How bad is Citibank customer service??

[fantasy86dj]

Due to NAB getting rid of the Gold Banking I have gone ahead and opened up a Citibank Plus account yesterday - RIP NAB Gold Banking, I like many others have made the switch.

 

[pauly7]

A lot of people moan and groan about Citibank customer service but I have never had an issue with them for over 5 years now.

Any problems that come up are dealt with faster than any Aussie bank I've ever been with.

Their call centre is a bit robotic being based in the Phils, but they get the job done!

 

[RB]

I haven't encountered any problems with Citi either.

 

[wafliron]

Due to NAB getting rid of the Gold Banking I have gone ahead and opened up a Citibank Plus account yesterday - RIP NAB Gold Banking, I like many others have made the switch.

They're fine - I feel their reputation for bad service is largely undeserved. The main problem is that their CSRs are heavily script based, so you can run into trouble if you need help with something a bit outside the square.

As I've posted before, I believe the key to having a good experience with them is to be very polite (I'm sure their CSR people cop it from customers many times a day) and to speak slowly and clearly. If you find you're not getting what you want when talking to them just get off the call and call back to speak to another operator (I've never had to wait more than a minute or two on hold), and/or politely but firmly ask to speak to a supervisor.

 

[cove]

My last 4 calls to Citi over the last 6 months have been no problem.

 

[fantasy86dj]

Sounds like they might have improved - I did my application online so I am yet to call them for anything. Thanks all for your input

 

[wafliron]

Sounds like they might have improved - I did my application online so I am yet to call them for anything. Thanks all for your input

Unfortunately for you their service during the application process is one area they're pretty poor. But once you get past that it's much better, as per above posts.

 

[one9]

They are very trigger happy at putting a block on your credit card and wanting you to call back to confirm transactions for them to unblock it. Apart from this overall they are OK.

I also have a Signature credit card with them and I have learnt to treat it as a No Frills basic card. I guess it was free for life after all. This way I am happy. I don't expect any premium service from them and they do OK at all the basic standard things. If you have low expectations most likely you will be fine. If you expect them to offer the same services as if you had a Platinum card at major 4 bank, you would be quite disappointed.

 

[fantasy86dj]

I have very low expectations of them - I just called and quizzed them about my application and asked them questions on the credit cards and features and they passed - overall i'd give them a 5/10

 

[Dalescott]

I have Citi Emirates card, and have never had any problem with their customer service. Quite the opposite they can't do enough.

 

[wafliron]

They are very trigger happy at putting a block on your credit card and wanting you to call back to confirm transactions for them to unblock it. Apart from this overall they are OK.

That's strange - I've had CitiBank pro-actively block and/or cancel my card several times over the past few years, and on all but one occasional they called me (or at least attempted to - voicemail). Just talking about a regular old CitiBusiness Gold here too, not one of their premium cards.

The one time they didn't call was particularly frustrating though, as it was blocked immediately after I used it for the first time at the start of a holiday in Vietnam - a holiday I rang to warn them about before leaving!

I also have a Signature credit card with them and I have learnt to treat it as a No Frills basic card. I guess it was free for life after all. This way I am happy. I don't expect any premium service from them and they do OK at all the basic standard things. If you have low expectations most likely you will be fine. If you expect them to offer the same services as if you had a Platinum card at major 4 bank, you would be quite disappointed.

Isn't Platinum the new basic for pretty much all banks though? Not sure if Signature gets the same treatment as Select, but 50% of the time when I call the Select helpline it gets answered by a local call centre, which is almost unheard of for Citibank (worldwide).

 

[oz_mark]

I've had accounts with them for 15 years or more, and have never really had trouble with their customer service. Probably largley as I never really have much need to speak with anyone there. Usually, only through something like a card activation, or some security issue with my CC.

 

[fantasy86dj]

I've had accounts with them for 15 years or more, and have never really had trouble with their customer service. Probably largley as I never really have much need to speak with anyone their. Usually, only through something like a card activation, or some security issue with my CC.

I might get a CC in a few years - meanwhile I am happy to stick to my CBA and NAB however given NAB's attitude to close down the Gold Banking I am starting to question my banking relationship with them. Am I correct in saying that I can get money out at Westpac, St George and Bank of Melbourne.

What made you go over to Citibank oz_mark??

 

[oz_mark]

I might get a CC in a few years - meanwhile I am happy to stick to my CBA and NAB however given NAB's attitude to close down the Gold Banking I am starting to question my banking relationship with them. Am I correct in saying that I can get money out at Westpac, St George and Bank of Melbourne.

What made you go over to Citibank oz_mark??

I am largely split between Westpac and Citibank.

Years ago, I was a loyal Bankwest customer, but after a run in with them over some fees, I closed all my accounts and moved to what was then Challenge Bank (later absorbed into Westpac). For a while, I went to ANZ, but at some point during one problem or other, part of their response to me was that I might like to reconsider my banking arrangements. So I did, and at the time, the Citibank credit card offer seemed better than what I could get from the local banks, so I go one. (I also had a Chase AMP credit card!)

At that time, I found the Citibank transaction account expensive for what it was, so didn't have one for quite some time. I picked up the Plus a couple of years ago, basically as a backup account. The recent changes have furthered that switch.

