'Remove These Immediately': SBI Responds To Customer's Photo Of Empty Branch During 'Lunch Break'

Indian banks often face criticism from customers regarding service issues. Recently, a branch of the State Bank of India (SBI) in Pali, Rajasthan, attracted attention when a customer claimed that the entire staff went on a lunch break simultaneously at 3 PM, leaving him frustrated. The customer expressed his frustration on X, sharing a photograph of the empty branch and highlighting the irony, as SBI claims they do not have designated lunch breaks.

The bank promptly responded, apologised for the inconvenience but also reminded the customer that taking photos inside the branch was against security rules and asked him to remove the photo.

In the now-deleted post, the user mentioned, “It was 3 PM and the whole staff was on lunch. Irony, on one side SBI says we don’t have any lunch break and the whole staff was on lunch collectively. Dear SBI, even the world can get changed completely but your services can’t.”

Responding to the complaint, SBI shared, “We regret the inconvenience caused to you. However, please note that photography/videography inside branch premises is prohibited due to security reasons. You may be held accountable if these are misused. Therefore, we recommend you remove these from the social media sites.” In the next comment, SBI added, “Immediately”.

“Kindly note that no specific timings have been fixed for the lunch time of staff members in our Branches. Rather the lunch hours are staggered in the branches to ensure that continued services are extended to our esteemed customers,” SBI further wrote.

The State Bank of India’s response to the customer’s complaint on social media left many frustrated. They questioned why the bank was more concerned about the photograph than addressing the issue. On the other hand, some users suggested that the branch should specify their break timings to help customers plan their visits accordingly.

Reacting to the post, one user humorously suggested that the social media manager was also on lunch break and had to quickly return to address the issue in anger.

A user wrote, “Why don’t they just announce the lunch break time? We can plan accordingly. I have had this problem even in a private bank – where the person I needed to meet was on her lunch break and I had to wait for a while.”

https://x.com/LarissaFernand/status/1796502361130905677

“Security reasons? What are they building – Rockets?” a comment read.

“Someone should file an PIL asking court to make it legal to take photos inside any business premises as evidence,” a user wrote.

“File a complaint with RBI, lunch breaks are not allowed as per RBI guidelines. Let the bank compensate for the trouble customer had to go through. Also, file for immediate suspension of employees for disrupting work,” said a customer.

Since the post was shared online, it has gone viral and garnered over three lakh views.