Comments on: Problems With American Airlines Credit Card

By: kosmo

kosmo — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 21:10:44 +0000

This is sad, but common.

It’s too bad that fewer organizations employ a “case manager” philosophy. I work in IT and support tens of thousand of internal users. When we handle a problem calls (internal customers – i.e. fellow employees) we track everthing in a problem management system. If we need to hand off the problem, the new person has the entire history. People complain about the system (and it definitely has some speed/performance issues), but it is GREAT to have the history of the problem up front.

And if the call languishes very long without resolution, a case manager is assigned. The role of the case manager is to ask for statuses on what is taking so long … and they don’t take BS for an answer. If they don’t like your answer, they talk to your manager …

My wife works for an organization that does not have this sort of structure. Her calls to IT often get closed – without her consent – without resolution.

In my company, I could probably get away with doing that twice. The third time I did it, I’d probably be asked to clean out my desk (and I’ve been with the company 10+ years)

If there are two organizations partnering to provide a service, it should be THEIR job to figure out who needs to fix the problem. I’m the customer, not the troubleshooter. I don’t need to be included in the internal squabbling.

By: Lazy Man

Lazy Man — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:51:56 +0000

I’m sure it’s because they are different organizations. That’s what makes the blame game work. Each one can blame the other.

By: Eric S. Mueller

Eric S. Mueller — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:44:42 +0000

It’s probably because they’re different organizations. I’m not sure how AA handles things, but I’m pretty sure like other businesses, they outsource their credit card services. I was having problems with my Lowe’s card recently. I bought some appliances on a 12 month, no payment no interest deal. The card kept charging me interest and a late fee and I was getting calls from collections. The store’s database said things were fine, so the problem was on GE Money’s end (the credit card company). I ended up very patiently explaining that I had a problem and I know it wasn’t the operator’s fault, but I would appreciate if she could transfer me to somebody who could fix the problem and make sure it stays fixed. That time it apparently was fixed.

When a company outsources services, sometimes they also try to outsource accountability as well.

By: Finance Girl

Finance Girl — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 20:12:19 +0000

Tell them that if they don’t fix it, you’ll cancel your account and apply for a new card 90 days later, which will give you 25,000 miles after your first $750 worth of purchases w/in 4 months. And no annual fee for the first year. Either way, they lose.