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ESSENTIAL READING FOR ONLINE GAMBLING MANAGERS
Straight from the shoulder tips on keeping players happyThe importance of retaining good players in these difficult economic and competitive times is self-evident, yet support staff and managers continue to make fundamental errors in how they treat the customers on whom success depends.
Internet message boards still carry way too many tales of sad experiences at the hands of uncaring and less than efficient staff, leading to one player posting a straight-from-the-shoulder assessment this weekend of what a customer expects to receive in the way of service – it’s worth reading as a refresher for Management 101.
The player questions rhetorically whether some managers have ever asked themselves: “What do my customers expect from me?” and goes on to provide the answers:
1. Make sure your terms and conditions are clear, very visible and not contradictory. Check or have someone senior check your website and email marketing for outdated promo’s, terms, conflicting information and dead links. There just isn’t any excuse for errors in this very important area that can initiate conflict with your players.
And if your company has screwed up on a promo, don’t expect your players to carry the can for the error.
2. If I contact Support please try to keep the on-hold time as short as possible. 5 minutes is acceptable, over 10 is not. If you need more staff……hire some.
3. If there is some big issue happening where many players are kept waiting on the line or on live chat, resulting in longer than normal response times, come on line and give a short explanation, even an automated response. Communication is critically important to keep impatience at bay, and most players are pretty understanding if you just explain.
4. If it’s taking awhile to find or retrieve what the customer is requesting, come back on with a reassurance that you are still there and don’t leave the customer hanging out there for more than 5 minutes wondering about disconnection or simply being abandoned.
5. If I ask you a question and you don’t know the answer…..don’t pull something out of fantasy land. It’s perfectly acceptable to say “I’m sorry, I don’t presently have that information but I will find out and get back to you by tomorrow.”
6. And logically, if you tell me that you will get back to me……for pete’s sake just do it, within 24 hours. If you still don’t know the answer, that’s OK, just say so and you can contact me again…..within 24 hours. Beware of excuses like “He just stepped out for a moment but we’ll get right back to you”….and then don’t.
7. If I email you with a problem or a question, please take the time to actually read the email. Don’t respond with some pointless canned (pre-prepared and irrelevant) reply; that is one of the big triggers for player frustration and anger. Again…..the 24 hour rule applies and if you don’t know the answer, it’s acceptable to say ‘I will get back to you.’ Worst of all, you didn’t bother to respond at all (and yes, I’ve checked my filters!) Taking a “Too bloody difficult, just ignore” approach is just unprofessional….and unforgiveable.
8. Please give your customer service people the updated information and the tools they need to do their job. If you are confident in their ability and supervisor, it would be a good idea to additionally give them some discretion – on small bonuses and freebies, for example. Nothing frustrates a player more than being unable to get a response on (example) – “I just deposited $50.00 and it lasted 10 minutes, I didn’t even get one bonus round. I was wondering since I’m a good customer who deposits XXX every month if you could throw me a little bone. I have 960 bonus points, if you would up it to 1000 so I can get my 10 spot, it would be much appreciated.”
You can’t do that? ” Unfortunately (for you) the player is likely to immediately consider uninstalling your casino; you just said goodbye to a good, regular customer who seldom bothers you. And…….yes you have records of who asks for the freebie every other day and…. no, you don’t have to give it to them. Head abusing players off before it gets to the point of being aggravating, send them a email stating that they no longer will be receiving freebies because they are abusing your good will.
9. Use Spell Check, always. Badly worded and misspelt communications deliver only a negative perception.
10. Don’t be rude or condescending – players are customers who put the bread on the table. Players don’t expect you take abuse from your customers, either. If a customer is being abusive, courteously tell them that you will talk to them when they have calmed down and can communicate in an adult manner.
11. Never lie to your customers. This Internet business is based on trust, and truth is the best policy to engender that trust. Treat your players with the same respect and courtesy that you would expect to receive yourself when dealing with any business, be it a casino or otherwise.
12. Don’t make your customers jump through hoops and crawl through tunnels to get their cash withdrawals by repeatably asking for their documents presenting unfair or unnecessary obstacles. When ID or other documents are despatched to you, acknowledge their receipt immediately and take every care to protect the privacy of the sender. If there is an issue with the documents, contact the sender to get it rectified within 24 hours – no suspicious delays, please.
13. Pay out in the time period outlined on your website. If you can’t meet it, email the customer explaining the delay, don’t wait for the player to contact you again…and again….and again. Failing to take the initiative in this important area puts your business in a bad light and generates ill-will at the player end. Too many players have been ripped off and stalled way too many times. Head off the frustration by being pro-active here.
14. Please impress upon your staff the importance of giving your customers the perception that you appreciate their business. Show your appreciation for longstanding and loyal, trouble-free players by giving the occasional comp or bonus without prompting – it works wonders.
