Lose A Credit Card Customer For $12?

The Social Customer Manifesto reports on a customer scenario where a credit card company levied a late payment against a good customer who had paid their bill a day late due to various circumstances involving a holiday weekend, and the length of time it takes a payment to move through the banking system. Bottom line was that the customer trust and the customer relationship is now broken. For $12. I wonder if companies should call the customer and offer to wipe this late payment fee if the customer will accept a conversation with a customer service representative to investigate how they can better manage this relationship? If I am right, customers that are willing to speak to the customer service people are probably not long term credit risks. Customers that don't accept the invitation to conversation, are even worse credit risks than your system is currently telling you. Just a thought, given the lifetime value of a credit card customer.

technorati tags: customer, interaction, voice, messaging, customer, contact