8 tips for calling customer service
By Aviya
Kushner • Bankrate.com
For his book, "Talk Your Way
Out of Credit Card Debt," Scott Bilker recorded 52 phone
calls to consumer-service representatives, spanning all kinds
of situations from removing an annual fee to negotiating a
settlement for a friend near bankruptcy.
Here are some of Bilker's tips
for dealing with customer service:
- Take notes on your conversation. Keep your own
records so you can have ammunition when you call back.
- Have your deal-breaker ready. Be prepared to say
something like, "If you don't lower my rate, I'll transfer
it to Blah Blah Bank at 4.99 percent."
- Use junk-mail offers as bargaining chips. If you
received a low-rate offer lately, use it to negotiate.
- Research your own account history. Bilker suggests
adding up the interest you've paid over a year so you can
say, "Do you know how much I've racked up in interest this
year? I'm sure some other bank would like that $400."
- Ask the rep for help. Bilker recommends phrasing
questions like this: "Who do you suggest I talk to?" and
"What do I need to do to lower my rate?"
- Be ready to change products. If you can get a better
rate by switching to the Platinum Flyer from the Platinum
Swinger, do it. Ask to upgrade your card, Bilker says.
- Ask for a lower rate whenever you call. Bilker
suggests that if you call your card company for any reason,
ask them to lower your rate. You never know.
- Don't rush to close accounts. Bilker emphasizes
that more accounts mean more bargaining power for consumers.
He suggests making banks compete for you, and the only way
to do that is to keep credit lines open.
See also:
- Surviving
a call to customer service-- Plan ahead, stay calm and
know just what it is you're after.
- Crawling
through the customer-service maze -- Our intrepid reporter
tries to get a straight answer and does ... finally.
- Calling
tech support will cost you -- You don't spend so much
time on hold, but you'll pay for the help you get.
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