paul schreiber

A couple years ago, I switched my Wells Fargo MasterCard to an Amazon Rewards Visa card. Unfortunately, Amazon’s Visa card is managed by Chase, who has no idea how to run a business, build a web site or provide customer service.

The complaints piled up in my mind, but it wasn’t until I returned from my overseas trip that I was aggravated enough to write them down.

Here’s the letter I sent to Jeff Bezos:

Hi Jeff,

I have been a customer of Amazon’s for a decade. I’ve been very satisfied with the products I’ve ordered from Amazon and the customer service I’ve received. I’ve purchased products directly from Amazon, from other vendors who use Amazon’s web interface and from storefront merchants.

Three years ago, I re-evaluated all of my banking relationships. When picking a no-fee rewards card, I considered two options: Amazon and REI. I chose Amazon.

I’ve been quite disappointed with Chase. My problems with them fall in to four categories, the last of which was disturbing enough to prompt me to write.

1. The process for redeeming rewards certificates is broken. Here’s how it works:
   1. I spend enough money to earn an Amazon gift certificate
   2. They mail me a paper gift certificate
   3. I enter this information in to the Amazon web site
   4. I recycle the gift certificate.

   Paper? Really? What a waste. At a minimum, they could email me the gift certificate code. Ideally, you’d just credit my account directly.

   Recently, Chase replaced my Visa card with a Visa Signature card. They claimed they had improved the rewards program. I haven’t figured out what they’ve improved, but it’s not the important part (getting the Amazon gift certificate).

2. Chase’s purchase protection and extended warranty services are poor.
   1. The damage protection covers a very limited number of sources of damage, (AmEx covers damage, regardless of its cause.)
   2. The process for filing a claim is slow and involves lots of paper forms and mailing this. (AmEx lets you do this online or by fax.)

3. Last year, I went to New Zealand and Australia. Before I left, I called my credit card companies to inform them I would be out of the country.

   AmEx:

   • Told me it wasn’t necessary to call, and I would have been fine.
   • Charges 2.7% on transactions

   Chase:

   • Told me it was essential to call
   • Charges 3% on transactions
   • Tried to upsell me on some bullshit identity theft protection service, and tried to make me feel guilty/scared when I declined

4. Chase provides exceptionally limited transaction information.

   Before the statement arrives, you see:

   • Transaction Date
   • Posting Date
   • Amount, in USD
   • Transaction Number
   • Company name

   At the end of the month, you finally see:

   • Foreign currency amount and exchange rate

   With AmEx, you immediately see:

   • Date
   • Amount, in USD
   • Transaction Number
   • Company name
   • Company address
   • Company phone number
   • Company DBA name
   • Company category
   • Foreign currency amount

   Having the company DBA name and address were exceptionally valuable in allowing me to verify the transactions on my trip. In the case of Chase, I had to go over my schedule and make overseas phone calls to figure out who, for example, AUSTCORP NO 605 PTY, was.

Overall, Chase provides a subpar customer experience that isn’t in line with Amazon’s. It’s both frustrating your customers and sullying your good name.

I urge you to drop Chase for a more capable, friendly bank for your Amazon Visa card.

Paul

Need to write Hertz customer service (customer relations)? Their contact information was hard to track down (they appear to have moved, and even the BBB data is confusing).

The Hertz Corporation
PO Box 26120
Oklahoma City, OK 73126-0120
888-777-6095 x4036
405-290-2899 fax
customerrelations@hertz.com

Check out this piece in the Dover, Ohio Times-Reporter. Seem Verizon was wouldn’t help the cops until they paid the victim’s overdue phone bill:

Williams said he attempted to use the man’s cell phone signal to locate him, but the man was behind on his phone bill and the Verizon operator refused to connect the signal unless the sheriff’s department agreed to pay the overdue bill. After some disagreement, Williams agreed to pay $20 on the phone bill in order to find the man. But deputies discovered the man just as Williams was preparing to make arrangements for the payment.
…
“I was more concerned for the person’s life,” Williams said. “It would have been nice if Verizon would have turned on his phone for five or 10 minutes, just long enough to try and find the guy. But they would only turn it on if we agreed to pay $20 of the unpaid bill. Ridiculous.”

My friend Rob sends along this fun survey from AT&T.

Given the image, any commentary by me would be totally unnecessary.

Shocking, isn’t it? The folks at Enterprise Rent-a-Car in Nashville (BNA) were so polite and efficient, I wrote them a nice thank-you letter.

My coworker Pete suggested I have a little fun: give them a copy of the Hertz letter to laugh over. So I did. I also gave Hertz a copy of the Enterprise letter to show that I can be a nice guy sometimes.

Last fall, when I was in Chicago, I was treated incredibly rudely at the Hertz location at O’Hare. (This is not the first time I’ve had a poor rental experience.)

As soon as I walked up to the counter, the agent said “Don’t give me any attitude.” Before I had said anything. He had taken off his nametag, so I had no idea who he was. I took his picture so I could identify him later. He threatened to sue me over this — twice.

Here’s the jerk who did this:

And here’s the letter I sent Hertz:

More proof that airlines are run by idiots:

Airlines argue that adding fees this way is preferable to fare hikes because in theory, at least, passengers who don’t want to use the services can avoid them. And airlines can’t just raise fares whenever it suits them because the industry is so competitive that they’d surely lose passengers. “There is hardly any other product or service out there where a customer can instantly compare all the prices and products and services of every competitor,” said American spokesman Tim Smith.

1. People hate small fees.
2. Welcome to the Internet, Tim.

I love that my airline has a sense of humour:

It’s great that JetBlue lets its people speak in a human voice.

Eyeless Writer called Verizon 56 times to ask two different data pricing questions. 93 percent of reps answered at least one question incorrectly.

I recently purchased a TiVo HD. The TiVo was pre-activated, so I didn’t have to activate it on tivo.com.

Before I pass on my old TiVo (a series 2), I want to transfer the programs from it to my new TiVo HD. In order for transfers to work:

• both DVRs must have active service agreements
• “allow transfers” must be enabled on tivo.com
• both DVRs must be associated with the same tivo.com account

For some reason, my new TiVo was associated with the account of the person who ordered it, not my account.

I called TiVo, confirmed a few details, and they sorted everything out.

So, what’s the problem? It requires human intervention. The first time I attempted this process, the TiVo call center was closed. This account transfer should be a self-service option.

When I forget my password for AT&T’s web site, they text me a new one. It’s a pretty smart idea — communicating the secure information out-of-band.

My TiVo should have a unique identifier — other than the service number — that’s only visible from the device itself. Since my TiVo connects to the Internet already, this should be pretty straightforward. Once I enter that information, TiVo can confirm ownership of the box, and transfer it over to my account.