Hi Professor,
I except and totally agree with all your thread about player support and myself try to if at all possible have a hand on approach with my affiliates. I can say myself that I am always contactable and if not, I get back to my affiliates in very reasonable time. All problems big or small I attend to with the same priority.From bb28
She Clams this@bb28 233099 wrote:
I posted it here……..completely written off the cuff by me. Frankly I’m pretty pissed that this webmaster would do that without asking me or giving me credit for it. I feel ripped off…….am I over reacting?
I guess I know how webmasters feel when someone steals their content.
I sent the webmaster of that site a email asking him to give me credit or remove it from his site.http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/online-casinos/24387-attn-customer-service-managers.html
I forgot to say she wrote the letter to
online-casinos.com/news/ It is on that site as well.
And not here.I’m sorry bb I was thinking you wrote a letter too online-casinos.com
Because you did’nt know about CAP’s but you did the other.
Ok who doctored this?
This is all over BSThis was the original post by bb on 26th April 2008, 06:36 PM
I just like to know who doctored this one that’s all.
And I say bb’s came out first and I do have to give her all credit on a well put post.but someone had to take it and make it fancy.
Sorry I had to vent alittle@bb28 232901 wrote:
Have you ever asked yourself this question. What do my customers expect from me?
Here is a short list I’ve compiled and I’m sure there will be many other points contributed that I’ve left out.
Make your terms and conditions very clear and very visible and not contradictory. Check or have someone check your website for outdated promo’s, terms, conflicting information and dead links. There just isn’t any excuse for errors in this very important area.
If I contact support please try to keep the wait time as short as possible. 5 minutes is acceptable, over 10 is not. If you need more staff……hire some.
If there is some big issue happening where many players are on the line or waiting on chat that keeps the wait longer than normal, please do come on the line and give us a short explanation. We are pretty understanding if you just explain. Oh and if it’s taking a while to find or get what the customer is requesting, do come back on and say I’ll be with you in a moment. Don’t leave me hanging out there for more than 5 minutes wondering if I’ve been disconnected or ignored.If I ask you a question and you don’t know the answer…..don’t pull something out of your arse. It’s perfectly acceptable to say I’m sorry but I will find out and get back to you by tomorrow.
If you tell me that you will get back to me……for petes sake just do it, within 24 hours. If you still don’t know the answer, that’s OK, just say so and you can contact me again…..within 24 hours.
If I email you with a problem or a question, please take the time to actually read the email and don’t respond with some pointless canned reply, that one really pisses me off. Again…..the 24 hour rule applies and if you don’t know the answer, it’s acceptable to say I will get back to you. What……..you didn’t even bother to reply at all?? Unforgivable!
Managers…….give your customer service people the information and the tools they need to do their job. Also give them some leeway about bonuses/freebies. Nothing frustrates a player more than (example) – “I just deposited $50.00 and it lasted 10 minutes, I didn’t even get one bonus round. I was wondering since I’m a good customer who deposits XXX every month if you could throw me a little bone. I have 960 bonus points, if you would up it to 1000 so I can get my 10 spot, it would be much appreciated.” WHAT……you can’t do that? ” Player immediately uninstalls your casino, you just said goodbye to your good customer who seldom bothers you. And…….yes you have records of who asks for the freebie every other day and no you don’t have to give it to them. Head it off before it gets to the point of being aggravating, send them a email stating that they no longer will be receiving them because they are abusing your good will.
Use a spell check, always.
Don’t be rude or condescending and no we don’t expect you take abuse from your customers. If a customer is being abusive, tell them that you will talk to them at another time when they have calmed down and can communicate in an adult manner.
Never ever lie to your customers. The truth is always the best policy, no exceptions. Treat your players with the same respect and courtesy that you would expect when dealing with any business, be it a casino or otherwise.
Don’t make your customers try to jump the moon to get their withdrawals by repeatably asking for their documents and do acknowledge receipt of them in a timely manner. If there is a issue with the documents, contact us within 24 hours, don’t delay.
Pay out in the time period stated on your website. If you can’t meet it, email the customer explaining the delay, don’t wait for me to contact you. Not taking the initiative to contact me puts your business in a bad light and frankly just pisses me off. We’ve been ripped off and stalled too many times. Head off the frustration by being pro-active here.
I thought of a couple more points, I wanted to add.
Act like you appreciate your loyal customers by showing us your appreciation with bonuses and comps. Without us, your loyal player base…..you are out of business, remember that!BingoT I am not sure whats going on or what you are refering to, but this article was supplied by InfoPowa under license.
I would fully expect it to appear at Casinomeister as well as here as we are both lincensees of that news service.
All I said was bb wrote hers first and Wow it comes out around the same time.It’s just funny how it came about that’s all.
Give Credit When Due to bb28 I say.
