Chargebacks are in many cases the outsourcing of proper consumer-protection regulation and everyday customer service. When the merchant fails to deliver or und

Chargebacks are in many cases the outsourcing of proper consumer-protection regulation and everyday customer service. When the merchant fails to deliver or underdelivers -- "my fries were cold" -- appropriate customer service should be meeting the customer at that point and addressing it directly. Modern systems of unempowered on-the-ground employees and endless loop self-service support stand in the way of that. Consumers naturally respond by pulling the levers that remain, which is invoking the wrath of American Express.