I find that increasingly companies are asking me to answer surveys after speaking to their call center agents. Whether it’s a credit card company, insurance company or travel provider, they want to know how satisfied I am.

Many times, I can’t answer the question because they haven’t fully addressed the issue. They’ve told me that they will, but until I see the credit on my credit card statement or they pay my health insurance claim I don’t know if I’m satisfied.

I called Bank of America and the agent promised me a credit for an erroneous finance charge. About all I could comment on after the initial call was whether I had to wait on hold excessively or the agent was polite. The credit never showed up. I am not satisified.

The best thing they can do to increase my satisfaction (aside from applying the credit immediately and letting me see it online), is to send me clear information about what they did. AOL’s internal employee help desk was great at this. After each call, I’d receive a summary of our call and any pending next steps. If something went awry, I had an easy reference.

Most of the companies I deal with already have my email on file. If they sent me an email automatically with a case number, time of the call and who I spoke with, it would increase my satisfaction. Even better if they could inform me that my issue was resolved successfully.

When I call American Express customer service, I soon get an email:

You recently called American Express with questions about your XXXXXXXX account. Did you know that as a Cardmember registered to Manage Your Card Account online all you have to do is log in to access your account information?

Never mind that I wouldn’t have called if I could actually have solved my problem online.