Rant about AirBerlin credit card
Nov 1, 2015, 5:51 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 24
Rant about AirBerlin credit card
I had it for 3 years, then I switched to the British Airways Barclaycard (which unfortunately will cease to exist in December)...I wish I had done it earlier.
Apart from the Avios program being much more flexible and better than the Topbonus one, LBB (the bank behind the card) has a terrible customer service (slow in answeing e-mails, rude on the telephone, sometimes plain stupid), and their online banking website sucks...
I've been living in Germany more than 5 years, and I learned the hard way that if you want good customer service in this country, you have to rely on foreign companies (Barclays instead of LBB, Amazon and eBay instead of Otto, Zalando or other local e-commerce websites). 90% of the time German companies have a terrible customer service (look at Lufthansa, for example...not even EasyJet and RyanAir charge 6 EUR for credit card payment).
The EU should allow free offering of services of UK companies in Germany and the rest of the continent, but so far has only allowed Germany to flood Europe with their cancerogenous diesel cars.
Apart from the Avios program being much more flexible and better than the Topbonus one, LBB (the bank behind the card) has a terrible customer service (slow in answeing e-mails, rude on the telephone, sometimes plain stupid), and their online banking website sucks...
I've been living in Germany more than 5 years, and I learned the hard way that if you want good customer service in this country, you have to rely on foreign companies (Barclays instead of LBB, Amazon and eBay instead of Otto, Zalando or other local e-commerce websites). 90% of the time German companies have a terrible customer service (look at Lufthansa, for example...not even EasyJet and RyanAir charge 6 EUR for credit card payment).
The EU should allow free offering of services of UK companies in Germany and the rest of the continent, but so far has only allowed Germany to flood Europe with their cancerogenous diesel cars.
Nov 1, 2015, 6:07 am
#2
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Capetown
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, IHG and Hilton Diamond, LH SEN, BA Gold
Posts: 10,167
Assuming you contacted LBB with a similar approach I would not be surprised if the normally friends and competent agents lost their friendly behaviour. This post is nothing but a rant, without any facts and can only be considered as libel not only vice versa this corporporate entity but against the Germans as such.
I personally lived in several other countries and considered it always as a privilege and certainly not as an invitation to insult my hosts. A statement like "if you want good customer service in this country, you have to rely on foreign companies" speaks for itself but certainly not for its author.
Germany is one of the most welcoming countries in Europe and (unfortunately different from the UK you mentioned) taking its responsibilities in Europe. Fortunately most of our guests understand it as a privilege and appreciate it.
I personally lived in several other countries and considered it always as a privilege and certainly not as an invitation to insult my hosts. A statement like "if you want good customer service in this country, you have to rely on foreign companies" speaks for itself but certainly not for its author.
Germany is one of the most welcoming countries in Europe and (unfortunately different from the UK you mentioned) taking its responsibilities in Europe. Fortunately most of our guests understand it as a privilege and appreciate it.
Nov 1, 2015, 9:31 am
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Oct 2009
Posts: 24
Assuming you contacted LBB with a similar approach I would not be surprised if the normally friends and competent agents lost their friendly behaviour. This post is nothing but a rant, without any facts and can only be considered as libel not only vice versa this corporporate entity but against the Germans as such.
I personally lived in several other countries and considered it always as a privilege and certainly not as an invitation to insult my hosts. A statement like "if you want good customer service in this country, you have to rely on foreign companies" speaks for itself but certainly not for its author.
Germany is one of the most welcoming countries in Europe and (unfortunately different from the UK you mentioned) taking its responsibilities in Europe. Fortunately most of our guests understand it as a privilege and appreciate it.
I personally lived in several other countries and considered it always as a privilege and certainly not as an invitation to insult my hosts. A statement like "if you want good customer service in this country, you have to rely on foreign companies" speaks for itself but certainly not for its author.
Germany is one of the most welcoming countries in Europe and (unfortunately different from the UK you mentioned) taking its responsibilities in Europe. Fortunately most of our guests understand it as a privilege and appreciate it.
Back to LBB...I always had a good attitude with their customer service...it's just them who are not up to the 21st century: http://www.modern-banking.de/ebk_lbb.php.
Nov 1, 2015, 10:29 am
#4
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Capetown
Programs: Marriott Lifetime Plat, IHG and Hilton Diamond, LH SEN, BA Gold
Posts: 10,167
I don't want to start a flame about how welcoming Germany is to foreigners...data about job opportunities in management jobs, access to higher education, possibility to keep dual-citizenship provides a very different picture.
Back to LBB...I always had a good attitude with their customer service...it's just them who are not up to the 21st century: http://www.modern-banking.de/ebk_lbb.php.
Back to LBB...I always had a good attitude with their customer service...it's just them who are not up to the 21st century: http://www.modern-banking.de/ebk_lbb.php.
Nov 3, 2015, 6:30 pm
#5
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Eurozone
Programs: LH SEN, HH Gold
Posts: 3,002
Germany and the Germans welcomed me wholeheartedly. Why exactly do you expect them to hand over a management job opportunity to a foreigner? Why is it their responsibility to provide higher education to non-Germans? Why should anyone enjoy dual-citizenship at all? A bit greedy and demanding of our host, aren't we? Do you also complain at invited dinner parties as to the brands being served?
I would tend to agree that I've not experienced many German companies implementing untried, experimental products. They go for the sure bet and forgo unnecessary risk. While I, as a consumer, don't particularly like that, can I blame them really?
As for online banking...indeed, US and UK products do have a polish to them that's not seen as often in Germany. While I sometimes fail at it, I try not to sweat the small stuff.
Last edited by Grog; Nov 4, 2015 at 1:24 am
Nov 3, 2015, 6:38 pm
#6
Join Date: May 2003
Location: Eurozone
Programs: LH SEN, HH Gold
Posts: 3,002
Nov 4, 2015, 9:26 am
#7
Moderator, SkyTeam and Germany
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: FRA/STR/NUE
Programs: BA, LH, KL, EY, IHG, Marriott, Hyatt, Hilton, Radisson
Posts: 5,946
As this discussion is off topic to airberlin topbonus and shows some tendencies of content that is not within our ft rules, I'll be closing down this thread.
ralfkrippner,
forum moderator
ralfkrippner,
forum moderator