Session I

Mr. Bejon Misra (CEO, VOICE)
Prof. Sri Ram Khanna (Dept. of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics)

Sh. Bejon Misra's (CEO, VOICE) highlighted the role of Voice by explaining about the various activities like Consumer advocacy, Research & Development , Comparative Testing & Consumer Education. In his presentation he spoke about the major Challenges like benchmarking Quality of service, measuring quality commissioning third party audit , modernising the services, how to make services accountable etc. important recommendations made by him were more competition required for rural India, banks to become more consumer friendly, immediate de-licensing of business on violation of code of conduct. 

Professor Sri Ram Khanna's (Dept. of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics) presentation concentrated on “Assessment of Quality of Indian Banking Services in India”. The study was based on a sample of 3100 customers in 8 Indian cities. It was based on the methodology of “Test Achats' Belgium which had been adapted to Indian conditions. It outlined the objectives of the study, the methodology, the targeted consumers and banks and the banking problems they faced. The results of this extensive study were shared with the delegates and Bank representatives. Comparison of satisfaction parameters between banks were also highlighted in the presentation.

Session 2

Mr. K.S.Bajwa (GM, PNB)
Ms. Soundara Kumar (GM, Personal Banking, SBI)
Ms. Sujatha Parthasarathi (Head Service Quality, Standard Chartered Bank)
MS. Rajani Ramakrishnan (HSBC)
Mr. Alexis P. Goncalves (Director of Quality Intelligence (Consumer Bank) Citigroup)

Sh. K.S. Bajwa (GM, PNB) spoke on the difficulties faced by Punjab National Bank, the second largest public sector bank with a large customers base in resolving complaints. Since recruitments in the bank were frozen for a considerably long period of time, the bank was evolving to methods and systems which would not only preserve the bank's image but enhance it. The Chief Host programmes of PNB was touched upon and the strength of the bank's internal redressal mechanism was elaborated.

Ms. Soundara Kumar (GM, Personal Banking, SBI) about the challenges before SBI in Customer Grievance Redressal namely Sheer size and diversity of its operations, Network of over 9000 branches spread across the length and breadth of the country, Retail account base numbering over 40 crores, Number of transactions done over 8 mn, Network of more than 5600 ATMs - nearly 400 lakh transactions every month, Comprehensive Business Process transformations underway – transition and teething problems , Even if one transaction per lakh results in a customer grievance the Bank should receive over 25000 customer grievances every year. In order to combat these difficulties SBI had an internal three tier redressal system, a tracking system of complaints, programs for customers and various initiatives for improvement in customer service of the largest base of customers in the country.

Ms. Sujatha Parthasarathi (Head Service Quality, SCB) spoke on Climbing the Service Curve – “ Outserve”, Complaint Management - A key focus area , Treating Customers Fairly , VOICE Survey results . The methods used by the bank to c apture complaints , Resolve complaints for customer , eliminate root causes were detailed and the steps in complaint management outlined. The three-pronged commitment of the bank to customers were fairness , accountability and transparency.

Ms. Rajani Ramakrishnan (HSBC) touched upon the following issues: Customer Driven Quality Cycle , Setting Service Standards , Difficulties with Service Quality Measurement , Gauging Customer Experience , Monitoring Service Performance , Sharing Best practices , Recognizing Service Excellence. She elaborated on all these themes and HSBC's allegiance to customer care and comfort. She ended with a quotation from Aristotle “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then is not an act, but a habit.”

Mr. Alexis P. Goncalves (Director of Quality Intelligence (Consumer Bank), Citigroup) began his presentation by delineating customer demands which are evolving as a result of demographic changes, past equity market losses, and growing comfort with technology. The customers now demand high touch and alignment along with ability to access product and pricing information and ability to conveniently conduct transactions anytime through multiple channels using different devices. The three themes which he picked up and elaborated upon were Trends in measuring the quality of the service encounter , trends in root-cause analysis to eliminate drivers of service complaints and t rends in customer experience management to create a compelling service experience.