Why not to use SBI?

State Bank of India is undoubtedly the most popular bank in India. The State Bank group offers a wide range of services starting from daily banking to mutual funds, insurance, corporate banking and may be many more that are out of my knowledge. However, after being their customer for around ten years, here I present a list of reasons why you would avoid them (especially for banking).

• Rush. Being the most popular bank directly equates to more customer and that means longer lines at the bank. Even though they have their branches literally everywhere across India, I hardly saw a branch that has no crowd. Thankfully they have internet banking facility and that helps me avoid a trip to the branch.
• Service denial. I guess the SBI lunch time is something Indians are familiar with and many have been denied/delayed service due to it. Similar things happened to me twice and both while getting a demand draft (DD). My home branch is in Tura, but I had to visit a branch in Allahabad to get a DD issued. I was told that it could only be issued from home branch. Later, I visited UCO bank where they had similar story but agreed after I gave a written application to the bank. During another visit to a Kolkata branch, I was initially told that it could not be issued there but later sensing my urgency and the large amount, they agreed though I had to collect it the next day.
• Customer service. SBI offers a 24X7 immediate assistance through their toll-free numbers or a 48-hours reply if contacted via email. Due to the rush mentioned above, they often have a long wait time. In a recent incidence, I had to call them from abroad and that meant EUR 1.7 per minute. I lost all my airtime after a full 10 minute chat for a incomplete solution. They do not callback. Their email service is sort of write and forget. At times, I got a mail from the postmaster that the recipients email is full. In case you are lucky to get a reply from the SBI team, the solution may not be perfect. I had made first contact on 9th December and as of 18th December I have not received a satisfactory answer.
• Lack of experienced customer care agent. At many occasions, I found they were not much knowledgeable regarding the product even though I had to make way through their hierarchical menu to talk to an agent. Interestingly in one of my interactions they told me to hold as their system was slow in checking the information. For another email interaction, I was given a solution which was not working and that was the exact reason why I had initiated that interaction.
• Unfulfilled promises. I recently got a SBI Foreign Travel Card (FTC). Their website (www.sbitravelcard.com) mentions that it could be reloaded via internet banking but as of 18th December 2020, it is actually not possible. It shows that the service is not available online. Even after all this, I get a email for a debit card transaction that contains that contains an advertisement for the FTC mentioning that it is reloadable via internet banking. I do not know where and how! My part of the mistake that I didn't check if it was actually reloadable online before purchasing the card.

Screenshot of the SBFTC website mentioning the reloading process

These are some of the real life experiences which I believe even others have faced. If you agree or disagree do drop a comment below. Also do share your experiences with the SBI, both good and bad.

Dear Team State Bank of India, 
I hope you will not take any offence from this post. I have seen your services grow but there is a long way to go. I hope you improve your services till you achieve complaint free service just as Airtel is boasting of a 'complaint free' network. 
Thank you,

Your frustrated customer

[Edit: 19 Jan 2021] Interestingly, there is an unofficial SBI customer care team that is trying to help. They got in touch via Instagram (from @state_bank_of_ndia) probably because I had contacted @theOfficialSBI there.

[Edit: 15 Apr 2021] And SBI has dropped the final BOMB. OTP is now required to login to onlinesbi.com. With my registered BSNL number not working in Finland, I can no longer even check my balances, forget about making any transactions.