Sep 16, 2003 03:19 PM
5988 Views
(Updated Sep 16, 2003 03:41 PM)
Will they take plastic?
I had heard an Englishman ask my dad in a hotel when we were accompanying a business visitor of my Dad’s office.
And I was like what ?????
I know of paper money , metallic money , how on earth will this guy pay with plastic? and why on earth will the hotel agree to take plastic from him. And how much of plastic could this guy possibly carrying with him to pay the entire bill?
How dumb could I possibly have been , Actually this was long years back , platic money was not even introduced in India then. But my dad explained to me what that guy meant when he asked that and how that whole system worked.
And since that day I had been waiting to lay my hands on one such thing ;-) and had to wait a long 12-13 years.
My First Attempt to get a card
As soon as I got a job that paid me enough to splash some money on not “essential” luxuries, I ran and got a credit card application. I Approached ICICI, and believe me I had a tough time to get one of their executive to bring one application form to my office. After long and numerous phone calls and mails to the senior Customer care officers and all one guy who could not write one spelling correctly, arrived at my office. So you see I had to fill in my own Credit card form. Maybe I ll write another review to NR ICICI ;-) So getting back to the point, my First stint with CC was not that happy an affair. And by the first year-end I was desperately seeking change.
Second Hit and GOAL!!!!!!
A guy was standing out side my office gate , he told me just give me your visiting card and I will arrange for a HSBC VISA CARD totally free for the first year. I told him to buzz off and that there would definitely be some hidden costs . He assured me that there would be none , and I signed on the dotted line ;-). And thus began the long , successful and happy stint with HSBC.
What I say is the best
First and foremost, I hate being bugged to avail of some service or any add-on that a company might be offering by being called again and again. I never till date have to face that from HSBC. All they would do is send across a mailer, and then would come a courtesy call to ask if I got the mailer and that’s about it. The caller would then request to get back to them in case I want any further clarifications or would simply like to avail the add-on offered, unlike other CC’s that I have used, they bugged my daylights for loan on the credit period, add-on cards for family, some insurance and all such gimmicks.
Technology is being used at HSBC in a very simple and user friendly way.
You can know your bill details , last payment made, payment due , Bonus points tally everything at the punch of few keys on your tele-pad. So gone are the days of agonizingly waiting for the Customer Service Operator to come online. HSBC gives you a phone banking PIN ( Personal Identification Number) and you have to set your own six digit password. And voila you are thru. Most of the info that you would need about you transactions and billings can be accessed from here. One more advantage of having a PIN Number identification is in case you still are facing any problems and are not satisfied with the voice prompt help and need to talk to a officer , you can enter what they call as PIN identified, that saves you and the officer of getting your credentials verified once again before he/she can divulge the card/transactions details.
One of the most important aspect of a CC service would be its billing , and I would rate HSBC at the top. I have no, NONE complaints whatsoever in this regard too. They are prompt in sending the bills. And also they are easy de-cipher ;-) No, hidden costs or no gimmicks in any bill. Clean and clear every time. I never had to call them to clarify for anything.
Phone Banking
Customer service , I would rate a little above average . Here I have faced some problems. But once again will have to mention, that they are very prompt in sorting out the issues. When I used to call for any clarifications, the officer would always lecture me on the advantages of having a PIN number and how upon using that I would not have to wait for the operator and it would save me so much of time. Every time I had agreed to use this facility and asked them to generate a PIN number and send it across. But I NEVER got any PIN from them. Many a times I have also found the operator to be rude and angry.
Once I needed a address change, wanted to change the billing from my house to my office. In spite of three or four calls to the Phone Banking Officer, they failed to change the address and I was missing many bills and then I used to get double bills. Causing a lot of confusion. I visited the website and found a link for customer feedback., I clicked there and gave a mouthful ;-). I had no hopes that anyone would be reading this , and was sure no action will be taken. But I was wrong, I got a call the very next day from some lady and she told me that my complaints have been taken on top priority and will be solved within 48 hours.
One Mr. Perry or Percy called me and followed up with me regularly and got all my problems sorted out. They were too good. I even got a call some days down the line to cross check if all is fine.
HSBC also, provides E-Statements which I feel Is a wonderful tool, if you sign up for this you ll get 150 bonus points and henceforth the monthly statement will be online and would not be sent to your mailing address... One more step towards a paperless world ;-). You can check it on line in PDF(Acrobat reader) format. And if you so wish download and take a print
More or less all the facilities provided by HSBC will surely be provided by all other CC banks. But
The credit is not to the service. But to how it is provided!
And I am sure HSBC wins Hands down :o)
