Since this is an old story, I thought it would be irrelevant today. I was wrong. Figure this out. Credited to an anonymous source, the material is titled: Cancel Those Credit Cards.
My aunt died this past January. This bank billed her for February and March for their monthly service charge on her credit card and then added late fees and interest on the monthly charge; the balance had been $0.00. Now it is somewhere around $60.00.
I placed the following phone call to the bank:
Me: “I am calling to tell you that she died in January.”
Bank: “The account was never closed, and the late charges still apply.”
Me: “You should turn it over to collections!”
Bank: “Since it is two months past due, it already has been.”
Me: “So, what will they do when they find out she is dead?”
Bank: “Either report her account to the frauds division or report her to the credit bureau...maybe both!”
Me: “Do you think God will be mad at her?”
Bank: “...excuse me?”
Me: “Did you just get what I was telling you... the part about her being dead?”
Bank: “Sir, you’ll have to speak to my supervisor!”
Me: “I’m calling to tell you she died in January.”
Supervisor: “The account was never closed, and the late charges still apply.”
Me: “You mean you want to collect from her estate?”
Bank: “Are you her lawyer?”
Me: “No, I’m her great-nephew.”
Bank: “Could you fax us a certificate of death?”
Me: “Sure.” (After they get the fax)
Bank: “Our system just isn’t set up for death. I don’t know what more I can do to help.”
Me: “Well... if you figure it out, great! If not, you could keep billing her. I don’t think she will care!”
Bank: “The late fees and charges do still apply.”
Me: “Would you like her new billing address?”
Bank: “That might help.”
Me: “Odessa Memorial Cemetery, Hwy 129, and plot number given.”
Bank: “Sir, that’s a cemetery!”
Me: “What do you do with dead people on YOUR planet?!!”
Bank hung up!!!
Have you ever had the experience of calling up your bank? You bear the torture of listening to their product pitch, pushing multiple buttons, pressing your credit card number, and then listening to a computerized voice that says, “Your call is important to us. But right now, all of our agents are somewhere in the universe busy with whatever they are doing, so please call again.” I did. I wanted to know how long it would take to finally get a human being on the phone to answer my call.
I finally got a live human on the phone. I explained. “I have been a founding member of your card and have been using it for years. You have increased my credit limit periodically. But I could not understand why you charged me a yearly annual membership fee when you have not done so before, while other companies do not. And since every call I make is a recorded one, you will probably notice that the first call I gave was last November, and the fourth follow-up was a few months ago, and your people keep on telling me that you will have to elevate this case to an officer and you will get back to me. I have been patiently waiting, but no calls have come.”
Meanwhile, another company is featuring the same card I am using and promises that if I sign up for the new card, you will not charge annual fees. Please tell me why your company punishes your loyal customers and offers privileges to new ones.
Guess what the response was? Similar to the last three or four calls, “We will have an officer look at your request and give you an update.” I am still waiting; meanwhile, I have yet to use the card as extensively as I used to.
I get frustrated, but I always speak respectfully to the person who talks to me. It’s not her fault the company has not fixed this broken system. She is just doing her job.
Another company in another industry, with their loyalty card program, sent me an email and surprised me. It says I lost my “tier” membership because I failed to meet the required flights or points to maintain it.
There are a lot of broken systems happening with businesses, and it’s time for them to empathize with how their customers feel about all these. With technology, CX (customer experience) should have improved. But it has not. Customers view companies as predatory and uncaring, so why should they be rewarded with loyalty? You do not need technology to understand this. All you need is just... to be human.
(Francis Kong’s “Inspiring Excellence” podcast is now available on Spotify, Apple, Google, or other podcast streaming platforms.)