Unsatisfactory service

I am writing to you to complain about service that I do not believe is befitting of Standard Bank. On Monday (28 January 2019) I called Standard Bank Insurance to request an assessor to come to my property to assess storm damage. The nature of the claim is in fact irrelevant, as my complaint is directed more at the lack of service in lodging the claim and the after claim service. The first call I made, it took over 30 minutes for a consultant to answer. Whilst fellow South Africans are fairly used to such long wait times when calling municipal or other service providers, I do not expect this of a private company like Standard Bank. The all too fami**** excuse of "we are currently experiencing high call volumes" finds a sympathetic ear here and there, but not when it becomes the standard holding tone. When I finally spoke to a consultant, I was promised that an sms would be sent to me with the details of the assessor and they would be at my property that afternoon. No sms was received so, 2 hours later, I called Standard Bank Insurance again, only to once again have to wait for more than 27 minutes for a consultant to answer and listen to the "high call volumes" holding tune throughout. When I finally managed to speak to a consultant she updated me that the assessor would be arriving in the afternoon.

Still no sms received confirming who or when.

Fortunately, when the assessor arrived that day someone was at my home to let them in as no prior notice phone call or sms was received from them in advance so I could ensure someone would be home. It is now two days later (30 January 2019) and I have not yet heard anything back from the assessor or Standard Bank Insurance regarding the status of the assessment. So I called Standard Bank Insurance again this afternoon. Once again, I had to hold for in excess of 30 minutes. and once again, unbelievably, they were still experiencing high call volumes? When a consultant finally answered they advised me I needed to speak to the claims department and they close at 17:00. The time at that point was 17:01. I don't believe "happy" would be an adjective you could use to describe my displeasure at receiving this news. Whether my claim is a valid claim or not is irrelevant (whenever it may be that I will receive feedback). The fact that I have had to spend so much time wasted holding on a phone to speak to someone is my issue. Tied to that, the fact that I have had to chase Standard Bank Insurance to determine what the status of the claim is (the last two calls). My wife and I are currently clients with Standard Bank and use a number of different services provided by Standard Bank Group (Bond (which we have essentially paid off), Insurance, Credit Cards, Investment Accounts to name a few). For some time now my wife and I have spoken about whether there is a need to continue banking with Standard Bank. If this is the level of service I am going to receive, I think the days are limited that Standard Bank will be able to call us clients.

Dale