My adventure with my credit card provider..
I get a call last night informing me of suspicious transactions that I do not recognise. The bank blocks the card and says I must call customer service. So far so good. I appreciate the proactive call and quick action
Then I pick up the phone…
I call customer service and the adventure begins….
After 70 minutes on customer service calls where the agents keep insisting the ivr system will process me and it keeps failing…
It says my credit card is a debit card..
Technical error.. No human can help…
After 30 minutes again today and same result until finally I’m told go to a branch..
I’m at the branch… 60 minutes and counting…
All to replace a credit card…
So this is what the philosophy that customer service is an expense feels like. ..
Still waiting….. Waiting.
2 daughters having dinner with their mom and going off to bed soon..
I’m in the lobby… Waiting…. Waiting..
The machine does not recoginise me as a customer. When the bank blocked my card they blocked who I was…
so I’m given the lowest priority
No person to override that machine..
Waiting.. Waiting.. I’m ticket 157.. Ticket on screen showing 147…148…than 144…
Waiting….waiting….
157….
A human being calls me in.. Apologises for the delay.. After I explain the issue.. He gets to work handling it.
A couple of key strokes on the computer…
3 minutes later and the first obstacles are gone.
Obstacles that took the outsourced customer service hours to place, build and grow..
Waiting.. But we’re joking now and smiling.. Waiting but it’s a nicer atmosphere now..
So this is what the philosophy of human focused customer service looks like..
Problem solved. New card on the way.
That’s better so I decide not to cancel..
But I know better than to renew..
.. Or risk giving that bank any of my more important assets too..
No more waiting ever again…
There is a cost to cheap customer service…