An American Express vice president (in charge of online communications), at the Edelman/PR Week New Media Summit for journalism educators, keeps referring to the company’s credit card holders as “cardmembers” — a longstanding practice at American Express that is one of my longstanding peeves.
I”m not a member of anything having to do with American Express. I’m a customer. Period.
In a world where community is starting to mean something again, the usage is more than annoying. It diminishes an important word.
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David Weinberger, also speaking here, is posting on his blog, too…
on Jun 8th, 2007 at 11:22 am
At my credit union I like being a “member” instead of a “customer.”
It indicates how credit unions are guided by different business models than banks. And that “member service” at credit unions is a different experience than “customer service” at banks.
To the extent that AmEx makes “customers” feel more like “members” – with special perks, programs and policies – then I say they are earning the right to call them “cardmembers.”
(Examples: AmEx is credit card of choice at Costco. And the ridiculous “black” AmEx has all kinds of benefits.)
P.S. – I don’t work for or otherwise represent American Express. In fact, I’m not even a cardmember.
on Jun 8th, 2007 at 12:23 pm
You pay for the extra service (and they collect higher fees from merchants, I believe).