American Express reviews

Horrible training. The trainers seemed to think indimidation was a more effective motivator than actually inspiring employees to do their best. An example of this intimidation is the trainerss telling our class that management can fire you for any thing at anytime. The training also lacks any formulated structure or plan that they stick to. Even something as simple as not verifying an email address. Outdated technology (In Travel and Lifestyle Services). All GDS systems are old (developed in the 60's) and require an extensive code input system. However, as long as you know the correct code to imput, they work. However, American Express created an overlay developed 20 yearss ago that crashes as frequently as every call you receive. I might be the only one bothered by this as I am have a degree in computer science, and I will note that it appears as though they are working to come up with a new system. In the mean time when the sytem crashes you still are expected to make the entire reservation in the amount of time alloted. They use metrics to measure performance (as all call centers do). The technology they use to measure metrics is very good. You do get a bonus, however, your bonus is structured in a way that you will almost never recieve it. The bonus is only received if you make a 9-10 on every survey customer's return. Which is not a problem, however if you get a 1 because the person the card member spoke with before you was rude. It still counts against you. Management will tell you not to ever expect a bonus. Also, it appears as though the company does not let you transfer into another position very easily. Most people with a bachelor's degree are still stuck in the same call center environment 10 years later. If you're a recent college grad (like myself) looking to get your foot in the door at a large company, this is not the job for you. If you are a person who is looking to take advantage of the work from home positions that American Express offers for this position, This job may be for you. I would only recommend that you have ver good computer skills and extensive domestic and international travel destination knowledge.

Not that this is a con per se, but it's a bank. Make no mistake about this fact. This is a bank holding company that has a large adversion to risk. If you're looking for somehwere to fail quick and often, this is not the place for you. They feed on sure bets, and if it's not a sure thing, they have no problem crashing projects over and over to make them look successful in the end. Unfortunately this really affects the project management and technical staff and their morale, it makes them look like they aren't doing their jobs correctly, however, in reality, they are doing their best to make it all work. Amex is becoming more technologically driven but blocked by legacy midsets. Most of the tech management here are middle aged guys(and women) or older who are used to legacy IT project, operations and engineering development. When they attempt to implement development techniques like Agile methodologies(by decree of upper management) it looks gangly and disorganized. They fail to realize that a mindset change must occur across the whole organization in order to become a high tech, fast moving, technology-based company, not simply introducing a bunch of mis-managed and disjointed methodologies that are trying to be forced into place. Advancement is a tricky thing here at Amex. Politics play a large role. SVPs choose VPs, VPs choose Directors and Directors choose managers based on unpublished and many times intangible criteria. Again, if you are a top performer, you WILL be recognized, but you may not even be close to getting a promotion. There is a standing mandate for preference towards women and minorities(if applicable) however, in my experience, the pool for outstanding women and minorities is very small compared to other demographics. However, the biggest CON is the lack of a documented path to advancement. No one can tell you exactly how to move up. They will tell you what they "think" is the way, or maybe the way "they" did it, but there is no documented or accurate way to plan your development. The real answer, as someone already reviewed, is to build sponsorship and followership within the company and hope that a well fitting position opens under a leader you know.