Sam's Club review: Customer service (provided by synchrony bank)

I LOVE shopping at Sams Club. The prices are competitive. The employees at my local Sams Club are helpful. The store is clean and well-stocked. However, the bank which provides the Sams Club Mastercard is abysmal. Synchrony Bank customer service is, without doubt, the WORST that I have ever dealt with.

Efforts to resolve ANY issue requires a lengthy phone call (often 1-3 hours) and speaking with 3-5 "customer service agents/representatives" from around the world; i.e., India, Philippines, and who knows where else). There is NO CONTINUITY between the agents and the card holder is forced to re-state the problem/issue to EACH representative.

With a FEW exceptions, most of the customer service agents or representatives are unprofessional and basically simply read from a script. They cannot actually help solve most problems. And because most (if not all) are based somewhere other than the US, they are *not* knowledgeable of many problems or issues which a card holder in the United States may face. In addition, one is forced to listen to dogs barking and children crying in the background while trying to resolve their issue. It is apparent that most (if not all) of Synchrony's customer service personnel work from their homes.

I have implemented every security measure of which I have been made aware in an effort to keep my card information safe but have been forced to deal with fraud on several occasions over the past 4-5 years. I'm actually beginning to wonder if Synchrony's customer service personnel may be the source of some of these issues. This begs the question: What is Synchrony Bank's vetting process for their customer service personnel? Do they even have a vetting process?

After the most recent incident (a $10,000 fraudulent charge from Nairobi) I am actually considering closing my Sams Club Mastercard provided by Synchrony Bank although I enjoy shopping at Sams Club and receive from $500-$1000 in "Sams Cash" each year on my purchases. It's just not worth the hassle anymore.

Date of experience: September 09, 2023