a(nother) Zynga CS Horror Story

Another Zynga CS 'Horror' story

By Feature Contributor Nick Greig 

Editor's note: isn't it amazing how familiar this sounds?  Zynga's customer support department is deplorable, scripted, predictable, and a pain in the butt!

It's taken a little longer than planned to get this together, and though it had a happy ending I'm sure you'll agree that it shouldn't have taken as much effort as it did. It also highlights how there are inconsistencies with what Zynga CS reps tell you at times, and how this is further compounded by the fact that seven different CS reps replied to the ticket over it's duration.

Submitted by someone who wishes to remain anonymous of course.

Incident Entry by Zynga Customer Portal ref: Against All Odds FAQ - Sat Apr 23 - Around 7pm

Hi,
I do not yet have this enabled on my account. It appeared very briefly one morning, then disappeared completely. Please advise ASAP as I will not be happy if I miss out on this event.
Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from CSR#1 - Sun Apr 24 - Midnight

Hello MWP,
Thanks for contacting Zynga Customer Support. My name is CSR#1 and I will be glad to assist you. MWP, I apologize for the inconvenience you are experiencig.

MWP, I received your message, but I do not have enough information to determine the cause.
Please reply to this email with the following additional information so that I can resolve your issue:
• The time and date the problem happened, or when you first noticed it
• Description of the problem or issue. Please be as specific as you can. Whenever possible, please take screenshot\'s of the issue in question to display things like error codes, proof of abuse, or anything that will better clarify what you’re reporting.
If you are unsure of how to obtain a screenshot, the following article from our knowledge base at Zynga.com will help:
How do I take a screenshot?
http://support.zynga.com/CP_ArticleView?id=kA160000000Gnvs&gameid=0&loc=en_US
Regards,
CSR#1

~~

Email from MWP - Sun Apr 24 - 7.30am

Hello CSR#1,

My apologies, I thought selecting the "Against all Odds FAQ" when submitting my ticket would have been included in the
information. I do not have the 6 personal missions for this event, the set that begins with "Fickle Lady Luck". I logged on 2 days ago, had it wait in my Mission bar briefly, moved around a few times and it disappeared, so there is nothing to take a screenshot of.

Please advise.

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from CSR#1 - Sun Apr 24 - Nearly 3pm

Dear MWP,
Thanks for getting back to us!
This is CSR#1 again and I will be glad to assist you. MWP, thanks for write us back with th extra information.
MWP, according to our system you already have the Mission you are asking me, please reply to this email to confrim that you have this Mission, if there is other concern I can assist you, please feel free to write me back, it will be a pleasure to assist you again.

Regards,
CSR#1

~~

Email from MWP - Sun Apr 24 - Nearly dinner time!

CSR#1,

I do not have the mission. I have not received the "newspaper" pop-up shown at "http://mwlootlady.blogspot.com/2011/04/against-all-odds-limited-time-mission.html" and I do NOT have the missions available. All I see in Vegas is my Brazil mission icon. A screenshot is attached, please go back and tell your system it is wrong, thanks.

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from MWP - Mon Apr 25 - 1.30pm

Hello,

Nearly 20 hours have elapsed since my last reply was sent. Please can you advise if this issue is still being looked at?

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from CSR#2 - Tue Apr 26 - A quarter to nine in the morn'.

Reply from Zynga Customer Support
Hi MWP,
Thanks for contacting Zynga Customer Support.
My name is CSR#2 and I will be more than happy to assist you in this matter. I\'m truly sorry to hear that you\'re still experiencing issues with the game, I would like to ask you to uninstall and reinstall the Mafia Wars application from Facebook so we can disregard the possibility of a technical issue.
* Login to your account
* Mouse-over "Settings" in the top right-hand corner
* Select "Application Settings"
* Find the game in the list of applications
* Click the "X" to the right of the application name
* Log out of your account
* Restart your computer
* Log back in to your social network
* Re-add the application
To reinstall the application you\'ll need to click on this link:
http://www.facebook.com/MafiaWarsFans?ref=ts, or this onehttp://zyn.ga/c3.
After this procedure, please check if you\'re still having the same issue.
Please, let me know if your account is working correctly now. I\'ll look forward to hear from you!
Happy gaming!
CSR#2

~~

Email from MWP - Tue Apr 26 - 9am

Hello CSR#2,

I have followed these instructions, but upon re-adding the MW application, I still do NOT have the Vegas event missions.