Please come by CM’s if you like to see what’s going on with this.
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/online-casinos/24387-attn-customer-service-managers-5.html
I don’t think the NewsMan posted it.Re read what I said Bingo T.
The article was supplied to us by Infopowa at Sun 4/27/2008 3:58 AM.
I have no idea who BB is
I heard ya Lou
Come to CM’s and meet bb
This is where the story is
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/…anagers-5.html
This way this can be all ironed out.
Give her the respect and tell her yourself.
This is not hard to do is it?
Thank You Lou@Professor 161096 wrote:
The links not work for me. What area is it in?
http://www.casinomeister.com/forums/online-casinos/24387-attn-customer-service-managers-5.html
Hope this works
Thanks again Lou
I know that one works but for some reason it don’t it can be found in the.
Attn: Customer Service and Managers <
Thread Name
Online Casinos <
Area
Online Casinos – Information, Experiences, questions and such. This is no place for ads or cloaked promos. Shills and spammers be warnedHere’s my response that I posted at CM
Quote:Bingo T it appears you were up to mischief as you started these whole fracas. I am not sure why you chose to go with the wording doctored or crap but its inflamatory and I think you knew that. Until now I didnt know who BB and wasnt aware of this thread.BB As I explained over on CAP we subscribe to a number of network news feeds. That article was supplied to us by InfoPowa. CM features InfoPowa articles under license as do we. Reviewed Casinos allow subscribes to the service. That’s why the article was posted there as well.
Infopowa has impecible credentials and thats why you find their articles at top websites such as CasinoMeister and ours. If there is an issue with original authorship then you have my full support in figuring out why this happened. It’s all together possible that one of Infopowa’s authors submitted it to them for distribution and they are unaware of the situation.
I have contacted InfoPowa and asked them to look into it ASAP and let us all know what happened.
Here is the original article feed I received via email subscription from InfoPowa:
Quote:ESSENTIAL READING FOR ONLINE GAMBLING MANAGERSStraight from the shoulder tips on keeping players happy
The importance of retaining good players in these difficult economic and competitive times is self-evident, yet support staff and managers continue to make fundamental errors in how they treat the customers on whom success depends.
Internet message boards still carry way too many tales of sad experiences at the hands of uncaring and less than efficient staff, leading to one player posting a straight-from-the-shoulder assessment this weekend of what a customer expects to receive in the way of service – it’s worth reading as a refresher for Management 101.
The player questions rhetorically whether some managers have ever asked themselves: “What do my customers expect from me?” and goes on to provide the answers:
1. Make sure your terms and conditions are clear, very visible and not contradictory. Check or have someone senior check your website and email marketing for outdated promo’s, terms, conflicting information and dead links. There just isn’t any excuse for errors in this very important area that can initiate conflict with your players.
And if your company has screwed up on a promo, don’t expect your players to carry the can for the error.
2. If I contact Support please try to keep the on-hold time as short as possible. 5 minutes is acceptable, over 10 is not. If you need more staff……hire some.
3. If there is some big issue happening where many players are kept waiting on the line or on live chat, resulting in longer than normal response times, come on line and give a short explanation, even an automated response. Communication is critically important to keep impatience at bay, and most players are pretty understanding if you just explain.
4. If it’s taking awhile to find or retrieve what the customer is requesting, come back on with a reassurance that you are still there and don’t leave the customer hanging out there for more than 5 minutes wondering about disconnection or simply being abandoned.
5. If I ask you a question and you don’t know the answer…..don’t pull something out of fantasy land. It’s perfectly acceptable to say “I’m sorry, I don’t presently have that information but I will find out and get back to you by tomorrow.”
6. And logically, if you tell me that you will get back to me……for pete’s sake just do it, within 24 hours. If you still don’t know the answer, that’s OK, just say so and you can contact me again…..within 24 hours. Beware of excuses like “He just stepped out for a moment but we’ll get right back to you”….and then don’t.
7. If I email you with a problem or a question, please take the time to actually read the email. Don’t respond with some pointless canned (pre-prepared and irrelevant) reply; that is one of the big triggers for player frustration and anger. Again…..the 24 hour rule applies and if you don’t know the answer, it’s acceptable to say ‘I will get back to you.’ Worst of all, you didn’t bother to respond at all (and yes, I’ve checked my filters!) Taking a “Too bloody difficult, just ignore” approach is just unprofessional….and unforgiveable.
8. Please give your customer service people the updated information and the tools they need to do their job. If you are confident in their ability and supervisor, it would be a good idea to additionally give them some discretion – on small bonuses and freebies, for example. Nothing frustrates a player more than being unable to get a response on (example) – “I just deposited $50.00 and it lasted 10 minutes, I didn’t even get one bonus round. I was wondering since I’m a good customer who deposits XXX every month if you could throw me a little bone. I have 960 bonus points, if you would up it to 1000 so I can get my 10 spot, it would be much appreciated.”
