Verification

I had a call just this morning from an older man that wanted me to close his account...which is fine but at the moment of "hello" he said he didn't want me to ask him 100 questions. So, I asked him for his account number and he gave it to me and then started screaming (literally) about talking to three other CSR's and he didn't want to answer questions. (If you have known me longer than 5 minutes then you know I don't take getting yelled at to well, however the calls are recorded so I showed GREAT restraint.) Anyway, I asked him to verify 3 pieces of information and he started telling me the size of his underwear, which was 64! Gross! The whole point of the verification process is to prevent anyone from calling in and getting your account information. It's to HELP you! I know it's inconvenient, but we have caught several individuals committing fraud using our verification process. So, please don't yell about, be thankful!

What's In a Name?

OMG, please be careful what you name your child...I know it's really sweet to have boys named after their fathers, but you have no idea what kind of confusion it can cause. For instance, just today I had a Sr. calling in because the post office changed his mailing address to the Jr. address. We have also had fathers and sons call us because the credit bureau crossed their information and it was a HUGE mess. Naming people after celebrities are OK, but come on...Here is a brief list of cardholders that have called me...Michael Jackson, Abe Lincoln, Betty Davis, Betty Ford (I'm sure I'll add to this later) Here are some of the funniest last names that have called in...Couche (pronounced Coochy), Hoare, Gross, Tickles...I'm sure I will add to this list later too. These are two first names that are different, Precious and Nick (this is a female). Please make sure you pick a name that is appropriate for the sex of the child! OK, here is the name that wins the award for absolutely no imagination....are you ready for this...William Williams!!!!! I will continue this list as customers call in......

Waste of Time Calls

Let me just explain real quick that the credit card company can't repair ANY product bought in the store! It's amazing how many customers call us to send out a repair man. Hello, sometimes when you call a call center you are calling India, could you imagine the charge for him to come out? LOL Also, has no one heard of the phone book or yellowpages.com? Honestly, what a waste to call me and ask for a phone number to a store in your town. We use yellowpages.com! Here's another DUH moment, Lowe's doesn't actually make the product...if it says GE or Maytag or any other brand name, that's who made the product. One other thing...if you are born before 1930 PLEASE don't open a credit card if you can't hear or you can't see or you don't understand how things work in this century! I had one woman that was born in 1917 to call and ask me the name of the man she "traded" with at her store and that he would vouch for her good credit. LOL That is a dead give-away that they are old when they say they "trade" with a particular store...What is this "Little House on the Prairie"?

Your Late!

LATE FEES!!!! These are some of my favorite calls...(can you hear the sarcasm already). I could write an entire book on the excuses I hear for customers being late. It's almost comical when a customer calls in and asks, "What is this late fee for?" Um, your late! One of my favorites is, "I didn't get my statement last month." So, of course we check your mailing address and we have record when we mailed it out. But, guess what..WE DON'T CONTROL THE MAIL. I know that comes as a shock! It's amazing that your are still at the same address and you received the statement that had the late fee on it, but not the previous one. The fact that you have the product in your possession might have tipped you off that you need to pay for it. And, if you call in angry because of a late fee and demand we remove it....that just stinks for you! Now, if you call in and say "oops I forgot" or "I had a family emergency" or "would you please remove that fee as a courtesy" and you are nice, we will go out of our way to help you. However, we can only do that ONE time in a twelve month period, so use those excuses wisely. In closing, please treat your CSR with respect because we choose whether to help you or not.

Credit Limit Decrease

This is a big one right now! There are three reasons why your credit limit could be decreased (this is at least true with my company)....1. Payment history, if you are delinquent (and by the way...we don't care why) then your credit limit will be decreased. 2. Purchasing history, if you let your account go inactive...yes, you need to use your card. 3. Credit Bureau update, if your credit score has been lowered. As you can imagine we get hundreds upon hundreds of calls regarding this issue. Here are a few hints...First of all, the store doesn't issue credit, the bank that the store is associated with does. SO, you if you call in mad at the store you sound stupid because the store didn't lower your credit the bank did! Also, if you tell us you will never do business with the store again then GREAT you obviously aren't a good customer anyway because we are taking your credit away. ;)

We Don't Care How Long Your Married

When you call in on your spouse's account and your name is NOT listed as an authorized user or a joint...we don't care if you have been married for 50 years or 5 years, we CANNOT talk to you. One of my favorite complaints is when a spouse calls in and wants info and we refuse, then we get yelled at and they usually tell us they have all of their personal information so we should talk to them...Well, I'm here to tell you, we don't care if you know their blood type, it is against federal laws for us to talk to you. So, make sure your name is on the account otherwise you are wasting our time and yours. Oh, you will love this one...I had a call one day from a woman that wanted info on her husband's account. I told her I couldn't talk to her and she said hold on. So, she cleared he throat and waited a couple of seconds and then deepened her voice to try to sound like him. Give me a break! So, I had to send her to the fraud department.

Don't Spell Your Name

OK, please let me explain to you that when you are a CSR you are required to meet certain goals, and one of them is AHT (average handle time) which means the length we are on the phone with you. So, when you call in and we ask you for your name...DON'T spell it. We can see your name on the screen and we roll our eyes at you while your on the phone because you are affecting our call time! I honestly had a customer call in and spell their last name and guess what it was...SMITH. Are you kidding me! So, from now on when you call your credit card company NEVER spell your name unless they ask you to.

Intro To My Blog

Let me introduce my blog to you....I will be confessing quite often how frustrated it becomes to deal with stupid credit card holders on a daily basis. I will also share simple tips that will keep you from becoming one of these customers. You see, I am a CSR (customer service representative) for a major credit card. No, I will not reveal which one, however I will share everything that I encounter from awful last names to just plain stupid questions and situations that I encounter. So, please join me for some laughs and some tips on how to get what you want out of your credit card.