Grand Mondial needs to do better than this!

[cynthial]

Waiting since last Saturday evening for a withdrawal. It is to a web wallet. Nothing new. Not first withdrawal. Just waiting and waiting.

info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.
info: Welcome to our livechat. All our *operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
info: Welcome to our livechat. All our *operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
info: Welcome to Casino support live help, one moment please for world-class service

It took 9 minutes for them to get online with me!

Jose: Hi, and thank you for using our Live Chat facility! Allow me to introduce myself as your chat representative...
Jose: will be assisting you, how could I be of service...
Vgmr00XXXX: Hello Jose,
Vgmr00XXXX: I am writing to inquire about a withdrawal I requested last weekend.
Vgmr00XXXX: Could you look to see what the holdup is?

No response at all from Jose here, nothing! Finally the auto response kicks in.
Jose: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.

Then this is the genius answer he comes up with.

Jose: Kindly note Cynthia that you requested that cashin on the 06/04/2009, and it is being reviewed by our financial department, as soon as they have processed it, you will be informed accordingly
Vgmr00XXXX: Yes I am aware of the date of the withdrawal.
Vgmr00XXXX: It is to a web wallet and it should not take a week to accomplish.
Vgmr00XXXX: Thanks for your time.

Bah!

 

[chuchu59]

Bah from me too Cyn especially the last bit from Jose who should have told you something you dont know. Mario, you should look into this and give an explanation.

You need to wait for 10 minutes for world-class service. Sheesh!

 

[vinylweatherman]

Bah from me too Cyn especially the last bit from Jose who should have told you something you dont know. Mario, you should look into this and give an explanation.

You need to wait for 10 minutes for world-class service. Sheesh!

I have extracted an explanation from Lilani (VIP host). It seems that Playshare have had severe problems with their ISP, which have meant they have been unable to do much at all since the 5th of April. More importantly, they have been UNABLE TO PROCESS WITHDRAWALS, and presumably ALL withdrawals will remain on hold till this problem gets sorted. A 5 day outage is no MINOR matter, and it is lamentable that PLAYERS have not been PROACTIVELY informed of these SEVERE issues. The effects are wide ranging, from sporadic "ignored emails", to the system screwing up promotions, with CS being unable to do anything because of the ISP issue.

What turns this into an absolute PR DISASTER is the fact that the DEPOSIT process is completly unaffected by any of this, so players see this as the casino happy to take the money in an instant, but "stalling" when it comes to giving it back, giving competent help, or honouring promotions.

Mario should come here and "name & shame" the errant ISP that has managed to kick Playshare whilst it is already down.

I suspect Mario is away for Easter, but I would NOT expect all the CS to have Easter off. The long wait for live chat is probably due to the escalating nature of this mess, since there will be more and more players noticing things are going wrong, and wanting explanations.

The best thing to do would be to email an emergency status "newsletter" to all players registered at affected casinos, explaining the problems. This should ease the load on CS over the Easter break at least, although we will be expecting swift progress next week, and a full explanation of events.

Playshare should consider taking action against the ISP, since a 5 day outage can SERIOUSLY damage their business integrity. If MY broadband was down for this long, I am sure I would be giving Virgin Media some SERIOUS hassle. I would also be plugging in my BACKUP (Talk Talk - free broadband, even though only ADSL 3Mbit, better than nothing though).

 

[chuchu59]

Okay, the explanation for the delay in withdrawals is acceptable given that it wasnt entirely their fault but it makes the CSRs look even more incompetent. They sound like the typical Rival support staff who tells you it is normal to wait for 5 working days to get your money.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Okay, the explanation for the delay in withdrawals is acceptable given that it wasn't entirely their fault but it makes the CSRs look even more incompetent. They sound like the typical Rival support staff who tells you it is normal to wait for 5 working days to get your money.

Quite, their incompetence has been in HANDLING this UNEXPECTED issue. Good quality support should be able to react quickly in a disaster, but it seems they don't know what to do, and are just offering "stalling" excuses.

