Customer service - a review

For my recent trip north of the border, I had to call around and figure out the rules for traveling with credit cards, phones etc.  I don't have any horror stories for you.  Everyone I talked to was nice and helpful.  It was fascinating to make all three calls at once.  I found myself comparing the experience with each company in my head, so I'll pass it along for you. 

American Express card was my first call.  It stands out because I wasn't asked to repeat the last four of my social or my mother's maiden name or anything else.  Also, there's a reason Amex has a good reputation for customer service.

• The system excepts number prompts from the key pad and or plain language requests ("talk to a representative")
• Lame hold music, mercifully that was short lived
• I only had to say my account number once, at the beginning of the call and wasn't asked to repeat it.  Ever.  Win for AmEx.
• Customer service representative was super nice and told me about some more services (that apparently don't cost extra) that I can use while traveling.  Hopefully I wont lose my passport, but I appreciate knowing I can call you collect if I do.

Bank of America card was my second call. 

• The system only accepts prompts from the number pad, no plain language requests.
• I felt like the automated "this is your balance and these are your charges..." was a little long, especially the fifteen times the computer asked if I wanted to make a payment over the phone.
• Why do I have to type in my credit card number for the computer, have the computer verify I'm calling from the phone listed on the account, and then when I get to a representative, they don't know who they're talking to or what account?  Why?
• This representative was also super helpful.
• This card has a lower foreign transaction fee than Amex.

TMobile was my third call. 

• All the other calls were fine, why is the connection to my mobile service provider crap?
• TMobile automated system also accepts plain language requests, but the connection was so spotty, it finally gave up and got me to a representative.  Fine because that's what I wanted anyway.
• I am calling you from the phone number on my account, why do I have to verify my identity in five other ways?  I understand this one slightly more than some of the others because there's three lines on my account (sometimes the best way to make your parents use a cell phone is to finance the phone) but still.
• Super helpful guy who told me about the costs associated for incoming texts (free), outgoing texts ($0.50/text), minutes for calls including when people leave voice mails ($0.59/min), and data charges (a whopping $15/MB - no, that's not a typo) and how to avoid data roaming fees altogether.
• Also the only call that tried to sell me some new plan or service or something.  Someone has a quota to fill.

To summarize:

• Don't try to sell me new crap when I'm calling for customer service on an existing account.
• It's annoying when I have to provide my account number and verify it ten times in a five minute phone call.  I exaggerate only slightly.
• If I have to deal with a computer system when I call, I prefer the ones that accept plain language commands.
• Yeah for all three companies being able to answer my questions straight away and being very helpful and polite!