor in my decision to open an account with them.

After funds were transferred into this account I found to my dismay that the card cannot be used for online transactions. The Electron card doesn't have a CVV2. The moron at the call center suggested that I used the PIN number! The pin is four digits. That's the kind of staff that they employ. But I haven't seen the worst yet.

I called up the Wattala Branch manager to complain. He promptly apologised and after I accepted his apology but rarely operated the account. But today I walked into the Wattala Branch to get a Bank Draft. They took over twenty five minutes to issue it (something which most other banks do in less than five). Other banks ask for your National ID. NDB didn't.

So before leaving I made it a point to tell the moron at the counter that better service can be obtained at People's Bank. The idiot had the audacity to reply "So why don't you try there?". Obviously at NDB Bank the customer is not always right. This kind of service is probably just deserts for people who continue to maintain accounts there.

I called up the bank's main office to complain about the moron. There is a person dedicated to handling such complaints (which obviously means they get a lot of complaints). But the coward wouldn't come to the phone. His secretary said he isn't to be disturbed. So I called up the HRM and complained about both and told her not to hire idiots in the future.

Dialog Telekom has developed close ties with NDB Bank in recent times. Perhaps that's the reason Dialog's service is going down hill. Fast.

Posted by raditha at November 21, 2007 3:09 PM