SBI Warns Removal of Photo After Customer Complains About ‘No Staff at Lunch Break’

A Chartered Accountant from Rajasthan, Lalit Solanki, posted on X about finding an empty State Bank of India (SBI) branch at 3 pm, claiming the entire staff was on lunch break simultaneously. 

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 @TheOfficialSBI , even the world can get changed completely but your services can't.

— Lalit Solanki (@lalitmali03) May 31, 2024

In now deleted post, he shared a photo of the empty chairs, which quickly went viral, garnering over three lakh views.

In his post, Solanki criticized SBI, stating, “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 @TheOfficialSBI, even the world can get changed completely but your services can’t (sic).”

SBI responded to his complaint, apologizing for the inconvenience but warned Solanki to remove the photo. They cited security reasons and mentioned that photography inside the branch premises is prohibited. “You may be held accountable if these are misused,” the bank warned, urging him to delete the image from social media.

The incident sparked a conversation online, with another user asking about the bank’s lunch hours. SBI clarified, “No specific timings have been fixed for the lunch time of staff members in our branches. Rather, the lunch hours are staggered to ensure that continued services are extended to our esteemed customers.”