AGARTALA, June 21 (TIWN): Troubled with complaints from customers throughout the state and competition from private sector banks, the State Bank of India has taken up a new initiative to reduce customers’ agony in the banks. Being the largest networked bank in the country, the public sector bank SBI has launched the “Customer Excellence Service” throughout India. Three branches in the capital city Agartala has been upgraded with the new service system in the first step. The Agartala Branch of SBI situated at Melarmath area, the TLA Branch situated at Colonel Chowmuhani and the Kunjavan Branch situated at Shyamalibazar- Kunjavan area of Agartala has been upgraded with the new system of customer service where the entire range of customer services starting from withdrawal of money, deposition of money, making draft, opening of new account in the bank etc has been brought under the same counter and token are issued to each and every customer before approaching any counter.

A Grahak Mitra counter manned by a trained person issues token to each customer on the first come first serve basis and the customers are made to wait comfortably in the waiting chairs until their token number and the counter number is announced by the computer. A display screen in the customers’s waiting space displays the token number and the counter number together so that the concerned customer can go to the respective counter numbers easily.

The overall process of the new customer excellence service is monitored by a Service Manager who gives useful directions to the employees from time to time.

The system is more or less like the computerized announcement system that was introduced in the railway platforms during the late nineties.

Though the system has been started in three main branches of the capital city along with the rest of the selective branches of the country, it will be implemented in rest of the bank branches throughout the state, informed the Manager of Kunjavan Branch.

Along with the the new customer service management system, the branches have been equipped with an LED TV for the amusement of the waiting customers of the banks.

Meanwhile, customers of the SBI who were often being deprived of better services from the bank staffs in comparison to the services of the private sector banks were happy at the introduction of the new system and they have expressed pleasure at the introduction of the new approach of the State Bank of India’s management.