Casino Complaint JF - am I just being pissy?

[chayton]

So last week I got a mail from the Jackpot Factory. David Brickman (who was the rep here for awhile) is now the Director of Canadian Player affairs, in the email it said something like "please write me with your concerns" so I decide to take him up on it.

I wrote thusly:

Hi David,

Interestingly enough, I just got your email about your new position as Director of Canadian Player Affairs just when I was considering closing ALL of my Jackpot Factory accounts.

I have to say that I normally play at All Jackpots but I do have accounts at several other casinos in the group. My luck hasn't been good at any of them during my regular play and when I finally start to get somewhere in one of the tournaments, I get inexplicably disconnected while my remaining time ticks down. Last week I was in FIFTH place with 2 minutes left on a tourney in All Slots. Guess what? Disconnected - couldn't get back in and lost the whole 2 minutes of play. Then to add insult to injury I wrote a mail to All Slots and they didn't even bother to respond.

To be honest, I'm starting to feel like the Jackpot Factory group doesn't care about players like me who don't spend thousands of dollars a month. Am I wrong?

thanks,
Cindy

So a few days go by and I get this response:

Hi Cindy,

Glad to hear I arrived in the nick of time! Thanks for responding to my mail. Its always valuable to get feedback from players even when its not positive.

Sorry to hear you didnt have a lucky streak with us. Sometimes the slots are tight but they generally let loose at some point. My recommendation is to play games like Tomb Raider or Thunderstruck which is supposed to have a fairly high hit rate meaning you should see some consistent payouts. I also see that you play quite a variety of games. Something I think the best strategy is to stick with a few games and give them a chance to warm up! I do hope you give our casino another chance. Most players do walk away with a positive experience!

Thanks again for taking the time to write and please feel free to contact me at any time with further issues.

All the best,

David Brickman

I was like WTF? Did he not bother to even read my whole email? So now I'm steamed and I responded below:

David,

Thanks for writing back, but to be honest I found your response a little condescending - you completely ignored the issue that I wrote to you about.

Look, I've been gambling online for awhile now, I have a certain style of play that occasionally works for me. Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, that's not a big deal, it's what gambling's all about. I don't need you to tell me how or what games I should be playing. My issue wasn't that the slots are tight, my issue was about the latest disconnection from the tournament server and the complete and utter lack of response from support when I wrote them about it. I'm a member of casinomeister, I have been almost since I first started playing online. I've read posts by other frustrated players of Jackpot Factory casinos about disconnections and emails going unanswered. Now I understand their frustration.

There are a number of online casinos I play at that I'm absolutely loyal to - several of which I've never EVER made a withdrawal from. Do you know why I'm loyal to them? Because they treat me like I'm valuable to them. Like my measly $25 deposits make me as important a customer as if I was dropping thousands. When I write an email to support, they read the whole mail and not just the first line and they respond to my concern. If there's a problem, they fix it. They don't ignore me, they don't make excuses, they don't sidestep my questions, and they don't patronize me.

Cindy

So am I just being pissy or do I have a valid point here?

 

[rockycatt]

i think they practice tongue in cheek diplomacy to try to let time heal all things

so i think your spot on but it is what it is in this case as you present it

 

[maphesto]

I hope you get an answer on that last email soon.

Sometimes the slots are tight but they generally let loose at some point. My recommendation is to play games like Tomb Raider or Thunderstruck which is supposed to have a fairly high hit rate meaning you should see some consistent payouts

.

Even if we know that rtp changes, this has to be the first time I have seen someone at a MG casino admits it. Or have I misunderstood?

 

[Jasminebed]

I don't think you are being too pissy.

I recent joined Allslots via a free chip before Christmas. I received an email in January asking if there was a reason I had not deposited, and telling me how valuable my feedback was. It at least implied I would receive a personal response to my mail.

I took my time to write them. My tower had died, and I was now playing on my netbook, which has limited resources. The new MG interface would not fit on my screen.

Said some nice things about their reputation, and thanked them for the freechip (which I did not cashout from BTW).

Two weeks later I get a very similar email. I phoned this time. I told them I had taken my time to send one email, I wasn't sending another. They told me they never got it!

