American Express Canada was honored with the 2011 Service Quality Award of Excellence for its customer service call centres, according to a recent press release on the American Express Canada website. The award recognizes the highest level of customer satisfaction among credit card companies not only in Canada, but in all of North America.

The Service Quality Award of Excellence is an annual award presented by Service Quality Measurement, “an industry-focused research firm that tracks, benchmarks and recognizes over 450 leading North American call centres.” Based on on over one million surveys of customers who have contacted a call centre, American Express Canada’s receipt of the award is a benchmark achievement.

“We’re honoured to be recognized by our own customers for providing outstanding value and service,” says Andrew Carlton, General Manager and Vice President, World Service at American Express Canada

American Express Canada states it has offered exceptional customer service for 158 years. Like the rest of the American Express group, American Express Canada embraces the “Relationship Care℠” program.

This unique approach to customer service recognizes it’s the customer’s voice which is important in determining offerings and services of the company. American Express trains its call centre personnel in how to listen to the customer and provide support that is focused on the individual consumer. This means customer service calls are unique and do not follow a set script nor are customer care professionals limited in the amount of time they can spend on a cardholder phone call. When an American Express cardholder phones in, the customer care professional is not only committed to helping the individual with his or her question, but also goes the extra mile to explain benefits that the American Express card has which fit into the lifestyle of that particular customer.

American Express is so committed to connecting with cardholders through its Relationship Care and its “Recommend to a Friend” programs that American Express employees are able to earn percentage of pay incentives based on the satisfaction of cardholders who call in. “Every time a customer calls us, we view it as an opportunity to deepen our relationship with them,” says Carlton.

It’s not surprising that American Express Canada has earned the 2011 Service Quality Award of Excellence. This is another plaque on the wall of recognition for outstanding performance in customer service. The American Express company in North America has been recognized as a top recipient of customer satisfaction awards by JD Power and Associates for five consecutive years and Forrester Research has also rated American Express highest on its Customer Experience Index for credit card providers.

“If there’s one constant throughout the history of our company, it’s our focus on service,” says Carlton. “It is our top priority to make each customer experience personal, and it’s our Customer Care Professionals that deliver on this promise.”

Last week, J.D. Power and Associates released their 2009 Credit Card Satisfaction Study with results of what customers really think about credit card issuers. The results weren’t surprising as most customers this past year have seen rate increases, fee increases, credit lines slashed or accounts closed completely. As a result of the economy, credit card issuers have been forced to cover rising defaults and losses. Customers haven’t responded well to the recent changes and credit card issuers have seen their customer satisfaction ratings plummet.

In fact, the J.D. Power and Associates survey found that the customer satisfaction level has reached a three-year low. Michael Beird, J.D. Power and Associate’s director of banking, said, “Overall satisfaction declines 86 index points when a customer incurs a late fee. Issues with fees also contribute to the high incidence of problems and complaints in 2009, with 18 percent of customers reporting problems, compared with 10 percent in 2008.”

In 2008, only 10 percent of customers reported that their fees and rates were increased. That number has almost doubled in one short year. That’s right…20 percent of credit card customers now say that they have seen an increase in credit card fees and rates. But, does the type of customer affect satisfaction?

Absolutely.

The survey found that those who are among the unhappiest are those credit card holders who do not pay off their credit cards in full each month. Credit card customers who carry a balance from month to month gave credit card companies the lowest ratings. American Express ranked highest in customer satisfaction for the third straight year with an index score of 761. Discover Card and National City came in second and third with index scores of 751 and 740, respectively.

So, what have these companies all done well? Customers reported being satisfied with credit card companies when they received consistent communication from the creditor. Even when a fee or rate increase did occur, customers reported being satisfied 97 percent of the time when they received notification of the increase beforehand.

Although customers are not overly satisfied with credit card companies currently, there is one thing credit card issuers can do to keep customers happy. Communicate. Credit card companies need to keep their customers informed and customers need to do their part by staying informed. Customers can actively participate in the communication process by researching different credit cards and educating themselves before applying.

Surely, the level of overall credit card satisfaction will increase when well-informed customers team up with credit card companies who communicate.

Have you had a good or bad experience with your credit card issuer this past year? Give us your feedback.