Customer Service

The idea for this entry comes from letters to the editor written by servers and other service personnel. I love my job. Many people can't say that, but I do. I work for the second largest bank in the US in the credit card division and the Fraud department. Specifically, we monitor every credit card account for activity that may be fraudulent. I have been in this department for five years. Someone somewhere above made the decision to close Fraud at the building I work in. Luckily, everyone here has a job. They are transitioning everyone to Customer Service. Because my tenure in a department I love is ending this weekend, I thought I would take a few minutes to reflect and share some thoughts.

Fraud really is a tough job. There are departments within the bank who work to service the customer. We have an element of that, but basically, our job is to protect the bank from losses due to fraudulent activity on credit cards. For those who might wonder, there are seven different types of fraud. More on that later. We have to balance the convenience of a credit card with the risk of fraud. Sometimes that means that we stop valid charges. Oftentimes, people are upset because of this.

This is where my letter begins:

Dear Cardholder,

I apologize for the inconvenience of stopping your credit card charge. Please understand that it was not me personally who stopped your charge from going through, but a complex computer system designed to recognize patterns of fraudulent activity. I understand that you may be upset, but screaming at me will not fix the problem. I will do everything I can to correct the situation, but remember that "everything I can" does not mean "everything you want."

I work for a business that has a set of rules, just like your business does. I can only work within certain parameters that may not go as far as you like. One of those rules is that if you are not on the account, I cannot speak to you. Period. Please do not ask me to violate that rule because your sister, whose account this is, is not able to come to the phone right now.

Another rule is that there is certain information I cannot give out over the phone. It doesn't matter how badly you need that big screen TV. I can't tell you full account numbers, expiration dates, and identifying information for our cardholder. (If you ask me if I have your phone number, and I ask you what your phone number is, please do not respond with, "If you won't tell me, I won't give it to you." I won't tell you.)

A third rule is that a charge can be stopped at any time and for any reason. Every new card comes with a Cardmember Agreement. I know it's a lot of reading, but it makes it easier on everyone if you read that before you call and threaten to sue both the bank and me personally because you couldn't buy $500 worth of groceries.

I do appreciate your business. Maybe I don't tell you enough, but your charges were not stopped because we want to ruin your weekend. Thank you for understanding that I have a job to do.

Sincerely,

ME

Countless times I have been screamed at and verbally abused. Remember that the person on my end of the phone has the power to stop accounts, sometimes permanently. Believe me, on more than one occasion my fingers were itching to close someone's account because of the way I was treated. I would never call my electric company and scream at the phone representative. I'm afraid it wouldn't be too long before it was very dark in my house.

All I'm really asking is to remember that people who work on phones take call after call all day long. We are people too. You wouldn't think of screaming at the mail carrier when she comes by. You wouldn't scream at the doctor when he didn't do something exactly the way you wanted. The is no excuse for screaming at anyone on the phone.

Monday starts a new chapter in my career at the bank, and I am looking forward to learning something different. Incidentally, the interview I mentioned previously has had no progress, so I wait on that as well.

Until next time, be good and be safe.

Oh yeah, the seven types of fraud are:

• Lost/Stolen
• Someone taking over someone else's account
• Fraudulent Applications
• Counterfeit cards
• Non-receipt
• Mail/Telephone Orders

Riverdance

Have you seen it? You should. Forty people dancing and all identical and in step? Amazing. I always thought Riverdance was Irish Dancing. There was Flamenco, Russian Folk, and some Tap Dancing for good measure.

Lisa and I felt there were elements of other Broadway musicals interwoven into the show.
Lion King-Some of the music felt like there should be giraffes and antelopes bounding across the stage.
Carousel-The Russian Folk Dancers were spinning their partners. Looked a carousel in the middle of the stage.
West Side Story-In the song "Trading Taps" they were going back and forth between Tap and Irish Dance. Kind of like the scene at the gym when they go back and forth between the Sharks and the Jets.
Fiddler on the Roof-I think that is just because there were Russian Dancers in the show.
Fame-The beginning of the second act started with this line in narration. "No life lasts forever." That made me think just the opposite. (I'm gonna live forever)

That first song was a tale of two lovers who were ripped apart by circumstances. I leaned over to Lisa and said, "Well, we can only go up from here." I almost asked for a plastic knife just so I could end it now. But, it did. The second act was much better than the first, once we got past the first song.

