The Target (News - Alert) security breach that took place last year was responsible for compromising 40 million debit and credit cards. Companies that issued these cards lost tens of millions of dollars trying to rectify the situation by replacing cards, running credit reports, and ensuring unauthorized charges were not being made. Events such as this have increased consumer awareness about the safety of their debit and credit cards. This has placed the burden on card issuers to have better customer service with call centers capable of answering questions quickly if such an event should take place. A new survey conducted by Credit Card Chasers has revealed just as much when its respondents revealed a high level of customer service is one of their biggest criteria when they look for a new card.
The survey found consumers still want many of the features that are being offered by credit card companies such as 0 percent introductory APR on balance transfers, 0 percent introductory APR on purchases for 6 months, cash back, bonus miles and more. Companies that had stellar customer service ranked higher in the survey, especially those that provided alerts from the customer service departments of the company for suspicious activity.
Credit Card Chaser recognized Discover it, Citi Platinum Select/AAdvantage World MasterCard (News - Alert), and Barclaycard Arrival Plus World Elite MasterCard as the best companies offering the highest level of customer service.
With so many touch points available for companies to reach customers, it is now easier than ever to keep in touch with them at all times with a pro-active customer service initiative. This includes sending text, email and voice calls to the smartphones and tablets of their customers.
Not providing this service is no longer an option because customers now demand the companies they do business with to deliver call center solutions with better customer service, this is especially true for financial services organizations.
"Banks need advanced technology and operations based on best practices to provide the levels of telephone support today's convenience-driven consumers expect and today's highly competitive business environment demands," said Tony Wormington president of Jack Henry & Associates, a company specializing in payment processing solutions for the financial sector.
Edited by Maurice Nagle