Reserve card customer service outsourced?
 

Is AmEx now using overseas call centers to handle the Delta Reserve card?

In the past, I was relatively happy with their phone agents, although I consider them not quite as good as those who answer calls about regular AmEx Platinum charge cards despite the similar annual fees.

However, today I just wasted over an hour on the phone with an offshore call center agent and then his supervisor. Both were just reading from a script and seemed incapable of understanding my questions (such as whether some pending item was showing as a preauthorization or an actual charge) and responding. It was very frustrating. The agent had me on long holds three times and them I was on hold twice more after I asked to speak to a supervisor. The holds had strange phone noises, such as the words "please wait" repeated at annoying intervals, and some clicks and beeps that sounded like the call had gone back to the queue or had been dropped while being transferred.

It was very frustrating.

Maybe a routing error? I've always gotten US agents when calling about the Reserve. Or this is yet another sign that Amex is on the ropes.

I have noticed this. Gone is nice lady/man from Utah and in their place was a thick accent that I struggled to understand (part of it was a very poor connection - another sign of outsourcing). This has happened twice in the past month. Called during normal business hours.

May be more appropriate for the Amex forum, as Delta is not involved with how Amex handled their credit card customer service...

Amex has always used a call center in India, especially handling calls during off business hours. They are actually pretty well trained and I've had more or less good luck with them understanding my requests, compared to other companies with offshore call centers. But they aren't perfect.

In the grand scheme of Amex cards, I don't believe the Delta Reserve is treated as the same tier as their high end Platinum self-branded cards (despite similar annual fees), so it doesn't surprise me they route calls for it to their ordinary call centers.

I was told several years ago by AmEx that the Reserve card is supposed to receive the same level of customer service as their regular Platinum charge card, but I've always found it to be not quite as good.

For me, this was the first time I was aware of my call to AmEx having been directed to a call center in India. OTOH, I fell that they should get some credit for not trying to conceal this. In particular, the supervisor didn't give me an Americanized fake name as some representatives do.

I've gotten reps from India if I used their online chat, but never when calling before. Although, I haven't called this year.

In general, I have been really impressed with the chat. Quick responses and I have always received the correct answer it resource.

Got news for you though... just because the agent's name is "Ryan" doesn't mean he's in the U.S. I've seen many examples of AmEx chat agents with American names but their syntax, punctuation, and word choice have tell tale signs of offshore English. To be fair, I've generally found chat agents to be satisfactory, however, I only chat for straightforward requests.

If you ever try to call AmEx for customer service for a prepaid gift card, though, you can forget about it. The amount of time you'll spend on the phone is certainly not worth whatever is left on the gift card.

On tax day I paid my $$$ with my Reserve card and encountered a problem. The first call was handled in the Philippines, and the agent suggested that I call the IRS. Uh, I don't think she understood.
Hang up, call back. The next senorita was located in Mexico city and gave the same naive response.

What the hell? I thought I dialed AMERICAN Express....

I have the exact same frustration when I call customer service for companies that have some iteration of America in their name - American Express, Bank of America, American Airlines (admittedly have never called them) - and the call center is in India.

I called for service on the AMEX Delta Reserve on a Saturday in April and got the India call center. For what it's worth, the agent was helpful and understood my question, though.

Never implied they were U.S. based chat reps. And the fact that they are offshored hasn't impacted my satisfaction with the service.

Recent experience: India, the Philippines, India.

A more senior USA based customer service told me that I could always request an agent who is USA based. I'm getting the impression that AmEx is getting a lot of complaints about the offshored customer service centers.

Also, the Reserve card and in fact all DL AmEx cards are apparently no longer being handled by specialized agents. All calls now are just sent to generic agents who handle all AmEx cards.

An exception is the (USA) Platinum charge card, which still is handled by specialized dedicated agents. This is what I was told.

I guess our $450 a year is not enough for same service as regular Plat card. Crazy

I had a similar experience this weekend. I was making an appliance purchase at Home Depot. I have the AMEX app on my phone to alert me to purchases. AMEX showed the charge went through, yet HD showed a decline, hence call to AMEX Reserve line. India call center, and while it was resolved it took far longer than it should have. I wonder if they have relegated account activity and charge resolution to India and keep Concierge services in US? Haven't tried that service in awhile....