Wednesday, June 14, 2006

Customer Service

Not fiber or dog related content but it's so rare to get this kind of service (excellent), something has to be said. Well...I could put a knit spin on this since it started on the February day I arrived at the San Jose airport heading for Stitches West.

As I was pulling out of the car rental parking lot, I heard a crunch (not a pleasant sound, I might add.) However, because I'd overbooked the weekend, I tried to ignore it till the next day when I called my insurance company. After all the information was taken, the claims specialist suggested calling my credit card company, since many will cover the insurance deductible, when you don't accept the CDW on the car rental agreement. From there they handled everything with the rental company.

In the meantime, I did call Visa, got all the information on what to do, and initiated a claim online. I received an email confirming the claim and reitirating the steps that needed to be taken, along with three reminder email messages.

In late April, I received a letter from Avis asking for the money. I called AAA, and they took over. The insurance check and another letter requesting payment crossed in the mail in late May, but a call to AAA and Avis settled the matter with both.

On June 5 I called Visa to confirm the process, and faxed them documentation. On June 6, I faxed the documentation I'd neglected to include. On June 7, I received a call from the Visa Claims Examiner saying that the information had been sent off for payment of the claim. Today, I received the check for the deductible amount.

Now THAT's service!

(BTW, when I returned the car, according to the guy checking it in, this was not the first and probably wouldn't be the last time this happened.)