How I Scored a $100 Statement Credit

I have a soft spot for most customer service reps. While I’ve never worked as one before, I have held various side gigs that have provided multiple examples of why it’s hard to uphold the “Customer is Always Right” rule from time to time.

Screaming, irate, demanding people leave me little desire to help them. Pretentious, pushy, condescending customers also find their way on my short list of people I’d rather not help.

Unfortunately, when one is employed in a position that requires work with the general public or general customer service-esque skills of any sort, there are bound to be less than desirable interactions.

Therefore, I make a point to always be friendly, flexible, and apologetic when asking for any type of exception, substitution, etc. When I need to change my flight, I accept that there will be a flight change fee, even though I don’t like the idea of paying extra for circumstances out of my control. If there is a long wait at the Post Office and only one person working at the counter, I always smile and ask them how they are doing when it’s my turn to take care of business. You get the idea.

Tale of the missing rewards

Recently, I realized that my Citibank Platinum card had stopped accumulating Dividend Dollars. Being this is the only reason why I use this card (and I pay it in full every month without exception!), I wanted to figure out why the rewards had stopped accumulating. It turns out that the fine print says you cannot earn more than $300 each calendar year. I knew I’d already redeemed that much, but I wanted to still continue accumulating the rewards, to be banked until 2012.

Failed first attempt

Long story short, I sent a detailed email through Citi’s online customer center, accessed by logging into my account. The response was curt, typed IN ALL CAPITAL LETTERS, and completely disregarded my questions. Really, Citi?

I’m not one to typically complain, but wow! I sent a response asking for clarification of my original question and again received a response. Although this time, there technically was no response. They had replied to my email, typed nothing in return, and I received the auto signature response of “Thank you for using our online system”–nothing else in the body of the email…

When a phone call makes all the difference

By now I was beginning to get irritated. I figured emails back & forth were no match for a polite call to Customer Service. Upon speaking with the rep, he immediately transferred me to a supervisor who was Ah-Mazing. She promptly thanked me for my 10 years of service and stated that I would not only receive a $100 statement credit, but that the online communication chain would be investigated by their internal quality auditors.

Moral of the story? Be persistent with your customer requests, but also be POLITE. When I told the supervisor that she had made my day, she responded by telling me how much it meant to her that I was patient, polite, and friendly to her (yes, we had a bit of a love fest, but we both hung up feeling warm & fuzzy!).

I can’t imagine how many times these people get yelled at for things that have nothing to do with them or their jobs. However, I cannot simply settle for a disgruntled CS rep who hides behind a computer and sends snarky replies. This is one time that I’m very happy that I made that call.

 

What are some of your recent customer service-related trials & tribulations? Was your experience ultimately positive or negative?

      

Comments

How I Scored a $100 Statement Credit6 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F12%2Fhow-i-scored-100-statement-credit.htmlHow+I+Scored+a+%24100+Statement+Credit2011-12-20+16%3A26%3A00Jenhttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.thehappyhomeowner.net%2F2011%2F12%2F20%2Fhow-i-scored-a-100-statement-credit.html

  1. In my line of work, I get the opportunity to interact various IRS personnel. Like you, I've found that if I'm friendly, patient and reasonable in my request, they normally will more than meet me halfway. Everyone likes to be treated with respect for the job they do.

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  2. @Soccerbelle–Couldn't agree more! Patience goes so far. The best part of all of this is that I was only asking for the Dividend Dollars to be credited to my rewards account, which would have been about $15-20. That she came back with a $100 statement credit blew my mind!!!@Newlyweds–Thank you! There's something to be said about being friendly even when you kind of don't want to be :)

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  3. I read this post yesterday morning, and then when at work I made a bill payment via internet banking. Uh oh, I made the payment to the wrong bill, I was so angry with myself. When I rang the bank to see if they could reverse the payment, this post flashed into my head. while I was talking to the customer service rep I was reminding myself that it was not her fault that I made a mistake. I was really polite and the payment got reversed (no fee attached). So thanks for the inspiration and reminder to treat customer service reps with respect and dignity.

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  4. I find when I go about the stuff the same way I almost always come out with a positive result and a good feeling. It's always nice when you know someone is trying to help you. It really gets you mad when you are being nice and people are sending you all around and not being generally helpful. Patience usually pays off in the end.

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