THERE’S STILL AN AMERICA

Our Zermatt idyll was interrupted with an urgent email from our credit card’s fraud unit. “Call 800-555-5555 immediately!” Turns out someone had posted a $1.69 transaction in NYC the day before, and they were asking us to verify. Well, it was fraudulent, and the fraud investigator, “Marie Christine”, informed us in an efficient, clipped Indian accent  that a new credit card would be issued and delivered overnight.  When it arrived, we had to call the U.S. to activate it.

On receiving the card, we called the number provided and reached an agent at a U.S. office of the company.  After a tough Internet-satellite call (whose turn is it to talk now?) verifying the facts in the case, the card was successfully activated. In closing, the agent asked pleasantly, “By the way, where are you calling from in Europe?” On learning it was Switzerland – Zermatt Switzerland – her very American reply was, “WAH-HOO!”

Let’s look beyond the financial meltdowns and figure out how America can work together to capitalize on that WAH-HOO attitude!