Membership has its privileges? Not with Amex, says customer Irene Hoe

Amex asked for it --- "Tell us what you think (of our service)"

Ever willing to please, Irene Hoe decided to give it to them. She tried to fill up a Customer Service Satisfaction Survey online.

But she got no satisfaction. So she wrote to Amex to tell about her experience....

"I tried.. I spent nearly an hour writing my responses to your questions.

"Then I got to the question that asks what your could have done to make me recommend your card to others,

"I wrote my answer and hit CONTINUE

"But it wouldn't let me. It said that one or more questions on that page needed additional input.

"What other question?

"There was only one question and I had answered it,

"After a few attempts, I decided to call the number at the back of my card as the webpage helpfully suggested.

"So you wait five to 10 minutes while they play the horrible fractured muzak that needs replacing (but of course no one from Amex would call that line so they never know) and then a guy comes on and tells you that he is sorry but he really has no idea what I should do.

"This is just a précis of the fruitless conversation that can make anyone feel that he is talking to a service manual.

"So I decided to google Mr Russell Nickson who had sent me this wonderful form letter inviting me to use the website to tell Amex about my telephone conversation.

"And I found that like me, he was on LinkedIn but wasn't accepting any inMail or invitations to link up. I don't have to guess why!

"I also found a totally laughable collection of politically-correct corporately-correct statements he had made, which absolutely do not reflect my experience with Amex.

"And that's only the latest episode of my encounters with Amex, which has managed to decline my credit card in at least seven countries in the last three years and four times in Singapore this month alone.

"If this is what this company means by "membership has its privileges" it's time we stopped paying for them."

Unfortunately, Irene's feedback may not read. Exactly 57 minutes after she had sent her email to Amex, back came this reply:

"Dear American Express® Cardmember,

This message is automatically generated. To ensure the security of your account information, we cannot reply to inquiries sent through non-secure email.

To contact us by phone, please call the number on the back of your Card.

To view information specific to your country, please click on the appropriate link below:
(what follows is a list of countries with links to their respective Amex websites)."

It is hard to believe that for a multi-national, Amex does not entertain email from its customers!!! Membership has its privileges, indeed!!!