“But here’s the catch: I had never received the bill that they said I didn’t pay. And the reason I knew it was a trick was that this was the second time they did this. A couple of months earlier, after I had made a different purchase at Brooks Brothers, they also did not send me a bill until it was already overdue, adding a big fee to the balance. That time I paid it. This time I got mad.
“The credit card company for Brooks Brothers is GE Money Bank (sometimes you’ll see it on your bill as “GEMB”). If you Google it, you’ll find many discussion boards where people are ranting about their problems with this credit company – all worse than mine.
“I called GEMB, which took several tries through an automated system to finally talk to a live person. She told me she couldn’t help and referred me to Brooks Brothers’ customer service number. Once I got that person on the phone, I let her have my full wrath. She finally removed all the charges and at my request cancelled the card.
“I’ve since discovered that my new JC Penney card was also through GEMB. They did the exact same thing – sent me my first bill saying I had already missed a payment. Like a dope, I paid that late charge, too. But once I saw this happen with my Brooks Brothers card, I got wise and cancelled the JC Penney account, too.
“So now I have resolved not to shop at JC Penney (no big sacrifice for me, but they are one of the few retailers near my very remote location) or Brooks Brothers, which is much sadder because my husband and son love their no-iron shirts. But I’ll find a similar product elsewhere, I’m sure.
“I called Brooks Brothers’ customer service to report my dissatisfaction with GEMB, but the representative seemed totally unconcerned. She would not let me talk to a supervisor and was dismissive.”
THE CUSTOMER SERVICE LESSON: Companies need to understand that everything done in their name reflects on the company, and you need to know how your customers are treated in all encounters. Whether it’s with floor salespeople, an Internet order taker, or your store credit card company, every transaction relating to your company reflects on you. Neglect any part of that long enough and you lose customers.
Don Gallegos is the author of “Win the Customer, Not the Argument.” His customer service philosophy is, “The customer is not always right, but she is always your customer.” For more information about Don’s book, visit www.brigantinemedia.com.
Click here to read an excerpt from Don’s book.
Original post on dongallegos.com