Take the example from Cynthia

Jose: Kindly note Cynthia that you requested that cashin on the 06/04/2009, and it is being reviewed by our financial department, as soon as they have processed it, you will be informed accordingly

Jose probably doesn't have the slightest clue what is going on, so gives out one of the canned responses that shifts the blame away from CS and to finance. The CORRECT explanation is the serious ISP problems they are having, and THIS explanation, unlike the one Cynthia was given, MATCHES the symptoms experienced.

 

[AussieDave]

Hi all,

Maybe it's a generic management directive that CSR's tells customers anything but the truth.

It's certainly the status quo I've received at most casinos I've dealt with over the years - as cynthial's post also clearly supports.

Is it just gamblers here that are generally switched on?

IMHO that's a moot point when one factors in that without gamblers a casino is a dead duck!

To me if a casino's CSR is honest then I'll bend with them. However BS me and that's when I start posting my issues on forums and such.

For me it all comes down to respect. By not granting me the truth I'm being played for a fool and disrespected.

Cheers
T

 

[winbig]

Waiting since last Saturday evening for a withdrawal. It is to a web wallet. Nothing new. Not first withdrawal. Just waiting and waiting.

info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.
info: Welcome to our livechat. All our *operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
info: Welcome to our livechat. All our *operators are currently assisting others. Thanks for your patience. An operator will be with you shortly.
info: Welcome to Casino support live help, one moment please for world-class service

It took 9 minutes for them to get online with me!

Jose: Hi, and thank you for using our Live Chat facility! Allow me to introduce myself as your chat representative...
Jose: will be assisting you, how could I be of service...
Vgmr00XXXX: Hello Jose,
Vgmr00XXXX: I am writing to inquire about a withdrawal I requested last weekend.
Vgmr00XXXX: Could you look to see what the holdup is?

No response at all from Jose here, nothing! Finally the auto response kicks in.
Jose: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.

Then this is the genius answer he comes up with.

Jose: Kindly note Cynthia that you requested that cashin on the 06/04/2009, and it is being reviewed by our financial department, as soon as they have processed it, you will be informed accordingly
Vgmr00XXXX: Yes I am aware of the date of the withdrawal.
Vgmr00XXXX: It is to a web wallet and it should not take a week to accomplish.
Vgmr00XXXX: Thanks for your time.

Bah!

Wild...Small World. I too requested a withdrawal on the 6th, but requested a wire. One thing worth mentioning is that I was told that GM cannot send checks??

But anyways, I sure hope it's less than 21 days before I get this wire. I had one hit my bank within 72 hours from requesting it at GoWild, so there's no reason GM can't do it just as quick. What makes it even more insane is the fact that it was my first WD from GW, so I even had to send in documents (which they accepted on the first go-around)...This will be my 2nd or 3rd WD from GM....

This took 5 days to process (4 business days), which is way too long, IMO..it sat as reversible for 24 hours, even though I asked via live chat to get them to flush it, and was told they would (lie)...But, I was the bigger man here, I didn't even log in till a couple days later and saw that it's a work in progress (it's still listed as that, too.)

But, anyways...there's no reason that your WD should be taking so long. wtf is there to review??? Where's Mario in all this mess?

info: Please wait for a site operator to respond.
info: Welcome to Casino support live help, one moment please for world-class service
them: Hi, and thank you for using our Live Chat facility! Allow me to introduce myself as your chat representative...
them: will be assisting you, how could I be of service...
me: Hello...I had requested a withdrawal on the 6th, and was wondering when that wire transfer would be sent...
me: it's still showing up as a work in progress..
them: Let me check it for you Brian.
me: ok
them: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
me: no problem..
them: Kindly note that the payment has been allocated on the 11th of April and can take up to 21 working days to be reflected into your bank account.
me: Allocated? meaning that the wire has been sent, or is in queue?
them: That has been send but take 21 working days to be able for you to get it into your account.
me: ok...you guys might want to lower that 21 day expectation....some banks receive them much sooner
me: Thanks much have a good one

 

[cynthial]

Update:

Arrived in wallet 8 days after request. Meh!

