CitiIt’s been awhile since I bragged about anyone’s customer service. (And based on Blockbuster’s deaf ear to the blogosphere, it’s been even longer since anyone heard it.) So let me again shower praise where it is due, to the fine customer service folks over at Citibank.

After about a year of floating a small balance from month-to-month, the wife and I decided to go ahead and pay off the card. We called ahead to get the payoff amount, and sent the check. Imagine our surprise when we opened the statement that arrived in the mail today:

citibank statement

Due date: December 24
Total balance: $.10
Minimum due: $.10

That’s what it said. If we didn’t mail Citi a check for 10-cents, we’d incur a late charge of $35.00.

After a brief conversation with a customer service rep, our double-nickel debt was wiped clean. Our attendant realized the stupidity of our slapping a $.41 stamp on a envelope to pay a 10-penny fee (that likely was the result of a rounding error, or some other mathematical artifact of compounded interest.)

So, here’s to you, CitiBank! I know I don’t have a massive readership, and nor do I have the name of the customer service representative who actually served a customer’s interest… dimebut here’s to the best spent 10 cents your shareholders will never miss. I hope that somehow, some way, you’re monitoring what people say about the job you do.

A dime’s worth of difference. Indeed.

[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, Citi, Citibank, credit cards, debt, customer service[/tags]