Indians in US complain of rude consular staff: Survey

Majority of Indian-Americans visiting the five Indian diplomatic missions in the US come back with a bitter experience, and report un-professional, rude behavior from its staff, a survey has claimed.

According to the survey, conducted by the Overseas Friends of BJP (OFBJP), as many as 76 per cent of the respondents said that they experienced either un-professional and rude behavior from employees of the consulate, while 56 per cent of them rated their overall experience as "very bad".

Some 2,000 Indian-Americans participated in the survey conducted by OFBJP before the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in January and was submitted to the Indian Government. OFBJP released the contents of the survey in the US last week. The Indian Embassy in Washington did not respond to the contents of the survey.

Tampa-based industrialist, Chandrakant Patel, who is president-elect of OFBJP, asked the Indian Ambassador to ensure that the employees of the Consulates and Embassy who deal with the visitors are properly trained. "Such a rude behaviour and bitter experience send a very wrong impression about our country, which is not the case," Patel said.

"These consulates do not match with the status of an emerging, vibrant and proud India. The behaviour of the staff members is rude, and un-courteous," Patel said.