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from CSR#3 - Wed Apr 27 - Just before 6am

Hello MWP,
Thanks for contacting Zynga Customer Support.
My name is CSR#3 and I\'ll be assisting you today. MWP I did a little more investigation and, unfortunately, the problem you are experiencing with Las Vegas Mission is an issue we are trying very hard to resolve! We have our Development Team working diligently to quickly get you back into your game!
I truly apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and appreciate your understanding. If you have any questions or issues in the future, please feel free to contact me directly by replying to this e-mail!
You are an awesome customer, MWP, and your dedication to Mafia Wars is appreciated!
Have a great day!

Regards,
CSR#3

~~

Email from MWP - Thu Apr 28 - Just after 9am

Hello,

Owing to the fact that this is obviously not going to be fixed in time to give me a fair chance of finishing all the missions, I look forward to be account being credited with the loot items that I have missed out on.

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from CSR#4 - Thu Apr 28 09:40

Hello MWP,
This is CSR#4.
MWP, we take your concerns very seriously. We will do our best to solve your issues as soon as possible.
We are forwarding this information to our development team for their review so they can solve this issue as soon as possible, we would appreciate your patience in this matter and also your loyalty to our games.
Once again, thanks for your cooperation and understanding, we appreciate it very much.
Kind regards,
CSR#4

~~

Email from MWP - Fri Apr 29 -23 hours later, after the event has expired

Hello,

I had completed every mission that has been available since you introduced them, but as this event has now expired, please can you advise on the action you will take to compensate for the fact that I was completely unable to partake?

Loot missed out on:

2 x Car Cutter
5 x Protective Shirt
5 x Freighter
4 x Red Scorpion
5 x Crystalline
1 x Dream Time.

This is without even mentioning the additional XP the missions offer, which would have been very nice indeed. (additional content omitted)

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from CSR#5 - Fri Apr 29 - Late lunch o'clock

Dear MWP,
Thanks for getting back to us!
Hi my name is CSR#5, and I will be more than glad to help you today. First of all, let me apologize for the inconvinience that you have experienced with the mission "Against all odds", let me tell you what happened with this mission, our developers did not launch this mission for all the players, this was set up in every single account randomly, that\'s why you never got this mission on the mission toolbar. I apologize again for the inconvinience but there is no mean for us to grant you the items since the mission was not available to you.
Please if you have any other question let me know, I will be more than glad to help you with your questions.
"Remember mafia is not only that, Mafia is the Family that you have to protect"
Have a nice day MWP,
Kind regards,
CSR#5

~~

Email from MWP - Fri Apr 29 14:54

Dear CSR#5,

Thank you for your reply but...

This is simply not acceptable.
Such an event cannot be rolled out "randomly", as this is completely unfair on those who do not get it. I also know for sure that there is every way for my  account to be credited with the loot that I missed out on, as a result of, in
your words, Zynga\'s inability to roll out an event in a standard manner.

If you are unable to provide me with an accurate answer, then please can I ask that you escalate my query to someone who can, or is at least willing to deal more fairly with a 2 year daily player. I will not be leaving this issue alone until I am fairly compensated.

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from CSR#5 - Fri Apr 29 - 3pm

Dear MWP,
Thanks for getting back to us!
Hi this is CSR#5 again, and I will be more than glad to help you with your problems. First of all, I really want to apologize for the inconvinience that you experienced with this resolution that I gave you before, I will try to do my best to give the best solution, I checked once again your account and I verified that you have made every single mission like you said, also you have been a player for over 2 years, let me tell you what I can do for you, this is the only solution that I can offer you, I can add the last reward for this mission wich is the " Dream Time", as a one time courtesy. Please let me know if this solution is available for you.
I will patiently wait for your response. If  you have any other question let  me know  and I will be more than glad to assist you.
Just like the Godfather, I got your back!
Have a great day MWP!
Happy gaming!
CSR#5

~~

MWP didn't get a chance to read the next message, as they were still composing and sending their reply to CSR#5!