(and just to prove my lack of loyalty to banks, my homeloan is with NAB!)

Yes, there are no owner fees if withdrawing from the Westpac ATM's.

 

[greenfrog86]

I've been a 'long time citibank customer' as they keep reminding me when I speak with them (only since 2008 though) as I had one of their early transaction accounts when you could withdraw from any ATM for free (back when the bank charged you and not the ATM owner).

Since then I've had to speak to them on a number of occasions and whilst I've found simple requests quite easy, other tasks can be a bit arduous.

I've posted some of these experiences in the 'citibank - never give up' thread if you're interested.... My favourite idiotic process they have is for PIN changes on credit/debit cards. Not something the CSM is responsible for, but a dumb process that is just stupid when your model is to get your customers to do as much as possible online by themselves.

I find the call centre staff to be ok, however sometimes comprehension is an issue as you can tell they are trying to find the right reference guide for the call. Changing from a Platinum Card to the CitiBusiness Card was an issue - they kept thinking I wanted to do a balance transfer and didn't seem to grasp the concept of an inter-product transfer which is such a common thing I was astounded they didn't understand.

We finally got there and they kept referring to me 'upgrading my card' so I just followed along from there and we got the job done.

Recently closed my redicredit account and had to speak to the retention team which was a bit painful but they did offers that I could see would be quite attractive to some customers.

If all else fails and you are in Melbourne or Sydney (and possibly a few other cities) you can always go into a branch if you're really not getting anywhere...

Overall I think if you rack your brain and think about the last few times you spoke to your bank, you'll find that if their products meet your needs then you probably don't need to worry too much about the service.

 

[anchew]

For more complex issues, such as chasing up missing bonus points, I find that an email through online banking does the trick. For simple queries like notification of overseas trips or transferring points to QFF, it's quite painless. The trick is to log into online banking and pick a recent transaction as they'll ask you for one of id purposes very single time.

 

[fantasy86dj]

I've been a 'long time citibank customer' as they keep reminding me when I speak with them (only since 2008 though) as I had one of their early transaction accounts when you could withdraw from any ATM for free (back when the bank charged you and not the ATM owner).

Since then I've had to speak to them on a number of occasions and whilst I've found simple requests quite easy, other tasks can be a bit arduous.

I've posted some of these experiences in the 'citibank - never give up' thread if you're interested.... My favourite idiotic process they have is for PIN changes on credit/debit cards. Not something the CSM is responsible for, but a dumb process that is just stupid when your model is to get your customers to do as much as possible online by themselves.

I find the call centre staff to be ok, however sometimes comprehension is an issue as you can tell they are trying to find the right reference guide for the call. Changing from a Platinum Card to the CitiBusiness Card was an issue - they kept thinking I wanted to do a balance transfer and didn't seem to grasp the concept of an inter-product transfer which is such a common thing I was astounded they didn't understand.

We finally got there and they kept referring to me 'upgrading my card' so I just followed along from there and we got the job done.

Recently closed my redicredit account and had to speak to the retention team which was a bit painful but they did offers that I could see would be quite attractive to some customers.

If all else fails and you are in Melbourne or Sydney (and possibly a few other cities) you can always go into a branch if you're really not getting anywhere...

Overall I think if you rack your brain and think about the last few times you spoke to your bank, you'll find that if their products meet your needs then you probably don't need to worry too much about the service.

I actually ended up reading that thread last night - very good information, I think that whenever possible that I will use the online banking email to communicate with them. I am in Melbourne but I don't work that close to Camberwell and I never go into the city, at best Camberwell is a 40 minute drive away so that might be an option.

 

[Jacques Vert]

Sounds like they might have improved - I did my application online so I am yet to call them for anything. Thanks all for your input

I have posted negative comments about them on other threads but I have to admit the last two contacts have been much better so yes, they are improving. I agree with others that you need to speak slowly and clearly.

Last contact was about missing points from a restaurant. "Sorry for the inconvenience; I will give you 1,000 bonus points." I said fine but I don't understand why the system didn't work. 'What if I give you 2,000 bonus points?" OK, Thank you. "So I will be giving you 5,000 bonus points..."

Next statement: 5,000 points included. I don't understand but hey....works for me.

And the free wine offer is excellent.

JV

 

[fantasy86dj]

I have posted negative comments about them on other threads but I have to admit the last two contacts have been much better so yes, they are improving. I agree with others that you need to speak slowly and clearly.

Last contact was about missing points from a restaurant. "Sorry for the inconvenience; I will give you 1,000 bonus points." I said fine but I don't understand why the system didn't work. 'What if I give you 2,000 bonus points?" OK, Thank you. "So I will be giving you 5,000 bonus points..."

Next statement: 5,000 points included. I don't understand but hey....works for me.

And the free wine offer is excellent.

JV

For 5k points lets hope that it keeps on not crediting you the points in the first place. I am having a look at their credit cards now - I am starting to realise how horrible my CBA Diamond is...

 

[Jacques Vert]

For 5k points lets hope that it keeps on not crediting you the points in the first place. I am having a look at their credit cards now - I am starting to realise how horrible my CBA Diamond is...

Agree; we should be so lucky every time.