One final comment about the last couple of entries. I kind of figured it was my old friend Dana who made the original comment. I'm sorry she felt she needed to make her feelings public, instead of the numerous other ways there are to get a hold of me, but I think she indicts herself when she says she heard thru the grapevine and she herself hasn't seen or spoken with me in some time. As far as I'm concerned though, my friends did publicly reply, not because they felt they needed to defend me, but because they felt strong enough to reply in a public forum.

I have an interview this morning for another job within my company, so I am going to scamper off to that. Who knows? I might actually get a new job. :)

A Response

My journal is written for my own personal musings on a variety of subjects. I do not write here to whitewash things that are going on. I write here because I enjoy sharing my thoughts, and it gives people a glimpse into my life whether good or bad. I have never in any of my entries imagined myself to be perfect.

That being said, I am responding now to "Anonymous" who chose to leave a biting comment as a response to my last posting. I welcome comments, suggestions, and opinions. I said that from the very beginning of this Journal. I also asked that they be kept civil. A personal attack is not civil. And an anonymous attack is cowardly. I am assuming that "Anonymous" is upset because he or she was not included in the list of my friends who have been there thru thick and thin. First, that list was not all-inclusive. Secondly, I think that with a response like yours, your true colors shine thru and you probably wouldn't be included on that list anyway.

I will not let someone who choses to hide and throw potshots at me have any effect on the renewed direction I have chosen. If the person who posted that comment wishes to come out of hiding and allow me to respond to your accusations head-on, I will be happy to do that. If you wish to remain anonymous, please keep in mind that most people will dismiss a coward, so you may be wasting your time.

On to more pleasant things. This Sunday, my friend Lisa and I will be going to Riverdance. The tickets were her Christmas present to me. I asked Lisa a couple weeks ago if she would go with me. I am looking forward to the show. One of many goals is to be able to buy season tickets for the Broadway Series by next year. There is one other show I want to see this year, and that is Phantom. I've seen it four times, and would see it four more.

There is someone I have some interest in, but will wait a few weeks to see what happens before writing extensively about him. I'm just writing about this now to show that things are turning around.

Until next time, be safe.

Past Due Update

It's been 2 1/2 months since I've written. And what a wild ride it's been. Let me first start by saying that I am single. I've had people read my profile on Yahoo, showing that I'm single, but question that because of my entries on here. I am indeed single, and it is indeed my fault. To Chris, I apologize for the decisions I made over the past couple months, and hope that you hold no animosity toward me for those. I also understand that because of my decisions, I basically chose to be single.

Let's discuss some of those decisions I've made. I got involved in a mess they call crystal meth. I used it, and realized very quickly what it can do. While I didn't hit rock bottom, I did sink very fast. While I am not tooting my own horn, I did have the foresight to see what it was doing to my life, and gave it up. The next step came in being nice to those I had met while doing it. I found out quickly that doesn't work either. So, from the middle of January until the beginning of April, that encompasses my time with crystal meth. It is over. I don't want anything to do with it or anyone that has anything to do with it. If you read this, and are interested in any more information, I would be happy to share my experiences.

That leads me to a discussion of who my friends really are. As you might know, there are many different "levels" of friendship. There are those who are there thru thick and thin. Bryan and Greg would top that list. There are those who will support you whatever your decision is. If you choose not to use meth, cool. If you do, they are right there beside you. Thomas would fit there. There are those who would encourage you to use, and if you don't they are nowhere to be found. That list remains nameless to the masses.

Bryan and Greg...This is my public apology to you. You have been there and I haven't realized it. You wait quietly in the wings until I am ready for you. You are the definition of a true friend.

With all that being said, I don't believe it's too late to turn this Titanic around. I am looking forward to getting back on track and re-prioritizing my life. My house needs to be cleaned. Those of you who are closest to me know I've been lamenting about this for some time. The time has come. I will be getting my finances in order, taxes done, and eBay account up and running again. It's funny when someone bares their innermost thoughts, that an eBay account is one of them.

I'd love to have someone to share my life with. When I think about that, I think how much more stable things would be if I had it. In reality, maybe that's not what I need right now. I wouldn't turn it down if a relationship came up and bit me on the butt, but I don't have the energy to "look" for it. In fact, I think I'll save for my next entry just exactly what I am looking for. Until then, please be careful and be safe.