~~

Email from CSR#6 - Fri Apr 29 - A little past 3.15pm

Hello MWP,
Thanks for contacting us back.
My name is CSR#6 and I will assist you in this matter today.
First of all, I apologize for all the inconveniences that you\'ve experienced with the game. I know how frustrating it\'s to have problems in the game and not been able to proceed, I can tell you this because I\'m also a player too.
MWP, as a one time courtesy, I\'ve added Added 3 Car cutter, 3 Red Scorpion, 1 Dream time, 3 Protective shirts, 3 Crystalline and 10 RP as compensation.
I hope these items will be useful to you. Please check your account and let me know if you got them.
Continue enjoying the game and if you have any other concern please don\'t hesitate to contact me. I promise that I willdo  my best to provide you a solution.
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
Like the Godfather, I got your back!
Kind regards,
CSR#6

~~

Email from MWP - Fri Apr 29 - A gnat's bollock before 3.25pm

Hello CSR#5,

Unfortunately, this is still not acceptable to me.

Firstly, I do not believe for one minute that it was a "random" roll-out at all. As per my original message, sent SIX days ago, the icon appeared in my mission bar, but then vanished after changing cities, never to return. Please do not insult my intelligence by first trying to claim it was a random roll-out. I\'m pretty sure there would be no benefit to "forwarding
this information to our development team for their review so they can solve this issue as soon as possible" (as per a previous rep) if it was a random roll-out.

Secondly, you first claim that you are unable to grant me the items as the mission was not available to me, and then in your next  reply, you state that "as a courtesy" you can award me the Dream Time? If the Dream Time can be awarded, so can the rest of the loot which I have missed out on because of Zynga's inability to resolve this issue over the six days.

Again, if you are personally unable to make this happen, I recommend that you forward this case to someone who can. (additional content omitted)

Also, I would appreciate it if you could spare me the scripted responses (those such as "Just like the Godfather, I got your back!") in future responses. It is not helping my experience.

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from MWP - Fri Apr 29 - 3.30pm

Hello CSR#6,

I am unsure why I have received this response, as I had not yet replied to the previous one from CSR#5.

Whilst this is a step in the right direction, I will not let this rest until I also receive the FULL list of loot as I specified
previously.

Regards,
MWP

~~

Email from CSR#6 - Fri Apr 29 - 10 to four in the afternoon

Dear MWP,
Thanks for getting back to us!
This is CSR#6 again. I'm sorry for all the inconveniences you've had.
Believe me, all agents in Zynga are doing our best to satisfy your game experience. You really are our first priority.
MWP, as I want to fix totally your issue, I've added 1 Red Scorpion, 2  Crystalline, 2 Protective shirt and 5 Freighter to your account.
Please check your account and let me know if you receive them.
If you need any further assistance feel free to contact me back.
Thanks for your understanding.
Regards, CSR#6

~~

Email from MWP - Fri Apr 29 - 5 minutes later

Thank-you CSR#6, it all appears to be there now.

Could I suggest that this should have been the FIRST action taken in this set of circumstances, rather than a complete flat out lie and the offer of no compensation? That is no way to keep your loyal player base happy, which should be your priority during these times of dwindling DAU figures.

Thank you for finally resolving this issue.

Regards,
MWP

~~

So, issue resolved right? Yeah, but there was still time for one more CSR to make a cameo!

~~

Email from CSR#7 - Fri Apr 29 - Some time after 4pm

Dear MWP,
Thanks for getting back to us!
This is CSR#7 and I'll be more than pleased to assist you.
Thank you for contacting our Customer Support to solve your problems in the game. This days I've faced different situations and I'm very glad that our customers are satisfied with our service. Here at Zynga Customer's satisfaction is our main goal and I really enjoy when you get what you deserve.

My apologies for the delays you had about solving your issue. This is normally caused becasue our Technical Support Team investigates first all the details of the trouble. Besides that some restrictions in giving items to customers are studied and solved before give them to you due to Zynga's Policies. Although this details, we the Customer Agents are always interested to give you the service you deserve as a Paid Customer. Anyway, I'm very happy your issue was finally solved!

If you need further assistance in future occasions, don't hesitate to contact me back.
Enjoy the Mafia Wars effect!
Kind Regards,
CSR #7

~~

You mean this Mafia Wars effect?