ICICI Bank is khayal unka, not khayal aapka-why I shifted my main banking to HDFC

Next January(i.e Jan 2014), I will be an ICICI customer for 7 years. It was my first bank account, and for many years, the only. But next month onwards, my salary account will shift to HDFC, I will convert my demat account into basic demat services account with zero AMC, and use ICICIdirect trading platform only as a last resort. Why is this? Many reasons, but mostly to do with their not recognizing customer relationships across products, and pathetic product knowledge/customer service.

1) When I went to open a PF account at ICICI Bank Mulund(West) branch in Sep13, they subtly refused to open it for me, saying I could do that via internet banking. They were incorrect, since I could only do that by submitting a physical form. And then a 19year old salesperson spends 15minutes unsuccessfully selling me on an ULIP plan(surprise :D) instead of a plain vanilla term plan.

2) Even at ICICI branch Cyber City, whenever I visit the branch in person, they try to cross sell me into taking investment products rather than addressing my needs.

3) When I converted my single banking account into a joint account, the associated trading account was automatically deactivated without intimation to me. And apparently, a manual request to close the account was submitted in June 2012, while the fact is I had never done that. Repeated calls to customer care by myself and two branches(Sion/Bhandup) resulted in a solution that I should submit a form to relink trading account and banking account. The ICICIDirect Sion branch was OUT of stock of forms-which they could have printed from the net-a clear sign of them NOT wanting to do any extra work, while the Bhandup branch reluctantly  accepted the form, and tried to sell me an advance brokerage product for 15yrs. My form has gone missing now, and while customer care raised a ticket, d note that my so-called relationship manager did not help at all, and the branch landline number given by customer care is defunct4)I had to virtually plead with the customer care of ICICIDirect to raise a ticket

4) When I tried to get a personal loan recently, ICICI refused since I was not residing at the same address for more than a year, and this norm was not relaxable even for customers with long relationships. So much for stickiness!

I decided that I will NOT boost a bank's CASA ratio, when it so evidently can do without my business in its broking, retail assets and other areas,HDFC has been very responsive when I had customer care issues, but ICICI Bank phonebanking has been awesome and its overall technology platform, but people wise leaves much to be desired. I know its a rant but there was so much to say, so felt like saying that,.

Update your registered mobile number at ICICI ATM

When my Airtel coworkers went to the nearest ICICI branch to update their registered mobile number, the branch informed them that they could do so at the nearest ATM also. Hearing this, I was a bit sceptical as you cannot do so via netbanking, so why the ATM channel is open for that. Still, they were able to do so, and so was I. It was a great experience to do so without filling a single form or taking copies of your identity proof. This is what ICICI meant I suppose by advertising that their ATM is almost a branch.

If I have a grouse against ICICI, it is the low savings interest rate and the lack of other benefits for me.  Some other banks actively advice customers what is best for them. Sample this advice from Kotak Bank on their website Now THAT was what I call customer friendly analytics. 
Helpful advice: Kotak Bank has discovered that a majority of the people choosing a Kotak Edge Account actually end up maintaining the Average Quarterly Balance required to maintain a Kotak Pro Account. It may be in your interest to choose the Kotak Pro Savings Account and not miss out on the extra advantages & free services!'

But then, I suppose that is what you get when you sign up with ICICI. Awesome technology, rapid fast and efficient customer service, but you need to count your fingers everytime you shake hands/transact with them :P

ICICI's incredible customer analytics even on single non ICICI ATM usage!

Yesterday evening, I used a non ICICI ATM near IIM Ahmedabad. Imagine my surprise when I received an email from ICICI(mass mailer) with the attention grabbing header 'We have missed you'! I thought this related to my demat account but on probing further, realized that related to my use of the ATM card! Below is an extract from that mailer.I must say that this is remarkable customer analytics and does show why ICICI is still the technology leader among Indian banks. I have routinely used non ICICI ATMs and never received such emails till yesterday, so maybe this is a new feature on their part.Whatever the reason, such prompt response deserves credit. If it was toll free SMS,  then maybe I would use it but otherwise given that I do not exhaust the 5 free transactions/month, this is perhaps a failed effort on me.
Dear Customer,

We’ve missed you! We understand that you felt the need to use a Non-ICICI Bank ATM recently.

We would like to inform you that transacting at your ICICI Bank ATM is not only safe and fast, but it also comes along with various benefits...To locate your nearest ICICI Bank ATM, simply SMS ATM to 5676766.

Why is your ICICI Bank ATM safe and fast?

	Dip Card facility: Most ICICI Bank ATMs are equipped with a Dip Card Reader - a feature that enables you to transact safely while the card stays in your hand.
	Ultra Fast Cash facility: This feature, available at all ICICI Bank ATMs helps you complete the transaction in less than half-a-minute.
	Feel at home : Any disputes for queries will be taken care of by ICICI Bank. No need to deal with other banks to resolve your disputes.