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