 

[winbig]

---------------------------
You can take the credit!
---------------------------

Please accept our apology for the delay in crediting you with your Grand Mondial Interest Rate Bonus. The unforeseen technical problems have been resolved, and you can look forward to receiving your bonus on time in the future!

That being said, were thrilled to inform you that your Grand Mondial Interest Rate Bonus for the month of March has been credited to your account.

Well done, youve received 0.01 bonus credits simply for playing and having fun at Grand Mondial Online Casino!

So now they're paying interest on any balance you leave in your account, but it's credited as a bonus?

I'll be sure to spend that penny in one place...

 

[rikkerbuddy]

my take

I find that Rooms that have in house live chat or customer service is always better. We all do get glitches and it's out of the hands of both parties. How has all your other experiences been with the room?

 

[cynthial]

Well done, youve received 0.02 bonus credits simply for playing and having fun at Grand Mondial Online Casino!


I win!

 

[vinylweatherman]

So now they're paying interest on any balance you leave in your account, but it's credited as a bonus?

I'll be sure to spend that penny in one place...

I got 0.26 of "interest", but I CHALLENGE ANYONE to find ANYTHING about this promo on the website. Even the BLOODY EMAIL has the wrong effing link, directing to the NEW PLAYER offer what is supposedly the details of this "interest" offer. With 0.02 and 0.26 credits, why did they even bother with this stupid promo

Did someone try to find a way to insult players even more and invent a promo that would be so insulting players would leave

They have invented a new unit of time too, known as the "Grand Mondial Hour", which is anything from 12 hours to 3 days. Last week a "Grand Mondial Hour" was 3 days, and so far today it is more than 2 hours long. The "Grand Mondial Hour" is referenced in my weekly promo as "Your bonus will be credited within an hour after meeting requirements".

Supposedly, the ISP problems that beset them last week have been fixed, so what's the excuse now eh!

 

[sickdoctor]

ISP porblems lol

Wild...Small World. I too requested a withdrawal on the 6th, but requested a wire. One thing worth mentioning is that I was told that GM cannot send checks??

But anyways, I sure hope it's less than 21 days before I get this wire. I had one hit my bank within 72 hours from requesting it at GoWild, so there's no reason GM can't do it just as quick. What makes it even more insane is the fact that it was my first WD from GW, so I even had to send in documents (which they accepted on the first go-around)...This will be my 2nd or 3rd WD from GM....

This took 5 days to process (4 business days), which is way too long, IMO..it sat as reversible for 24 hours, even though I asked via live chat to get them to flush it, and was told they would (lie)...But, I was the bigger man here, I didn't even log in till a couple days later and saw that it's a work in progress (it's still listed as that, too.)

But, anyways...there's no reason that your WD should be taking so long. wtf is there to review??? Where's Mario in all this mess?

weird they have ISP connection problems to send money but not to send it to their player lmao

 

[winbig]

Just another casino for me to uninstall, at least until they get their act together.

If a casino can send USA players a wire that hits our accounts in < 24 hours after it's sent, there's NO REASON that GM can't do the same.

They keep telling me that it was SENT on April 11th from their processor/bank/whatever, but yet I have NEVER had a wire take longer than 3 business days to hit my account once it was initiated from the sender. I've been waiting for this one for 5 business days and counting, going by the date they said it was sent.

If you ask me, GM is doing precisely what Bodog was doing last year. They were quoting people outrageous times for them to receive their money, and low and behold, nobody got paid earlier than a couple of days short of that window.

My message to GM: Quit taking advantage of USA players. Once MG and other casinos return to the USA, you're going to regret it, since we'll have that many more options of where to play again.

General Info
Chat start time Apr 17, 2009 3:59:24 PM EST
Chat end time Apr 17, 2009 4:50:28 PM EST
Duration (actual chatting time) 00:51:04
Operator Petros

me: Hi Petros, I was wondering if there was any updates as to my cashout on the 6th...
Petros: One moment please while we look into the matter for you?
me: sure
Petros: I will be right with you.
Petros: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Petros: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Petros: I will be right with you.
Petros: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Petros: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Petros: I will be right with you.

