Went into my HSBC branch today to sort out some paperwork, fully expecting the usual sit-around-and-wait experience. Instead I got treated like I'd walked into a lounge.
They asked if I wanted refreshments while I waited. I said coffee — and what showed up was not the sad vending-machine cup I was bracing for. Proper cappuccino served in an actual china cup and saucer, with the HSBC logo stencilled right onto the foam. Came with a spoon, a side of dark chocolate, some Hazel Crisp cookies, and even a tiny flower vase on the tray. Little touches, but you can tell someone actually cares about how the place feels.
The banking side was smooth too, but honestly it's the hospitality that stuck with me. Credit where it's due — nicely done, HSBC. ☕
Sybau, majority of the people don't even know the difference between a latte and cappuccino. So, whatever is coffee flavored milk with less sugar (boat loat of sugar sachets) is a good coffee for them.. that's enough for the current indian taste.
I am Indian Railways employee. One day I went HDFC to open a new account. At first they asked why I want to open account with them. In this world of everyday calls for financial services, their questions made me uncomfortable.
They don’t want customers to stay with them. My branch told me they can’t help out with a credit card upgrade, but they’re eager to sell all other policies, etc. They are worse than the worst govt banks these days.
Lol i asked them to do a photocopy of my document, and they acted like i have asked for their kidney, i had to roam in sunlight for photocopy shop i”m sure hsbc can’t beat sbi
HDFC has to be one of the worst experiences ever! I had one of their premium savings accounts; yet wasn’t allotted an RM for over 3 years; and everytime I needed any assistance; i could absolutely count on them to not get it done in time. Of late wanted to open an NRE account which again has been such a pain that Ive given up!
HDFC kinda mid, but people fall way too easily for all the faff. Good banking is what’s important not lounges or coffees. The passive income on 3 crore can get you all the lounges and coffees you could ever need.
Tbh people get way too swayed by fluff. End of the day, it comes out of our pocket, or at the expense of other things. Plus something I have noticed is that the personal relationship factor is missing from foreign banks, even if you give them a lot of business.
The XYZ for free attitude is rampant in India, and imo detrimental to the actual core offering. Like cars for instance. Gimmicky features become selling points, and they come at the cost of fundamental things like build quality and such.
I have had Kotak, Axis, HDFC, SBI salary accounts for but no one comes close to HSBC customer experience for sure, the way the reps talk to you and communicate things is really awesome. I recently transferred my home loan to HSBC and the support is really good
Arre bhai, baat English ki nahi hai. Basic human sense ki hai and customer ki request ko samjhna hai. Which i think HSBC is good at - atleast for now.
1) SBI ke employee ko toh kitni baar khud mujhe sikhana pada ki EMI transfer kaise hota hai
2) In Kotak, 5 saal se credit card limit was never changed even after on time payments and then when I cancelled the card, they called and said they are ready to make it 5X
3) HDFC - one of the worst in person banking exp, bas mobile application experience acha hone se nahi hota hai na. Try getting some basic support on some document or some certificate from them
u/Resident-Slip8705 HDFC SBI banking ka kaam kar dete hai isliye ye sab bol rahe ho. Credit limit automatically nahi badha rahe to wo complaint hai, foreign banks to basic service dene mein paidal hai.
2018 mein fraud report karne pe 30 mins ladna pada unko samjhane ke liye ke card is being misused. After 30mins argument jab fraud detection team mein finally connect kiya to US wale batate hai ke the card was indeed being fraudulently - jo Indian customer care nahi maan raha tha.
As per RBI guidelines, jab bhi payment ho, SMS alert for amount deduction hona chahiye. March 2020 mein they were not alerting, and when they refused to support, RBI jana pda. There is a Reason RBI banned them for 2 years in 2020.
AXP ki archaic app dekhi hai ? Foreign jao to agar app login nahi chala to you are on your own luck Ya India ISD karo. There is no email to contact. "Secure Messages" khelo for basic of things. Kaafi european countries mein unki customer care nahi hai, un countries mein app bhi nahi chal rahi thi kai baar(hai na weird). Email id ho to waha email kar de aadmi.
HSBC - Back button se session expire nahi hota - itna major design flaw hai in this era. Add-On card PIN online reset nahi kar sakte, ATM jaake karo. Customer care galat info deta hai call pe, aur written mein sirf' we are closing request' likhta hai. Customer care kehta hai apne Premier RM se help lo for basic things.
StanC - Amounts round digit mein hote hai, 200.29 transfer nahi hoga. 200 transfer hoga, OTP mein major delays hote hai, annuual statement online nikalne ke liye special request lagti hai jo instant nhai hota (2024 mein 2 weeks time tha).
