As good as any of the foreign banks.. Review on HDFC Bank

I have had an account at HDFC Bank,Pali Hills Branch,Bandra,Bombay now for more than 4 years.I will review this branch of HDFC Bank,altho' a lot of what is said can be extrapolated on HDFC Bank as a whole.

I opened the account here as it was very close to my residence and because they had an ATM machine.Account opening was hassle free,staff explained the necessary documentation(PAN nos etc)efficiently,and they even had a person on-premise to shoot my snap!

The Pali Hill Branch is open all days(8am-2pm) except Thursday ...Sundays is a half day,which is pretty convenient if u have any across-the-counter work.

Service standards are high,specially when compared to ICICI Bank in the same Bandra area.I see no deficiency in the service vis-a -vis the foreign banks I have an account in viz.Grindlays and Stan Chart.Staff is friendly,efficient and courteous.Fairly youthful..all seem below 30,all seem happy working for HDFC Bank,so no ''attitude''problems! Most of the staff are women...could that be why courtesy and diligence levels are higher??An example of efficiency and diligence ---- recently I had a problem on my account,so I talked to one of the staff on the phone,she said she would have it looked into and call me back after an hour..she called me on my mobile promptly within the hour to say it had been sorted out.And this is not the first time that I have had good prompt follow up done over the phone!

Bank statements come on time,and if u need an adhoc one,u can get a printout promptly in a matter of seconds.Just try getting an adhoc statement from a nationalised bank like Dena or Allahabad,and you will appreciate the difference!cheque books are issued centrally,but it gets delivered to your address within 4 days of u leaving an application for a new chequebook at your Branch Office.

HDFC Bank seems to have a very lean staff:turnover ratio..the number of employees at their Pali Hill branch seems very low.....about8-9,incl demat section.Perhaps cos of the low headcount,everybody is kept busy and on their toes,so you dont see much idling or pfaffing going on.So far customer service does not seem to have been affected by their lean staff strength... if I compare HDFC headcount nos. with that of the ICICI Bank at Bandra,ICICI has nearly 50% more people,and yet their service standard,efficiency,attention to customer is inferior,not to mention they are more error prone than their counterparts at HDFC. In fact, HDFC manpower leanness-wise,compares favourably with foreign banks,or at least with the 2 where I have accounts as well viz Grindlays and StanChart.

HDFC Bank's's ATM works very well..in 4 years I have had a no-service situation only twice.However,u cant pull out more than 10000 Rs out of the ATM per day,which is a lower limit than ICICI'S(15000/-) or Grindlays(25000/-).

If u have an HDFC Bank ATM Card(or their Debit-cum-ATM CARD) u can access any HDFC Bank ATM ANYWHERE in India to draw yr money.HDFC ATM network is pretty widespread in all the major cities,and in Bombay theres almost certainly an HDFC ATM not too far from where you might be.

HDFC Bank offers Internet banking,which means u can access yr account and transact over the Net(I PERSONALLY DONT USE THIS FACILITY SINCE I AM UNCERTAIN ABT.THE SECURITY OFFERED).Also,their e-banking means you can access yr account from and at any HDFC BANK branch ANYWHRE IN INDIA..eg if u r travelling to Bangalore u can just walk into any HDFC Bank branch in Bangalore and take out or put in your money,get dd's etc..in effect,holding an HDFC Bank account enables u to use any of their Branches anywhere in the country.As a result,these days when I travel on work or holiday.. ..I dont carry much cash if the place I am going to has an HDFC Bank branch ..I can pull out money whenever I need to,which is pretty convenient.

The Pali Hill branch has a Demat section as well,with whose work I have had no problems so far.You can also operate an HDFC BANK on-line share trading account,linked to yr demat account and yr savings/current account.It also offers a retail broking services for HDFC Mutual Funds as well as a few other MF'S.In addition,the Branch has a desk for the new HDFC Standard Life Insurance company,so u can use the Branch as essentially a one-stop shop for banking and financial services and products.Additionally,it offers Bill Payment services for MTNL,BSES,BPL Mobile....

The one negative abt HDFC BANK at Pali Hills: either they underestimated the traffic they would have or they are tight on costs...the space at Pali Hill is really smaller than what they need,..theres very little space to sit if u r waiting for something(just 2 chairs,both apparently designed assuming u r less than 5'tall and have a behind less than 30''!) or even space to comfortably sit and fill up a form or write out a cheque!So if u have to wait(fortunately waiting times are usually short) u usually just have to stand ..waiting can b expensive sometimes tho'..theres a big FabIndia outlet next door and theres always a temptation to spend waiting time there,haha...

In conclusion,I would recommend HDFC bank to anyone wishing to open at account at Bandra..it is the best among the options..the only other serious rival is Grindlays off Turner Road cos Grindlays are open 7 days a week,365 days a year,10am to 8pm(BUT Grindlays ATM breaks down EVER SO OFTEN!)