Got a third email asking again. I've now received the letter the OP did as well.

When you write me and ask me what you can do to get me to deposit, and you don't even bother to respond to my mail...the above points were just a summary...

Well, it is not encouraging that if I had an issue you would solve it in a timely manner.

 

[jetset]

Why some of these managers bother to contact players if they cannot be bothered to respond to them properly is beyond me.

I don't think you're being unreasonable at all. As an experienced online player who has used this guy's product you gave a factual and considered view in response to his invitation to offer feedback.

That's real feedback and not some rambling general complaint, and as such it should be sufficiently valued for him to check out the flaws with his colleagues in IT or operations and then give a sensible response instead of simply ignoring your main point.

You're right - it looks as if he (or one of his minions) couldn't even be bothered to read the whole damned email.

 

[vinylweatherman]

It looks like a canned response, nothing more, sent out to all players who bothered to offer feedback. It gives the impression that seeking feedback was NOT the real intention behind this exercise, rather that when there was a responce, a canned "marketing" email was sent back in the hope the player would be fooled into believing they really had received the PERSONAL attention of a top person in the organisation, and would deposit as a result.

This tournament disconnection problem has been around for YEARS, and it can make playing the tournaments pointless. A SINGLE disconnection can cost a competitor THOUSANDS, because the ENTIRE session is lost, there is NOT the option to "try later" as there is when playing the normal games, since when you do, all your time has gone. Even if you rebuy, you can NEVER retrieve the lost time, and are FOREVER at a disadvantage to the other competitors (except those also suffering disconnections).

MGS should have ensured this product was fit for purpose, disconnections DO happen, and so the product should have been designed to ensure players did NOT lose out as a result. You do NOT lose out when disconnected from the normal games, even if this happens half way through a bonus round - you are delivered back to exactly where you were disconnected, and can play off remaining free spins, or continue through screen based "pick" bonus rounds. This robustness of design seems at odds with the complete lack of "real life" planning that has gone into the tournament product.

I hardly ever play these tournaments any more, I am fed up with constant disconnections, and slow play hindering my ability to play to the max. Why would an athlete run a marathon with a ball & chain attached to his ankle? THIS is what playing an MGS slots tournament feels like to me, IT'S JUST NOT FUN ANY MORE

 

[De Beuker]

They have always been ignoring the tournament issues.
Can't wait to see the reply to your 2nd email Chayton, if you ever get one that is..
If you contact livechat about it you'll always get the same response.

Check your internetconnection (superfast!)
Disable your firewall (HELL NO!!)
Do a virus/adwarescan (already did numerous times)

In other words, the problem is NOT on their side, its us.
And thats not the case.

I think I'm gonna call Ed's Super Fix It, and ask him to fix their servers!
He has a special tool for that!

Oh, and you're not at all too pissy.
Maybe not pissy enough..

 

[chayton]

Hey gang....I got this response from DB earlier today - surprising how quickly he responded this time. What do you think?

Cindy,

I did not intent to be condescending and apologize if thats how it sounded. I just read through my response and I think I might have been intending to respond another customer who did have payout issues. This is my mistake and again, I am sorry.

We do get periodic complaints about spinning reels and connectivity issues. Sometimes it related to the internet connection and sometimes its connected to the load on the tournament in terms of the number of participants across the network. Our software provider has done some extensive upgrades to the system which were meant to prevent these connectivity issues and it is distressing for me to hear that youre still experiencing them. If you do experience connectivity issues with a tournament we will certainly refund you the fees.

There is also no reason for you not to receive answers from our support team. I will look into this straight away.

Please accept my apologies for the confusion with the response. I do handle a lot of correspondences and I guess this one got mixed up.

Thanks again for taking the time to write in.

All the best,

David Brickman

 

[jod5413]

I think that no one can constantly monitor e-mails from the myriad numbers of e-mails, which consist of a whole slew of different problems/and or questions. I think that David Brinkman handled your e-mail very honestly and as quickly as he could.

