topic Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service in Credit Cards

Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:38:21 GMT

I have been an AMEX cardholder for about a year and let's say I was just as excited as everone else here upon getting my first card with them. Since then, I have continually been less and less impressed with their customer service to the point where I now feel they are just resting on their laurels. It may be that I have one of their less impressive cards but the few times I have called in with an actual issue it seems that 75% of the calls are directed to an offshore center where the CSRs have little authority to help beyond a rehearsed script. The remaining calls that do get directed to an American agent remind me of the store clerks at high end stores that give off a condescending vibe if I am dressed down or do not look the part of someone who will actually buy something.

Whether they are able to help me resolve my issue is one matter. In my line of work, I understand that things are not always able to get resolved immediately. But poor customer service and a holier than thou attitude are a whole separate issue and AMEX falls short of other creditors in my book. I will still use their card and continue to build my relationship with them but I am wary that the term "valued customer" they are so quick to throw out has lost its meaning.

Just thought I'd share since AMEX seems to be held on a pedestal in these forums.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

cdtotten — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:43:29 GMT

Despite AMEX outsourcing a lot of their CS, I still have never had a problem with them. Anytime I have called with an issue, they are quick to offer a solution or at least provide the information that they can at the time. Recently, I forgot to make my payment before the due date and was hit with a late fee. I noticed, called them, and they immediately reversed the late fee and apologized to me for the inconvenience.

I have had many issues with Chase, but never AMEX.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

CS800 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:34:56 GMT

Sorry to hear about your experience. In my case I have found them to be good and receptive.

HAve you tred escalating to a supervisor?

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

improvingmycredit — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:45:16 GMT

@CS800 wrote:
Sorry to hear about your experience. In my case I have found them to be good and receptive.

HAve you tred escalating to a supervisor?

I think maybe you should let them know of your experiences. I've had nothing but good customer service from them... and that's even having had to endure a FR.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

learnin113 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:50:43 GMT

Try dealing with Orchard or Chase or BOA.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

pizzadude — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 20:51:06 GMT

IMO, the decline in customer service isn't particular to AMEX, but has occurred across the board as companies have wielded the axe to cut costs.

CSRs are outsourced, poorly trained, and usually neglected from an investment perspective....

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Ron1 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:00:54 GMT

I didn't have any problem with them. Someone used my Amex BCE twice last couple of years and they emailed/called to notify me. You don't get that kind services from other issuers.

Ron.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:41:36 GMT

It's never been serious enough for me to escalate it to anyone but just an observation I've made. I naturally expect more of Amex since they always tout how good their CS is and all the awards they've won and such. I just feel that everytime I get off the phone with them it leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Interestingly, the CS from Chase has been outstanding in my experience. I can't remember ever feeling belittled in the same way after getting off the phone with them. Same goes for Citibank and BOA and I my impression of BOA is not the greatest.

Overall, I'd rank my experience as follows:

Chase 8/10 - good CSRs, short wait time, recon after app rejected, best online banking interface, consolidated multiple accounts for higher CL (negative: hard inquiry for customer initiated CLI)

Citi 7/10 - limited contact but good CSRs, short wait time, extremely well thought out application process, expedited shipping for replacement card (negative: pending transactions not listed online)

Amex 4/10 - fair/poor CSRs, short/medium wait time, links on online banking frequently do not work (refer a friend, track your rewards), said they would follow up on an issue and never got back to me (positive: nothing concrete save the fact that Amex is Amex and carries a certain respectability)

BOA 4/10 - fair CSRs, long/very long wait time, CS fragmented into too many departments so transfers are common, no consolidation of accounts (positive: generous starting CL, only time I ever disputed a charge it was a piece of cake)

It's interesting actually to hear about your different experiences. I guess there really is no way to generalize an entire company. I'm not a big spender but considering the fact that I routinely charge a couple thousand to my cards and make 50-100 transactions every month, always paying in full and not a single late payment I'd expect at least to not be talked down to when I call about an issue that is important to me.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:35:40 GMT

@Ron1 wrote:
I didn't have any problem with them. Someone used my Amex BCE twice last couple of years and they emailed/called to notify me. You don't get that kind services from other issuers.

Ron.

I have Chase do that

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

LS2982 — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:50:50 GMT

@learnin113 wrote:
Try dealing with Orchard or Chase or BOA.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:36:09 GMT

I generally have good CS with all cards but can recall Cap1 annoying the bejesus out of me (several years ago) to the point the card was closed over the phone.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:39:59 GMT

I'll chime in on this one. I called to activate today my upgraded Platinum card and I got a guy in Ohio--yes, he told me where he was from when he answered the call. He was nothing but cordial and informative and knew all the answers to every question I asked without having to put me on hold or consult a manual, script or supervisor. Similarly, I've had great calls with Discover as well who are always stateside. My .02!

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 01:56:04 GMT

I have had great experiences when I am signing up for cards. Subsequent phone calls, not so much. They refused to give me sign up bonus that was promised. Numerous calls. Got nowhere. My gold with 175 AF originally had 20K spending on it. Now they took it down to 2K. I will be closing it before next fee hits. I make about 3 large 20K purchases a year. They claim that they lowered me because of my spend pattern. I explained to them I needed at least 20K spend on my gold for the times I need to use it, but no go because when I am not making the 3 large purchases year, I only put about 500 per month on the card. They claim based on that pattern, I only get 2K. I am done with charge cards. I will stick to their credit products. At least I have decent limits on those.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Open123 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 03:15:00 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I have been an AMEX cardholder for about a year and let's say I was just as excited as everone else here upon getting my first card with them. Since then, I have continually been less and less impressed with their customer service to the point where I now feel they are just resting on their laurels. It may be that I have one of their less impressive cards but the few times I have called in with an actual issue it seems that 75% of the calls are directed to an offshore center where the CSRs have little authority to help beyond a rehearsed script. The remaining calls that do get directed to an American agent remind me of the store clerks at high end stores that give off a condescending vibe if I am dressed down or do not look the part of someone who will actually buy something.