20 minutes later (no, I'm not kidding)
Petros: We dont find your account could you please provide it for us
me: shouldn't you have asked me that first? It's xxxx
me: just wondering what you were looking for that whole time I was waiting...I thought since I called live chat via the casino software, you would have had that information
Petros: Brian we apologize for the delay, your wihtdrawal has already been sent out to you on the 11-April-09 and will take about 21 working days to reach you

<snip>

 

[Balky]

Waiting 8 days for a withdrawal to a web wallet is absolutely not acceptable imho. Keep in mind that transferring funds to a web wallet lasts only one mouseclick.

Cheers Balky

 

[winbig]

Also, they're not even following their own rules.

Link Removed ( Old/Invalid)

Says that a direct bank transfer only takes 3-6 business days, NOT 21.

 

[vinylweatherman]

Also, they're not even following their own rules.

Link Removed ( Old/Invalid)

Says that a direct bank transfer only takes 3-6 business days, NOT 21.

Maybe they have actually sent a check, even though they don't offer them. This would certainly take 21 days or more. I cannot see how the wire has actually been "sent" if you have not got it yet. I suspect that all CS can see is that the wire has been "allocated", and it may be that the processor has not yet actually sent it. Again, if the processor is slow, a wire can indeed take this length of time, but the delay is NOT with the banking system, but with the casino or it's processor.

The ISP problem may also have had a bearing on this, and CS are simply not able to work out what has happened from the access they have to back-end applications. Once Cashcheck shows the withdrawal as completed, you should be able to view how it has been allocated, but if it is still "work in progress", then it is still either with the casino's finance team, or with the processor who has either not sent it, or has not sent it long enough ago for Cashcheck to show the information.

I am still having problems. My weekly bonus which is supposed to be credited "within the hour" was still not credited after 4 hours. I sent an email to my VIP host, and never received a reply (now 24 hours+ later), however, the bonus HAS now been credited, so the issue no longer exists.

Having such severe issues as a knock on effect of an ISP problem has done playshare no favours, and it seems quite a few members here have stated they are considering uninstalling, or have already done so. Playshare now have the added problem of winning these players back.

 

[winbig]

I just confirmed that I was indeed sent a bank wire, and not a check.

Why they're quoting 21 days is beyond me.

What's interesting is that the rep basically said that it's the processor's fault for this delay. Since it takes 72 hours or less for a wire to hit my account, I can only deduce that they are intentionally stalling payments for some reason or another.

I just hope that GM is looking for a new processor, for their own sake.

 

[vinylweatherman]

I just confirmed that I was indeed sent a bank wire, and not a check.

Why they're quoting 21 days is beyond me.

What's interesting is that the rep basically said that it's the processor's fault for this delay. Since it takes 72 hours or less for a wire to hit my account, I can only deduce that they are intentionally stalling payments for some reason or another.

I just hope that GM is looking for a new processor, for their own sake.

If they are quoting 21 days, they must know that their processor habitually delays sending the wires. If they have sent the money to the processor, then it is the processor that is the problem, and very little that GM can do about it at this stage, even though it could end up costing them customers. Finding a new processor is a long term process, not something they can do overnight.

 

[winbig]

Finding a new processor is a long term process, not something they can do overnight.

Yea, I do understand about their being at the mercy of the processor, and it takes time to find a new one, but a simple "We're sorry, it's out of our hands. We're currently looking for better and faster ways to pay our American players, so please bear with us." would be much better than their current attitude of 'The funds were allocated on such and such a date, please wait up to 21 days to receive your funds.' Why? 'Because you're a dirty rotten American'...not exactly those words, but that's the way I am taking it.

