Responsible Consumer Gets Slap In The Face By Credit Card Companies

Navigator of the Seas

As I pack my bags and get ready to head off to get married aboard the Navigator of the Seas,  I am increasingly excited about the ocean, the relaxation, of course the marriage, and oh, the shopping that awaits me!  During this elation yesterday I opened my mail and got a disheartening notice from one of my credit card companies telling me that they have canceled my credit card due to non-use.  WHAT?  With the down economy, I have heard about credit card companies struggling with those that aren’t paying, those that are calling for lower interest rates, and those that will simply never pay.  So why I asked am I being punished? I fit into NONE of those categories!

I have to say I found this a bit offensive and really took it as another proverbial slap in the face for actually doing the right thing as a consumer. I don’t have any credit card debt. I bought a house I can afford. My business cash flow is in the positive. We haven’t laid anyone off. And I don’t use my credit cards, but instead pay CASH for things, except for that rare occasion where I put something on a credit card to get airline points, which I pay off at the end of the month!  Yet, my credit card companies are basically punishing me for not having some outstanding balance that I have no hopes of paying. They are basically telling me, “well Amanda, you are a responsible consumer and that doesn’t quite fit into our business model.”

Quite frankly, it makes little sense to me, as if it were my company I would be courting those that have used credit wisely, not hindering them as customers.  I was speaking with my staff and trying to equate this to our business. Right now, many of our clients are being hit hard by the economy. We’ve had calls where they ask for help on payments, or extensions on payments. We’ve also had calls where we’ve been told that budgets for 2009 are looking slim and giving us the heads up. And what have we done for our valuable customers that have historically always paid on time? We certainly aren’t telling them “well, thanks for your business but we are going to increase your retainer and also decrease service to you because you’ve been so great!”  No, instead, we are reaching out to our best customers and finding out how we can help and doing MORE work for the same retainers in hopes of helping them through the tough times.

Perhaps the credit card companies should heed this. Just yesterday I was at the Kelly Cardenas Salon and we were talking about the down economy. His quote was, “too many people are out trying to find new business instead of courting their existing customers.”  I agree.

pink Porsche

And, my Porsche shop, Becks Porche, is also doing the same thing. They are looking at online alternatives to courting new clients, and also making calls to existing customers to check in and see how things are going.  John Beck mentioned to me the other day that they are working hard to find the most cost efficient parts and creating more efficiency in the shop to ensure their customers are still mindful of the safety and maintenance on their cars.  Good stuff – keep customers happy, and the roads safe!

So, to my credit card company who shut my card down: I hope it doesn’t hurt too badly when I put my likely large amount of purchases on another card while I am on vacation and extend those payments into two months which would have netted you about 21% – a great margin if you ask me.

Amanda Vega Consulting | Public Relations and Blogging and Activities (social marketing and sometimes just social)

Tagged as: business cash flow, credit card companies, customer service, responsible consumer, slap in the face