Whether they are able to help me resolve my issue is one matter. In my line of work, I understand that things are not always able to get resolved immediately. But poor customer service and a holier than thou attitude are a whole separate issue and AMEX falls short of other creditors in my book. I will still use their card and continue to build my relationship with them but I am wary that the term "valued customer" they are so quick to throw out has lost its meaning.

Just thought I'd share since AMEX seems to be held on a pedestal in these forums.

Just curious, what do you mean "dressed" down?

For me, I've always found the few times I needed to call them to better than most other cards I've called.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:32:54 GMT

I was just giving an analogy about how I feel was treated the handful of times I had to call in for something. Granted not all the CSRs were like this but I found on more than one occassion that they were curt and gave off a condescending tone like why is this person calling about this matter.

I'll give you two examples. I signed up for online billing back when I opened my account and there was an issue with the statements not generating properly. To me this was a huge concern b/c I am one to always pay responsibly. I sent a secured message and they weren't able to help me. I called in and they weren't able to help me. They said they would follow up on the issue in 24-48 hours and let me know, which never happened. The billing was messed up for about 2 weeks after this call and magically started working one day. Then I noticed my rewards weren't posting at all (3 months into the account). I had to call again and a rude CSR pretty much dismissed my concern and said they will post when they post, like why am I so stupid I need to ask?

Fast forward to more recently, I wanted to refer a family member for the bonus. I clicked on the "refer a friend" link on my account and it was a dead link. I looked around the website b/c I thought maybe there's another link that works. Couldn't find one so I called in and this time the CSR was extremely curt and told me to use the search function. I had no idea what he was talking about so I told him I was confused, at which point he gave me a talking down to like why can't I do a simple thing as that?

Maybe I am just sensitive to things like this b/c I was raised to always be respectful and considerate of others but I felt belittled by these exchanges, however insignificant they were. Yes its nice to carry an Amex but at some point I realize that we are customers and some accountability should be expected, not just from Amex but from anyone we choose to do business with.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:33:58 GMT

Maybe it's just the Sapphire CS but they provide me with excellent service everytime I call them.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Open123 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:39:13 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
I was just giving an analogy about how I feel was treated the handful of times I had to call in for something. Granted not all the CSRs were like this but I found on more than one occassion that they were curt and gave off a condescending tone like why is this person calling about this matter.

I'll give you two examples. I signed up for online billing back when I opened my account and there was an issue with the statements not generating properly. To me this was a huge concern b/c I am one to always pay responsibly. I sent a secured message and they weren't able to help me. I called in and they weren't able to help me. They said they would follow up on the issue in 24-48 hours and let me know, which never happened. The billing was messed up for about 2 weeks after this call and magically started working one day. Then I noticed my rewards weren't posting at all (3 months into the account). I had to call again and a rude CSR pretty much dismissed my concern and said they will post when they post, like why am I so stupid I need to ask?

Fast forward to more recently, I wanted to refer a family member for the bonus. I clicked on the "refer a friend" link on my account and it was a dead link. I looked around the website b/c I thought maybe there's another link that works. Couldn't find one so I called in and this time the CSR was extremely curt and told me to use the search function. I had no idea what he was talking about so I told him I was confused, at which point he gave me a talking down to like why can't I do a simple thing as that?

Maybe I am just sensitive to things like this b/c I was raised to always be respectful and considerate of others but I felt belittled by these exchanges, however insignificant they were. Yes its nice to carry an Amex but at some point I realize that we are customers and some accountability should be expected, not just from Amex but from anyone we choose to do business with.

I couldn't agree with you more.

In my view, there is NEVER a reason to be rude, uncivil or treat a person in an undignified manner.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Anonymous — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 04:39:25 GMT

Chase is my longest account and the CS has always been good. I recently switched over to a Freedom and again no compaints there.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

clocktick — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 15:57:43 GMT

I'm not impressed with the CSRs at Amex either. However, and I'm not certain, it seems the charge card holders have better customer service. I would love to learn more on this.

I had a Citi rep a couple of weeks ago who was absolutely rude to me. Bank of America has been the worst and I don't even have a credit card with them...just multiple accounts and a debit VISA.

Re: Disappointed in AMEX customer service

Open123 — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 16:04:09 GMT

@clocktick wrote:
I'm not impressed with the CSRs at Amex either. However, and I'm not certain, it seems the charge card holders have better customer service. I would love to learn more on this.

I had a Citi rep a couple of weeks ago who was absolutely rude to me. Bank of America has been the worst and I don't even have a credit card with them...just multiple accounts and a debit VISA.

Regarding Amex, that has been my experience as well. However, for me, it's such a small sample size, that it could merely be conincendental. I've only gotten very US Professional reps whenever my calls were regarding my charge cards, but seem to get an offshore one every now and then when I call on my Blue cash everyday.

I'm curious what others have experienced in relation to calls about their "fee" and "no fee" cards.

Regarding B of A, I've always had excellent customer service from them whenever I called. Also, Discover has been very impressive and incredibly responsive. I'd have to say that Discover is closing the gap with Amex's customer service.