This is an ode to American Express.
I have my business credit card with American Express. The division is actually named "Open from American Express." I’ve also been a personal cardmember for almost 15 years. But as you probably know, mistakes happen…the kind where the consumer (me) is at fault.
Some weeks ago I took Amex up on an offer with Wine Spectator Magazine. The offer gave me three years of Wine Spectator if I upgraded to a business gold card. It took me all of two seconds to act.
The mistake I made was in missing the date due on the old card, which really was the new card. Wham, $29 late fee for missing the payment by days. OK, fair is fair…the date due is the date due. I decided to call and ask for a waiver of the fee…
The guy I talked to, Jason I believe, was polite and seemed genuinely glad to speak with me. After I relayed (I hope you’re still with me) my story, he took about 15 seconds to say "no problem we’ll take care of the fee for you Mr. Pennington." Wow! Remarkable (obviously if I’m writing about it)! Surprising!
Before you think this is normal for service providers, take a look at the following list of unnamed service providers who’ve made it hard (mistake or not) to do business with them:
- Multiple credit card companies…competitors of American Express.
- Furniture retailers
- National grocery store chains
- Regional automobile dealers
- Appliance manufacturers
- Regional banks
I could keep going, but cheers to American Express for being a true business partner.