 

[lauram]

I have not played there in over a year. I should of known better the other day i received email welcoming me back with a bonus just log in deposit and claim.
As i log into the casino right on the first page says welcome back click here for your bonus. Then comes up thanks for opting in your bonus will be accredited within 20 minutes. Hours go by nothing so i email them, response is ask live chat they can fix this issue for you. Well this made it my last deposit with them as the op was not only rude to me but left me thinking i was losing my mind. Even when i told her right on the opening page huge box says welcome back click here for your welcome back bonus. And then she states my account was not entitled to any bonus. Then went on to say there is no emails from me or them as im sitting here reading them with the person at the ends name Frank Thompson
Casino Management

Then after reading how long the withdraws here took maybe just as well i dont go back.

 

[winbig]

*shakes head*

This will be my last post in regards to GM. I really don't think there's much more to be said than what's already been said.

Ok, towards the end of the chat, the CSR claims that he was "just told 15 minutes ago" about this "routine maintenance" that are taking place that apparently are affecting players from logging in/connecting to the casino.

That's fine and all, but this is the same CSR I talked to an hour ago that spent at least 5-10 minutes away from chat checking into why I could not log into the casino, and came back and said that everything was fine on their end...

If he had really went through all the channels and checked into why I couldn't connect, wouldn't he know that this "routine maintenance" was taking place?

1 hour previously:

them: will be assisting you, how could I be of service...
me: Hello...I cannot connect to the casino, are you experiencing any problems right now?
me: It just sits there at "connecting to casino server..." then times out
them: Do you have a registered account?
them: Which casino please?
me: yes, but that is irrelevant..this is a connection issue...
me: grand mondial
me: I have no problems going anywhere else..
them: No was just checking as we do not accept US newly registered player.
me: You must have missed where I said I have a registered account, and have since 2007...
me: <snipped account number>
them: One moment please while we look into the matter for you?
me: yes, thanks
me: if there was an issue with my account, it wouldn't be giving me this error...it's strictly a connection issue..
them: One moment please while we look into the matter for you?
me: sure, no problem
them: I will be right with you.
them: Everything seems to be working fine on our end.
them: Try again within the next 5 minutes.
them: We are investigating on our end as well.
me: did you look into network issues with your ISP that may be going on, or just that the servers are up and running?
me: okie dokie, I'll try again in a bit
me: thanks

Please wait for a site operator to respond.
Welcome to Casino support live help, one moment please for world-class service
them: Hi, and thank you for using our Live Chat facility! Allow me to introduce myself as your chat representative...
them: will be assisting you, how could I be of service...
me: Hi again...
me: I'm still not able to connect..
me:
them: The server is down at the moment for maintenance try again within the next 1/2 hour or so.
me: was this the case earlier?
them: Yes.
me: ok....but you told me an hour ago that everything was working fine on your end
me: I would have appreciated it if you would have told me about the maintenance
them: Yes it is just routine checks being done.
me: which was affecting my ability to login, correct?
me: was/is..
them: Yes exactly.
them: The casino is down at the moment. But they informed me that it should be up and running within the next 1/2 hour or so.
me: yes, I understand that, but you're missing the point...I came to you an hour ago because I wasn't able to log in, and you told me everything was fine on your end and mentioned nothing about maintenance being done that affected my ability to log in to the casino
me: and now you're telling me that it was an issue on your end all along
them: It is nothing of an issue it is just normal checks.
me: Yes, but it IS an issue when people cannot log in...whether it's routine or not.
them: I also just started my shift when you connected and didn't have the information.
them: I was just informed 15 minutes or so ago.
me: uh...you had plenty of time to check into it
them: Sorry about that.
me: if you say so

If I was to provide "help" like this years ago while working in the tech support department for an ISP, I definitely would be looking for a new line of work, and not voluntarily.

 

[winbig]

update: I received my wire this morning. 14 days, 11 business days and many headaches after my WD request.

It's possible that I may go back to GM in the future, but only if they both find a new processor and get a better support staff/system in place.

 

[Mario]

Waiting 8 days for a withdrawal to a web wallet is absolutely not acceptable imho. Keep in mind that transferring funds to a web wallet lasts only one mouseclick.

Cheers Balky

Hi Balky,

Please send me your accoutn details for further investigations as 8 days are to long to wait.

Hope to hear from you soon in order to investigate into the matter.

Best regards
Mario