Back when I was single, my biggest pet peeve was when guys tried to date me via text message.  If a guy couldn’t pick up the phone or schedule a date for some real conversation, he was unlikely to get very far.  Lucky for my husband (and me), many guys went by the wayside in my quest for someone who would interact with me the way I deserved.

But, as much as I hated text messaging while dating, I love it for other uses.  Just last week in fact, Citibank texted me and I wanted to text them back “xoxo”.

You see, Citibank and I talk way more than I like, mostly because they call me every few weeks to notify me of fraudulent activity on my account.   Based on my calculations, about 17% of the time, there’s really an issue.  The rest of the time it is just my weird spending habits or their ultra conservative risk algorithms.

My biggest gripe with Citibank is when they cancel my card because they can’t get a hold of me.  They never understand why I’m so peeved since they overnight me a new card, but I hate re-memorizing (yes, I do) my new credit card number!  So, when I get a voicemail from them I try to find some way to write down the stupid authorization number and call them back as soon as I can – which is usually quite inconvenient.

Last week, they texted me the possible fraud and simply asked me to reply “1” if it was fraudulent and “2” if I’d made the charge.  I pressed 1, send and I was DONE!  I was so happy.  I’m still so giddy I had to write this blog.

I’m sure I’m not the only customer who prefers to minimize interaction and maximize efficiency with service providers.  Go Citibank – I hope other companies take note.