... and the worst in customer service

Last year someone tries to use my Amex card.

Amex notices it. Calls me. I tell them I know nothing about the charge. They overnight me a replacement card with a new number. And they alert all the vendors with whom I am automatically charged of my new number. The inconvenience to me? Zero.

As opposed to...

I notice a charge for a pair of $700 sneakers, ordered online from Saks with my employee credit card. I call Capital One who is the keeper of my Saks card. They refer me back to saks.com. 

I call saks.com. They have no record of the charge and it doesn't show up on my My Account orders. 

Now what?  I'm told to call back Cap One.

I do. 

Cap One refers me this time to their Fraud Department. I explain the problem. again. Their solution?  An immediate shut down of my online Cap One account. Now I no longer have access to it. I can't see my balance. And I can only make payments via check. I barely use checks anymore. 

"How long will it take to get a new card and resolve all this?" I ask. My employee credit card, which includes my discount, is the biggest (and only) perk of my job.

"One or two billing cycles," I'm told.

Up to 60 days!!! Could this be any more ridiculous? 

I can't access my account.

I have no usable credit card.

And, I can't pay my bill online.

How is this even remotely in the best interest of the customer?

I move up the Fraud Department's personnel ladder until I reach someone who is consumer-friendly.

I retell the story.

Explain my frustration.

She fixes everything, and within a week I receive my new card.

That's certainly better than waiting two months, but really, it shouldn't be this hard.