Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

02/20/08 Update: I just got off the phone with a nice woman in the Am Ex executive offices (she called me). She sympathized and gave me a credit for $50.00 in the interest of good customer relations. Thanks Am Ex!

I’m still battling a $50 charge ransom fee by American Airlines for overweight luggage on my return from Europe last October. I’ve written the AA CEO, with no response (just sent him a second copy in snail mail) and then decided to take another run at Am Ex re my dispute.

After I went through the whole ransom scenario again (pay $50 or leave my hostage luggage on the lobby floor of JFK), the poor frustrated Am Ex service rep finally whimpered, “But, we’re just a credit card company. Your proof has to outweigh theirs.”

So much for Am Ex’s values statement, “We develop relationships that make a positive difference in our customers’ lives.”

Hmmmm….so, Am Ex, you’re “just a credit card company?” Well, I’ve got other credit cards. In fact, I’m doing my best to only use one, Discover. Discover gives me great service and makes it very easy to quickly communicate electronically (including letting me respond to their emails) so I don’t have jump through phone system hoops. (They’ve even stopped calling me during dinner!)

Tags: marketing troubleshooting, American Express, American Airlines, American Airlines problems, American Airlines customer service, Discover, customer service