Credit cards might be more convenient to carry around than cash, but can they also influence your customer service experiences? It’s possible. Today let’s take a look at how using credit cards might not only make dealing with sellers easier but also give you a better chance of getting what you really want.

Here are a few ways credit cards come into play with customer service issues:

1. Easier Returns

If you purchase products and you have to return them to the store, you’re subjected to each individual store’s return policies. Those can vary greatly (especially when travelling). If you purchase with cash and want to make a return, you might have to leave more personal information and take more time filling out return details to get your money back. With a credit card it’s often just a case of a card swipe and a signature.

2. No More Missing Receipts

Along those same lines of making returns, what happens if you don’t have your purchase receipt? Again it depends on the store. A common policy is to offer the lowest price a product had within the last 30 days (or another set time period). That stops people from buying a product on sale and returning it for more than they paid by “forgetting” their receipt. Some stores might not do a return at all without a receipt. However, some big box retailers can now look up your old receipts for you with the last few digits of your credit card number, so you always get the return value you paid instead of a potential lower recent sale price.

3. Extended Warranties and Purchase Cover

Many rewards cards (and some other credit cards) like the NAB Qantas Platinum card offer free purchase protection and / or extended warranties on purchases made using your credit card. That means even when a store won’t refund your money for a defective product or something is lost or stolen, you might be able to get your money back or get a replacement.

4. Better Service Providers?

Personally I’ve found that when I purchase services with a credit or debit card, the service providers sometimes do a much better job than cash-based providers have done. When you buy with a credit card, sellers know you can dispute the charges if you’re not happy, and depending on who you’re doing business with that might play a role in the work they do. If you pay with cash, you don’t have that recourse available.

No, using a credit card in your favourite retail outlet probably won’t make the sales clerk any nicer or happier to see you. But using a card instead of cash might make later customer service interactions easier to deal with, especially when it comes to returns and having the ability to cancel a disputed charge. Can you think of other ways credit cards might influence customer service experiences? If so, leave a comment and tell us about it.