I do believe that David Brickman is honestly wanting to help everyone and to make things right. It is just not that easy, the vast amount of different problems can be overwhelming at times, I would imagine.

That's my thoughts, maybe not worth much but there it is.

 

[Jackpot Factory]

Response from David Brickman

Hi everyone,

I see my 2nd response got posted before I have a chance to respond to the forum, so now you have the full story. A honest mistake on my part but you're all obviously entitled to think whatever you want. I take my job very seriously and do my best to respond to all the emails I receive. Nobody who writes to me gets an automated form letter response.

I have been around this industry and this forum for a very long time and believe me when I say all I am trying to do it make the online gaming industry more transparent and more fun for everyone. Thanks again to chayton for your patience and understanding.

All the best,

David

 

[KasinoKing]

So am I just being pissy or do I have a valid point here?

I don't think you were being pissy enough!
If I had got that "canned response" I would have been fricking FUMING!

I personally have never played one of these slots tournaments, but I certainly can imaging how enormously frustrating it must be to get dis-conns right at the crucial moment! And from what I've read of the forum this is far from an isolated incident.

So anyway, I guess this thread will fade away now David has apologised for his error (each of us has to form their own opinions on that), but will there be any improvement in server connection for tournaments...?
I for one will not be holding my breath...

KK

 

[jetset]

A certain level of redemption is imo due to Jackpot Factory for being honest enough to admit that his initial effort wasn't up to much and apologise, but the real credibility will flow if he can subequently show that he has tried to do something constructive with MGS about this, and what they have to say.

This isn't the first time that this problem has cropped up, and it's clearly an area that deserves more focus than exchanging placating emails with players.

 

[chayton]

A certain level of redemption is imo due to Jackpot Factory for being honest enough to admit that his initial effort wasn't up to much and apologise, but the real credibility will flow if he can subequently show that he has tried to do something constructive with MGS about this, and what they have to say.

This isn't the first time that this problem has cropped up, and it's clearly an area that deserves more focus than exchanging placating emails with players.

I could not have said it better myself!

Let me reiterate that it wasn't just the tournament disconnection that was my problem, although that's been frustrating enough that I rarely buy in anymore. In this case it was the disconnection plus the non-response from support (which has happened to others also!) but then the email from DB was what really got me riled. Also I didn't post here to bash JF - I posted because I wanted to get the reaction of other players about the situation, and I'd like to thank everyone for their comments and input.

As far as me receiving an message intended for someone else the first time...well, I'm a cynic....but I've received emails calling me Brian or Amanda so I know that mixups are possible when dealing with large amounts of mail so I'm willing to admit that maybe that's what happened here.

 

[vinylweatherman]

OK so MGS realise there are going to be these disconnections, so, SIMPLE FIX, just DONT'T DOCK THE PLAYER'S TIME WHEN IT HAPPENS, just let them come back later, and reconnect just where they left off. Provided the tournament itself is still running, this should be no problem at all. An easier solution would be to do away with the individual session timer altogether, and just have buy ins for coins, and only the scheduled end time of the tournament stops further play for everyone at the same time. Again, disconnections wouldn't really matter, players could try later, and continue from the coin balance they had when disconnected.

MGS have brought this upon themselves, first with the introduction of rebuys, and now we have completely ridiculous tournaments with 1000 rebuys and/or 1000 continues, and now players can play PER ACCOUNT, rather than just per PERSON. OF COURSE THE SERVERS ARE SUFFERING A MUCH INCREASED LOAD!!! WTF did MGS think was going to happen when they made these changes

Go back to NO rebuys (or a small number such as 5), and a SMALL number of continues (similar amount), and revert back to one player entry per tournament over the entire network. This should reduce the load and ensure the servers are easily able to cope with the load. Indeed, the recent upgrade may not have been necessary had they done this.

I'll bet that much of the load now is from players hitting all the free tournaments over many different casino accounts because of the new system. because they are not paying fees, they are not risking anything, so would be prepared to suffer the disconnections, and simply try again at a different casino.

It's a different matter for paid tournaments, refunding the fee does NOT adequately compensate you if you were in reach of the $5000 prize and lost it because a disconnection robbed you of an entire session.