Leadership Driven Customer Service

Greetings Leaders!

I recently wrote a fairly critical blog of Comcast’s Customer Service. Well, I am happy to report that I found someone that does it right. American Express. I want to write about this, because good customer service doesn’t happen by accident. There is a reason why American Express excels in customer service.

About a year ago, I got an application from American Express for a Gold Card. The first year was free and by charging $500 on the card, I was promised two round trip airline tickets through the membership awards program. I got the card. Charged something I was going to buy anyway, and earned 50,000 points. Well, I didn’t get a chance to use the points and my first bill for the $150 annual fee is due this month. Great. I was planning on not renewing the card, and was dreading calling the membership awards program to see how I could use my award points without incurring the annual fee.

I called their customer service department, and much to my surprise the customer service representative on the other end, Dave, was willing to help me. With me on the line, he called their Membership Awards Department, explained my situation and now with two representatives on the line, they booked a room for my wife and I at the St. Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco. Then, Dave explained to me that I could apply for a Blue American Express Card that has no annual fee and transfer my remaining points to that card. He then calls the Application Department, again with me on the line, and another representative enrolls me in the new program. After getting my application approved, Dave then explains how to cancel my Gold Card to not incur the annual fee.

Now THAT is customer service. I was on the phone for about 10 minutes, talked with three customer service representatives in different departments. Each representative was knowledgeable, professional, courteous and willing to make ME feel important. I got my reservation booked, my points applied, a new card with points on it and a way to save $150. So far, all I’ve charged on the Gold Card was $500.

This didn’t happen by accident. It is obvious that American Express values its customers. While people at Comcast would say that they do too, my experiences were so different that I have to tell Comcast that they just don’t get it. But luckily, companies like American Express do. I don’t believe my experience was based on who I got on the phone. American Express obviously trains its people AND instills in them the mindset that the customer matters.

If you are a leader in customer service, what’s your company like? American Express or Comcast?

All the best!
All the time!
JT