Mike C.
The 800 number customer service nightmare
Good luck if you have to call the 800 number on your statement. Very long story short: I opened a Kohl's charge account several years ago and when I paid it off, I shredded the card, but kept the account open with zero balance. Last month I purchased a suit and put it on my account using the POS at the register. I received the statement a few days ago and I went online to register at My Kohl's Charge to make a payment and manage my account, but they wanted my 12-digit credit card number. The statement only had a 10-digit account number on it. No biggie. I called the 800 number and spoke with "Jeff" who definitely was not an outsourced call customer service representative (wink-wink). I told "Jeff" I wanted to make a payment and get my 12-digit account number to establish an online account to manage future billing transactions. After giving "Jeff" my name, address, 10-digit account number on my statement, last four of my social security number, complete debit card number, with expiration, I paid my bill off in full. Then I asked "Jeff" for my 12-digit account number so I may register online. "Jeff" told me it was against policy to give the last two digits of my account...after I verified all of my very personal and financial information. I asked for a supervisor and I was told that one was not available, as all supervisors were busy. Now it became about principle and I told "Jeff" I would hold. My "hold" consisted of "Jeff" breathing into and moving the microphone around for over 20 minutes while loud voices talked in the background. During one point during the hold, "Jeff" began speaking in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, or Bengali to another associate while trying to muffle the mic. When I called him out on it, he stated he was conferring with a co-worker about my account. Rude. "Jeff" came on the phone and spoke with me a few more times during the overall 43-minute "hold" and kept trying to issue me a new card with a different number that I could register with the site once I received the card in the mail Unacceptable, considering he now had my personal and debit card information, but was refusing to offer me assistance in obtaining the last two numbers on my credit card so I may register for an online account and continue making purchases at Kohl's and paying my bill. Finally, a "supervisor" came on the phone and acted like he could not hear me, even though I could clearly hear him and the very loud conversations in the background continuing, and the call was disconnected. Two more calls later and a call taker told me the last two digits of my credit card. So, the card number was the ten digits on the statement and "01", making the full 12 digits so I could register online and apparently obtain the nuclear launch codes and other national security secrets. Horrible customer service and I be will closing this account permanently. Shame, because I really like their men's wear clothes and suits, they had good incentives for using a Kohl's card, and the employees at my local store (Viera, FL) were the best. However, after that experience, I will only pay cash from now on if I choose to continue to shop there.


