How to complain... a step by step guide :)

[IanO]

Working as a rep for many years now, one thing that never ceases to surprise me is the way some people choose to complain. I've had death threats from customers over delayed withdrawals, and been called pretty much every name under the sun in my time. Of course I took it all with a pinch of salt, but did these people really believe that verbal abuse and insane rants are going to encourage me to help them? I thought I'd share a couple of simple pointers to try and help.

O.K.. so you've been wronged by a casino.. what next?

Step One: Calm down.
I know how hard this can be (for some more than others) especially when large sums of money are at stake, but take a moment to collect your thoughts. If you fly off the handle and send an e-mail in anger, or go in to live chat with an agressive frame of mind, you may do more to hurt your case than help it.

Step Two: Get all the facts.
If the casino is saying you've done something wrong, go check their T's and C's/mailers or wherever you can get info relating to your case.
There are no 'fairness guidelines' when writing terms for a casino/promo.. so dont assume anything until you have checked.
This step may include a (calm) e-mail to the casino requesting additional info.

Step Three: Present your case.
Now that you have all the facts, if you still think you have grounds to complain send an e-mail to the casino stating your case and asking for a review. Request that a supervisor/manager be alerted to it or the case be escalated as required. This e-mail should be respectful, and contain no threats, abuse or accusations. If the casino remains unresponsive or refuses to provide you with a reasonable explanation withing a decent timeframe then it's time for step four. Always make sure to save copies of any mails and chats in case you need to refer to them later.
fyi... A 'decent timeframe' should make allowances for weekends/bank holidays. The more complicated a case, the longer this may take.

Step four: Off to the meister.
OK... you've been reasonable so far but are still getting the runaround. Depending on the severity of your case you have a few choices here
A: Post on the forum asking for some advice from the other members. (No cross-posting, hijacking threads or necro threads if you please, and do NOT title the post ''XXX casino just robbed me!!!!'' or anything else inflamatory. The more honest and calm you are, the more people will want to help you.)
B: If the casino in question has a rep on board here, send them a private message stating your case and asking for their help.
C:Submit a PAB. This is an free complaints resolution service provided here, and they only ask one thing from you in return...
read the F**ing PAB FAQ and DONT post about the problem while a PAB is underway.


Always remember:
Be respectful...Speak as you would want to be spoken to.
Be honest... if you're not you WILL be found out.
Be concise... Try not to ramble on and on... just the facts please
Listen... There are a lot of people here with a LOT of good advice. Take it, don't ignore it.

Mr Swayze of 'Road house' fame said it best..... 'Be Nice'

Happy complaining everyone.

[SlotMonster]

Awesome post, Ian

The only thing I would change is order in step four: IMO it should be B first. If it didn't work out, then go to C, and then to A

[IanO]

Awesome post, Ian

The only thing I would change is order in step four: IMO it should be B first. If it didn't work out, then go to C, and then to A

Thanks

You're right though... i should have been clearer in step 4. What I meant was you have all of those options. In some cases, simply asking for advice in a post is enough... so depending on whats actually happening you can do one or more of them. If you're thinking of doing all three, then I agree with your order b,c,a

[Simmo!]

Great post

What amazes me most is when people are rude and abrupt when they want something. As you say in your opening point, talk about making life more difficult for yourself! If you are on the receiving end of abuse you are going to go out of your way to be unhelpful and awkward

[quber]

Good Post

One thing to remember when dealing with support is that the person you are talking to is not responsible for whatever has happened. He isn't the one that makes withdrawals, he isn't the one that writes the T's and C's, he isn't the one that made a game crash etc.

If your complaint is outside normal working hours for wherever the casino is based than he probably doesn't have any one to escalate a problem to apart from his immediate supervisor who also isn't responsible for whatever went wrong. They will try and help you and will forward your issue to the correct department so the people with the ability to provide a solution can.

If you are patient and respectful they will try and help you.

Remember they are only trying to earn a living, not screw people around.

Would you help someone that was screaming and shouting at you and calling you names?

[ksech]

Really good post, thank you IanO! Most of what you have stated is merely common sense. You wouldn't be abusive to these people if it was a RL situation (or maybe some would ). Just wanted to let you know, you have dazzled me with a well-thought out and reader friendly topic once again.

[Cleveland]

Mr Swayze of 'Road house' fame said it best..... 'Be Nice'

Great post AND you were able to squeeze in a quote from an awesome movie !