You can’t do that? ” Unfortunately (for you) the player is likely to immediately consider uninstalling your casino; you just said goodbye to a good, regular customer who seldom bothers you. And…….yes you have records of who asks for the freebie every other day and…. no, you don’t have to give it to them. Head abusing players off before it gets to the point of being aggravating, send them a email stating that they no longer will be receiving freebies because they are abusing your good will.
9. Use Spell Check, always. Badly worded and misspelt communications deliver only a negative perception.
10. Don’t be rude or condescending – players are customers who put the bread on the table. Players don’t expect you take abuse from your customers, either. If a customer is being abusive, courteously tell them that you will talk to them when they have calmed down and can communicate in an adult manner.
11. Never lie to your customers. This Internet business is based on trust, and truth is the best policy to engender that trust. Treat your players with the same respect and courtesy that you would expect to receive yourself when dealing with any business, be it a casino or otherwise.
12. Don’t make your customers jump through hoops and crawl through tunnels to get their cash withdrawals by repeatably asking for their documents presenting unfair or unnecessary obstacles. When ID or other documents are despatched to you, acknowledge their receipt immediately and take every care to protect the privacy of the sender. If there is an issue with the documents, contact the sender to get it rectified within 24 hours – no suspicious delays, please.
13. Pay out in the time period outlined on your website. If you can’t meet it, email the customer explaining the delay, don’t wait for the player to contact you again…and again….and again. Failing to take the initiative in this important area puts your business in a bad light and generates ill-will at the player end. Too many players have been ripped off and stalled way too many times. Head off the frustration by being pro-active here.
14. Please impress upon your staff the importance of giving your customers the perception that you appreciate their business. Show your appreciation for longstanding and loyal, trouble-free players by giving the occasional comp or bonus without prompting – it works wonders.
UK GAMBLING COMPANIES FAIL TO CONTRIBUTE TO RESPONSIBLE GAMING FUNDING
Recalcitrant online companies are courting government compulsory levies
Despite warnings last year and this that a lack of voluntary contribution could lead to compulsory government levies (see previous InfoPowa reports) many British gambling companies continue to hold back on contributing to funds designed to help problem gamblers.
The UK media has picked up the story, claiming that as many as two-thirds of all UK gambling companies have so far failed to contribute. Of the 3 200 firms analysed by the Responsibility in Gambling Trust, only 1 000 have made donations, the reports reveal.
Smaller operators are particularly guilty, the organisation has revealed to the BBC.
While RITG has managed to reach its 2008 target of raising GBP 3.6 million through voluntary donations, these latest revelations are likely to prompt further calls for the government to introduce a compulsory levy.
According to Don Foster, culture spokesman for the Liberal Democrats, the amount contributed amounts to just GBP 14 per problem gambler, far less than the GBP 44 raised in New Zealand and GBP 40 in Canada. He told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It’s the online gambling operators on the whole who are not contributing.
“We’ve got to say once and for all, ‘Here is the amount we want – GBP 7 million plus, in a couple of years’. “Let’s use that as the threat to the industry. Cough up double what’s being paid now or else we have a compulsory levy to raise that amount of money.”
The comments come as the Gambling Commission undertakes a review into the effectiveness of the current levels of voluntary contributions, though the RITG chairman has recently expressed his confidence that the body will be able to reach its target of GBP 7 million by 2010.
GREEK SPORTINGBET PLAYER WINS $1.5 MILLION
Paradise Casino’s “Super Seven” progressive delivers bigtime
The UK-based online gambling group Sportingbet.com reports a major progressive slot win this week by a Greek player, who hit a Euro 940 966 (US$ 1.47 million) progressive jackpot at the group’s online Paradise Casino to set a new Greek online casino win record.
Player K. Vasileiadis’ ship of good fortune docked after he played the “Super Seven” game.
“This is a huge win and we are delighted for Mr Vasileiadis,” a spokesman for Sportingbet said. “He is a loyal customer and, despite the loss for Sportingbet.com, we are delighted to show how our customers can be true winners. I am sure that Mr Vasileiadis will enjoy spending the money and we hope that the experience of this win will stay with him for a long time.”
The spokesman added that the win showed that online casinos were capable of delivering major rewards to players, and that recent upgrades in Sportingbet product groups have made the company an award-winning gaming destination.
“We are determined that the journey for the customers from depositing to winning provides them with the ultimate gaming experience,” he concluded.
The lucky winner will be flown to London on May 9 to receive his winnings from the Sportingbet.com offices.
With more than four million registered customers, the London-listed Sportingbet.com is one of the industry veterans when it comes to online casino operations and offers a wide range of betting and gaming products from poker and sports betting to casino and games such as backgammon.
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