Surprise Visits at PNB Branches: Improving Service or Ignoring Staff Crisis?
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Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a major customer-service push with senior officers now making unannounced surprise visits to branches across the country. This move is designed to understand ground realities, identify service gaps, and improve how customers experience their daily banking interactions. These visits are intentionally kept completely confidential—no branch is informed in advance. This helps officers witness the true, real-time functioning of branches, without any special preparations from staff.
During these visits, senior officers closely monitor several aspects of branch operations. They review customer waiting times, the behaviour and responsiveness of staff, the cleanliness and overall environment of the branch, and whether proper queue management systems are in place. Officers also verify whether Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are being followed in routine operations. Additional checks include ATM functionality, cash availability, and the branch’s approach to resolving customer complaints.
Visiting officers submit detailed feedback to the bank’s top management after completing their inspection. Based on these reports, the leadership reviews branch performance and takes necessary decisions to improve service delivery further.
This has raised mixed reactions from the public and employees. Customers in many branches have welcomed this initiative. They say issues are being solved faster and staff are more alert. But behind the scenes, a growing debate has started among bank employees: Are surprise visits enough to improve customer service when branches are struggling with serious staff shortages? Moreover, not only officers and clerks but also branches don’t even have a peon. There are reports that a lot of PNB branches are operating without a Peon. Branches have hired private individuals on daily salary basis or monthly salary basis to do the work of Peon. But the big question is – Can a private individual be trusted with financial work? Why Banks are not hiring Peons?
The details of the total number of employees of PNB during the last five years are as follows:
| Year | Employees |
|---|---|
| 2020-21 | 101802 |
| 2021-22 | 103144 |
| 2022-23 | 104123 |
| 2023-24 | 102349 |
| 2024-25 | 102746 |
Click here to check Staff Strength of all PSU Banks
The Staff Shortage Issue: The Elephant in the Room
Many PNB branches operate with bare minimum staff, and some even function with less than the sanctioned strength. This leads to:
- Long queues
- Slow service
- Delays in processing requests
- Overworked employees
- Increased customer frustration
- Higher stress on frontline staff
Employees argue that while officers check service quality during surprise visits, they often do not acknowledge the heavy workload caused by staff shortage. This raises a real debate: How fair is it to judge branch performance when the team handling the workload is already stretched thin?
A Welcome Initiative, But Needs Balance
PNB’s surprise visits certainly bring accountability, discipline, and quicker issue resolution. They also help the bank understand customer expectations in today’s competitive banking environment. However, experts feel the initiative will be far more effective if it also addresses:
- Shortage of frontline staff
- Increasing workload on existing employees
- Pressure during peak hours
- Rising operational responsibilities
- Need for better manpower planning
Without solving these issues, surprise visits may improve the surface but not the foundation.
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