Sabko commissions ki padi hai. AmEx mein referral commissions wale kuch bhi bolte rehte hai, same with HSBC. Ab AmEx ka referral band ho gaya hai to occasionally rant karte hai ke commission nai milta.
Citi ke alawa foreign banks to basic kaam bhi nahi kar paate.
Meri to legit global banking requirement hai - except DBS sab luck pe chal raha hai. Aur SBI jitna banking koi offer nahi kar paata - not even MSRDC marketing wala HDFC.
HSBC just expanded and wants to justify opening up new branches, HDFC/SBI etc can lower People/Real Estate costs if they can reduce branch visits... Not a good enough reason but a reason nonetheless.
u/sidthefreak Yes, thats the law. Penalties due to breaking the law is just cost of doing business for HSBC, SC and the likes.
HSBC values Premier only for account opening and selling high commission products like PMS and regular MF. Try denying that and then asking for service.
Haha every bank is same the moment you reach out they will start selling you their products. HSBC I've noticed they initially tried one or two times but now i don't get any faltu calls for selling thier products.
Actually most banks gives managers money for entertaining clients. In SBI its called entertainment perk - Around 3k-4k per month for managers with less experience. Increases with their seniority. many claim it but wont use it for the intended purpose.
Here is my situation. Today, I visited BOB because I received a message asking for visit the home branch immediately.
The first employee I talked can't understand our mother tongue, then somehow I described the whole thing in English still he was unclear then I showed the text message I received earlier from the bank. But, still he couldn't understand.
They transfer me from one counter to another, talked total 6 employee and guess what none of them understand our mother tongue.
I have only one question to the BOB — why the hell you have this branch if none of them can understand local language. How will they provide service? Do we need to learn sign language to talk with them?
Yes, until yesterday I was praising BOB as the only good PSU bank. I’ve never experienced their branch service, but their online service is way more effortless than SBI and PNB. In these days, where UPI has become stable, sometimes payments fail in SBI, but I’ve never faced the same with BOB.
But today, I've realized their branch service is as worst as other PSU banks.
My bad—I should’ve mentioned it as the local language, not my mother tongue.
A branch of a PSU bank where thousands of customers visit every day—don’t you think the employee should understand the local language to provide better solutions to customers?
Usually, customers of private banks are more educated, so they can handle these kinds of situations easily. But when it comes to a PSU bank, from daily earners to lakhpatis, everyone visits the branch.
It's good they serve this stuff, but I'd rather not go at all. Time is more valuable than coffee & chocolates.
Some places that should be evaluated on how little time one has to spend there. Bank should be one you don't need to go to at all.
Other places - airports, train stationsb - should be based on how little time one has to spend there.
I used to get through Heathrow airport (even with 'random screenings') in 10-20 minutes at times. This was a decade ago.
Contrast that with Mumbai airport - filled with art and design, and an absymal travelling experience. I wish more effort went into the right priorities.
Fixing basics like not needing arrivals to walk for 15min to get to immigration, crazy wait times for luggage, or long queues for customs. Hell, one can easily spend more time at the airport than for the actual flight.
PS.. I actually do serve them with beverages and snacks haha.
This is called user experience. Every bank is selling the same product so the better ones differentiate themselves by providing top notch user experience
Already fed up with the hdfc bank salary account, have asked my employer for alternative option if they can give in for salary credit preferably hsbc.
Have icici bank account for 15+ years, had opened it as first salary account and now need better bank after seeing so much of rejections in terms of services.
I went to Chennai branch for opening account. Forget coffee they literally didn’t let me open the account and investigated me. I earn enough. But these fuckers only want ppl who have 50 lakhs and plus.
there was a time in the mid to late 2000s when Axis Bank had 4-5 priority banking branches in the country and it offered the full shebang to priority account holders - it meant something then and wasn't a mass market segment. you could even use the conference room for your personal occasion. i experienced this at the Springfields, Andheri branch.
Well u know what? My dad has more than 1 cr in hdfc but still he is not able to get infinia cc. For the free locker acces he has to wait half hour until hes let in. And those stupid RM's just using him for MF. And they didnt advjse him to turn on auto sweep . Discovered all this just now after I turned 18. I might as well transfer all his funds to hsbc
HSBC accounts has a MAB of ₹100,000 minimum right? I wouldn't expect anything less. Lot of people (I am not saying everyone) visiting the branch would be HNIs
That's lowkey amazing , are you sure it's not an ad to promote them lol (all kidding aside ) it's nice to see a hospitable treatment compared to what happens in Other banks.
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u/darkchocolateagain Aug 01 '26
Now some mf will be selling this as a credit card hack to get free Coffee, Dark Chocolate