Secret tactics of the credit card company or confessions of a customer service representative
Every time you called the toll-free number printed on the back of your credit card, I was the voice that greeted you. Well, it finally greeted you, after an automated female robot voice instructed you to press 1, then 4, then 9, then 1 again, then 0… you got the point. And I’ll have to admit, when you heard my voice, it was hardly a greeting. “Card Services, this is ____. Can I have your name, please?” My so-called greeting was no less robotic than the automated system you were forced to navigate.
Your suspicions are correct: this process was not accidental. Robot-Lady was even less expensive for the mega bank than my paltry hourly wage. And a big part of my job as a customer service representative (CSR) was handling as many calls as possible during my shift. In fact, a good performance review required that you keep him on the phone for as short a time as possible, even less than a minute. So much for customer service.
After working there for a few months and handling thousands of calls, I could almost tell from the tone of the customers’ voices what the problem would be. If I detected a bit of anger, I was prepared to address an overlimit or late payment fee. If I felt impatience, I knew you were probably at a cash register where your credit card was being declined. If you sound confused, your interest rate went up unexpectedly. Really confused? You finally noticed the foreign transaction fee for purchases you made during your last trip to Europe. And finally (my favorite), indifference. You just want to check your account balance and review your last ten transactions. He had to be ready; the clock was ticking.
I share all of this because I feel I need to make amends for a job I continued to do despite feeling morally conflicted about bank policies. When a customer was upset that I didn’t remove his ticket, he declared, “You should be ashamed of yourself!” And I was. So, to make up for it, here are some tips on how to effectively manage credit card customer service for banks whose mission is to minimize costs and maximize profits. After all, megabanks are not nonprofit organizations.
1. If you want a ticket removed, just say so. The policy of the megabank I worked for dictated that we were not allowed to waive fees unless explicitly requested by the client. You can whine and whine all you want, but if I don’t hear “Please remove the fee” I wouldn’t be able to do it. For a CSR, those words were music to my ears, especially when I felt like I couldn’t bear to be insulted one more time.
2. For some clients, I was not allowed to remove a rate even if the client requested it. Each client was assigned a dollar amount that I was allowed to withdraw based on the client’s profitability. This calculation was a mystery to me; it was a number that was displayed in the customer account information on my computer screen. But that does not mean that the elimination of tariffs was impossible. For these customers, it was possible if they escalated the call to a supervisor; again, you would have to ask to speak to a supervisor.
3. And when talking to a supervisor didn’t result in fee removal, you can always request that the account be closed. It’s a scam that often works… but only if you call during regular business hours. That’s when the “account specialists” were working in the call center. Account specialists handled account closures specifically. The megabank didn’t like to close accounts, so before that happened, an account specialist would try to convince the customer to keep their account open. And when the customer continues to insist that the account be closed, that’s when the account specialist starts making offers: fee waiver, interest rate reductions, airline miles, other rewards. Just remember to call during regular business hours.
4. Interest rates were a thorn in my side. I can’t count how many clients called me asking why their interest rates were arbitrarily raised even though their account history was clean. Even if you’ve been a customer for more than a decade and have never paid your bill late, the megabank could still choose to increase your interest rate. I knew when I would get these calls because the bank would post an alert letting us know that they had done their regular witch hunts, er, account reviews. Based on a recent review of credit history, the bank could increase interest rates due to a late payment on a bill from a different creditor, a lower credit score because you opened other credit accounts, a full moon… who really knows? Once again, ask for exactly what you want. Usually, if someone asked for a lower interest rate, he could do it. And if not, it’s time to escalate and call a supervisor or account specialist.
5. Remember that flimsy little folded flyer they sent you with your new credit card? Yes, that’s the Cardholder Agreement in all its fine print glory. I know, it’s dry reading you might need to get out a magnifying glass for, but it’s also where the megabank puts all of its crazy (and profitable) policies. Before you do anything out of the ordinary with your credit card, like take cash advances, make purchases outside the country, add an authorized user, anything beyond making basic credit card purchases, take a look at that Cardholder Agreement. In fact, before you use your credit card, you’ll definitely want to read the Cardholder Agreement. That’s where you’ll find out all the gory details surrounding the ways the mega bank will make your money, whether you like it or not. And then you can decide if the card is worth using. Plus, it can save you time dealing with Robo-Lady… and guilty CSRs like me.
What impressed me most during my time as a customer service representative is that I learned never to say the word “money.” Even though my job was to talk about money, it’s a word that would make people angry. Instead, I used milder, albeit vaguer terms: “funds”, “the amount”, “the balance”. I did whatever was necessary to avoid confrontation and get the client off the phone as quickly as possible. It was a technique that indicated how this megabank retained its customers while doing as little as possible to truly provide them with the customer service they deserved. After a miserable year of working as a credit card customer service representative, I finally quit. And I’m not ashamed to tell you everything.