What's In Your Wallet? (General)

I admit it, I enjoy those funny commercials with the Vikings that always end with the question, “what’s in your wallet?” They use that tagline to entice you to carry a Capital One credit card and use it for all your purchases. For over 15 years I have carried a CitiCard credit card in my wallet, and believe me, it got used! My card is labeled “black diamond” because it has been used through the start up of several business ventures. I always pay my bill in full and on time. Sadly, during my last business trip, I reached my limit of frustration with Citi and have begun the search for a new credit card provider… I travel for business regularly, and when on vacation, my wife and I love to travel. Over the last 18 months, I have begun to encounter problems using my credit card if I am not in Orlando. My card was rejected at a) the airport in Detroit b) a WalMart in Tiffin c) a department store in Columbus d) an ATM in Sorrento Italy and e) a variety of gas stations…this drives me CRAZY! Now, before you start telling me that I need to call the company to inform them of my business travel in advance, you need to know…been there, done that! I have called before, during and after trips to report my whereabouts. I have answered all the security questions, I have asked them to put a note in my file that reads “Jerry tends to travel for business so let him use his card, OK?”. I have written letters, and even begged for mercy, but none of that seems to work. I am left with no alternative… I need to find another supplier…one I can count on! One that will service my needs! One that will listen and respond! One that values my business! You know it is time to leave a company when just the thought of doing business with them increases your hear rate. When I have the audacity to travel outside my designated zip code and reach for my credit card…my mind begins to race…Is is going to work? Should I just carry cash? Is this line of people behind me going to freak out when they seem me searching for my glasses to read the microscopic “customer service” number on the back of my card, then reaching for my cell phone and then uttering security code gibberish like, “huckleberry”, “Orlando Magic” and “1796bootstrapper”. (This is also a particularly impressive scenario when you are entertaining a client at dinner!) In an effort to prevent fraudulent use, and protect the company’s assets, Citi has forgotten the needs of their customer! They reassure me each time that I call that this is for “my protection” but what good is protection if it prevents use? Do we prevent boating to protect people from boating accidents? Should we prevent business start-ups to “protect” entrepreneurs from financial risk? Is Citi really concerned with “my protection” or are they just forcing their client to conform to what they would like me to do, rather than what I need? ?(that is rhetorical, we both know the answer) Every business, large and small, needs to view policies and procedures through the eyes of their customers first! If you remove the benefit of doing business with you, simply because it is easier, faster, or better for you, then you need to be prepared to find new clients as quickly as you lose the clients who can, and will, go elsewhere. Remember, it is much cheaper to keep a good client than it is to find a new one! So, I have removed my black diamond credit card and placed it in a very secure and secret location…for my protection. I occasionally take it out just to remember the good old days when I could travel the world and rely on my trusty old credit card. Today, I even thought about calling customer service just to change my password, and because I miss speaking with Ann, Charlie, Mary, and the customer service and fraud prevention gang,.. but I didn’t want to interrupt them...they are probably busy protecting other customers! By the way, the last time I saw that funny commercial, and they asked “what’s in your wallet”, I actually answered out loud for the first time…“cash.”