AMEX's style of management

AMEX's style of management

I was a member of American Express (AMEX) from 1991 to 1994,
when I held a gold card issued in Boston, the United States. In
early August 1997, upon the recommendation of a friend who works
at an AMEX bank in Switzerland, I reapplied for membership in
Jakarta. I completed the application and sent it immediately to
the AMEX branch in Jakarta. I was told by an AMEX officer that it
would take three to four weeks to have my application approved.

Four weeks later, I called and asked about the status of my
application with the same person, who later told me that due to
technical problems, the card could only be issued by their
Australian office. So I waited. I called again twice by the
middle of September before I left for France on Oct. 18 for a
three-week business trip. The reply was still the same: I should
wait and be patient.

Returning from France on Nov. 18, I contacted yet the same
person again and was shocked when he told me that my application
had been turned down because the Indonesian branch could not
reissue an AMEX gold card which was issued in the United States.
I really did not mind the rejection, but the fact that this
decision was actually made on Aug. 28 -- only two weeks after my
application was sent -- has given me a feeling of disbelief and
disgust.

I told him that I had not received a letter or been contacted
informing me of the decision. But this officer defended his
position by stating that he was not the one who is responsible
for sending such information. Furious is indeed an understatement
for what I felt just then.

I believe that there is no compelling reason to hold that kind
of information for two months, when it is simply clear that AMEX
could process the application in two weeks. AMEX does not only
owe me an explanation, but more importantly, it owes an
explanation to its shareholders who put their stakes on AMEX's
credibility.

AHO

Holder of Boston-issued AMEX Gold

No. 372812439231000