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@Anonymous wrote:
That's not their core competency. You want good customer service, get a prime card. They provide a no frills product to people who would otherwise be overlooked. You guys needs to start complaining with your wallets if you really feel that strongly.
Exactly, I got a Capital One card before I knew what Prime and non-Prime was. I started them at the exact same time as a "prime" Citi card (were my first two Credit Cards obtained in the same few weeks).
After enduring their horrible customer service, which would be worth another post in another thread, I jumped ship and never looked back. They are the only credit card bank on my never do business with list, no matter how sweet the deal.
@Anonymous wrote:
That's not their core competency. You want good customer service, get a prime card.
Ridiculous thinking. CS is a vital aspect for every business
@Anonymous wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
People make way too big of a deal about this. If you're apping for Cap One cards, you likely have worse things on your CR and a couple extra INQs is unlikely to make a difference. Yes, I know there are members with great credit who get their prime cards, but the typical applicant will be subprime/rebuilder.I agree people make too big a deal about a few inquiries.
How do you know that the typical Capital One applicant is subprime/rebuilder. Seen any data or just guessing?
+1
@AF_23 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
That's not their core competency. You want good customer service, get a prime card.Ridiculous thinking. CS is a vital aspect for every business
It's vital, but nobody said they have to be competant
Capital One gets a boatload of hate around here, and it's true: they gave me credit when nobody else would. They were my first major credit card back in 1998, and after I burned them (only for a few hundred dollars) in a Chapter 7 in 2002, they were the first to extend credit to me -- an unsecured MasterCard with a $500 limit. That never grew.
Years went by and I got other cards from other places, and even another Capital One card with a $2500 CL. Other cards had higher limits, but I was conditioned to using my Capital One card, so I kept it going. It didn't hurt that the new one earned cash back, and I managed to rake in a good chunk of change once I realized how to manage it.
Then one day, before paying my next annual fee, I called to see if they might waive it or at least consider a CLI. In typical Capital One fashion, both requests were shot down. I cited my long on-time payment history -- at that point 8 years of on-time payments on one of the cards, 6 years on the other. I was hoping they'd show me some love, but they didn't.
Initially I was disappointed, but then it got me to thinking: I had been with them for 8 years, I had been using the card responsibly, and I had come a long way in 8 years. I could almost certainly apply for one of the better cards. I knew I included AMEX in my BK to the tune of $4500 but maybe they'd let me back in. I didn't know about blacklists and had never heard of this message board, so what the heck, why not try it? I did, and was given a $5000 CL. I was in with the big boys now. I closed my Capital One cards and haven't looked back.
I have no hard feelings towards Capital One, and looking back I think of their refusal to do much for me as being their way of saying, "you don't need us anymore" -- not the other way around.
@steve23111 wrote:Capital One gets a boatload of hate around here, and it's true: they gave me credit when nobody else would. They were my first major credit card back in 1998, and after I burned them (only for a few hundred dollars) in a Chapter 7 in 2002, they were the first to extend credit to me -- an unsecured MasterCard with a $500 limit. That never grew.
Years went by and I got other cards from other places, and even another Capital One card with a $2500 CL. Other cards had higher limits, but I was conditioned to using my Capital One card, so I kept it going. It didn't hurt that the new one earned cash back, and I managed to rake in a good chunk of change once I realized how to manage it.
Then one day, before paying my next annual fee, I called to see if they might waive it or at least consider a CLI. In typical Capital One fashion, both requests were shot down. I cited my long on-time payment history -- at that point 8 years of on-time payments on one of the cards, 6 years on the other. I was hoping they'd show me some love, but they didn't.
Initially I was disappointed, but then it got me to thinking: I had been with them for 8 years, I had been using the card responsibly, and I had come a long way in 8 years. I could almost certainly apply for one of the better cards. I knew I included AMEX in my BK to the tune of $4500 but maybe they'd let me back in. I didn't know about blacklists and had never heard of this message board, so what the heck, why not try it? I did, and was given a $5000 CL. I was in with the big boys now. I closed my Capital One cards and haven't looked back.
I have no hard feelings towards Capital One, and looking back I think of their refusal to do much for me as being their way of saying, "you don't need us anymore" -- not the other way around.
+1
Good post!
Spoken like someone with no business experience. I won't even get into what competencies and core competencies are, but how about this...has Cap One done incredibly well without good CS? Yes. Do many Cap One customers have a choice to switch somewhere else with good CS? No. Ergo, it is not remotely vital.
@AF_23 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
That's not their core competency. You want good customer service, get a prime card.Ridiculous thinking. CS is a vital aspect for every business
+1000I have no hard feelings towards Capital One, and looking back I think of their refusal to do much for me as being their way of saying, "you don't need us anymore" -- not the other way around.
@Anonymous wrote:Spoken like someone with no business experience. I won't even get into what competencies and core competencies are, but how about this...has Cap One done incredibly well without good CS? Yes. Do many Cap One customers have a choice to switch somewhere else with good CS? No. Ergo, it is not remotely vital.
@AF_23 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
That's not their core competency. You want good customer service, get a prime card.Ridiculous thinking. CS is a vital aspect for every business
Easy there on the baseless assertions. It may not be more important than the profit motive, but I seriously doubt that Cap1 goes out of its way to ignore the CS aspect of doing business and the above poster is not necessarily relegated to the "no business experience" bullpen just because you disagree with a point being made. The truth is, ALL companies value CS or they wouldn't nag us to complete endless surveys by phone, email and mail (I routinely get asked by Cap1 on all three counts).
That having been said, I have had my fair share of credit dealings with prime companies (BOA, Discover, and Key Bank, to name a few). Bank of America had the absolute customer service of any company I have ever dealt with...financial or otherwise. Their reps were rude and condescending (I wasn't a "Fringe" prime lender back then...I had a FICO in the high 700s). BOA acted as though I should get on my knees and thank them for the honor of carrying THEIR card in my wallet...as though I didn't have Discover and Key in my wallet as well with similar CLs. Discover's CS was good (not great), and Key was business-like, but courteous for the most part.
As far as Cap1 is concerned, I have never found them difficult to deal with. The difficulties with Cap1 are with their general business model, but that has nothing to do with the quality of their CS. That people don't get the CLIs or AF/APR reductions they want does not make their CS poor.
The bottom-line: CS varies according to company, and it is not reserved for those living in the prime world. I seriously doubt that AMEX constantly kisses the fannies of their card-holders as a reward for having pristine credit, nor do I believe that sub-prime lenders are automatically to be coined garbage CS providers because I can point to instances in both cases where both assumptions are false. CS is a YMMV factor...and some companies take it more seriously than others...prime lender or otherwise.
Edited to include:
I have nearly three decades of business experience across all sectors - including for-profit small, medium and large businesses. CS matters, but the level provided has little to do with whether I am a prime lender or not. It is a company priority based on the business model of that company, and it varies wildly.