Customer Service - Good and Bad Experiences

Hey Gals and Guys,

I have been scouring the site for what feels like ages and I am almost ready to make a change in where I spend my money and time – poker site wise that is.

I have three sites in mind;

• UltimateBet
• NoblePoker
• PokerRoom

These sites have different things I like about them, and I may end up signing up at all of them over a certain period of time, (of course through the links here on CardsChat!), so I have decided that I will have one variable to sway me. What is their customer service like?


I have searched all over our forum, (and some other forums too), and I only find sporadic mentions of customer service – and rarely any good things.


Please consider this an invitation to big-up or slag off the customer service of any site, you have been on, but I would love to hear specifically about the three sites I have mentioned above.

I thank you in advance for your comments!

Peace,

Scouse.

I play in Ultimatebet and used to play in PS . I used UB custom service only 1 time and it was rather slow and the reply didnt help what you would call to much . As for ps, their customer support is without doubt one of the best. They usually answer emails fast and they are very cooperative when you have problems

One example to back me up from pokerstars, i used FPP ( their frequent player points ) to cash a book . The time for arrival had expired ( with was 6 weeks top ) so i decided to email them, they apologized for the inconvienence and sent me the book again via UPS and they paid the service, I was impressed and must say pokerstars is really great in its support, as for Ultimatebet , i have yet to use it, but some of the biggest players play there so it should be good

PokerStars is great with customer service. I have no experience with any of the sites you list, though.

Whenever someone brings up pokersite CS, I'm obligated by law to point out that Party's CS sucks bigtime. Like, 400 monkeys specifically trained to not help you.

Well, I have considered PokerStars, but I read that there are too many good players on their network, and I am wondering if it will be hard to make any money there. You know... "Small fish / Big pond" etc, etc.

As for Ultimatebet, is their customer service good for little fish like me? I mean, do they prioritise their players. I reckon for now I will only be generating $50 of rake a month for whoever I play for - maybe they won't care about me - I know theyre are players who generate hundreds of USD in rake so I figure I am a small fish.

Thanks for the PartyPoker heads up, when you search for customer service threads in any poker forum, it seems to be endless slagging off. Where is there customer service based, is it somewhere else from all the other places? I read somewhere that it was India; and from what I can tell everywhere else uses people in the various tax havens such as Gibrata. Do you reckon some of their CS problems are because of cultural reasons? I think gambling is illegal there.

I wouldn't go with party poker though, their skin seems a bit childish and not very intuitive. I can tell you I have had very good customer service experience with Uk-Poker but I am sick of their site not having enough promotions for me. Maybe when I am a better player I will migrate to PokerStars, but not yet. I googled ** UltimateBet "Customer Service" ** and I have read some seriously didgy stuff, especially about payouts. I know enough to know I should only use NETeller, and I have a bank transfer fo a few hundred going over there now. I am quite excited!!

Still, any comments on customer service with anoyone, especiially Ultimatebet, NP & PR would be much appreciated!

Cheers,

Scouse.

I believe Party's CS is based in India, yeah. The problem, I gather, is not so much cultural as it is more based in the fact that their CS staff knows how to do what they're told through instructions, but nothing else.

In my particular case, I went through 30 emails back and forth, trying to get them to understand that they had already called me to confirm my identity once, and that they couldn't call me at this point in time anyway, because I was on a business trip in Asia for a few weeks.

Since my girlfriend was home at the time, she noticed that they kept calling 2-3 times a day, and every time I sent them an email saying that I wouldn't be back for another two weeks, they sent me an email explaining why they had to call me, and then they tried a few more times that day.

I stopped playing Party around that time.

Dude thats lame. I understand it is important for them to call to soft verify us, (that means when they call us to confirm our address etc) - but how many times? I am definately not playing there.

Thanks for sharing - any more good or bad tales?

I play at Bet365, and a few minutes ago while i was playing at a $0.05/0.10 NLHE table i tried to raise with pocket Aces and i was folded instead .

i contacted the customer services through the chat option, i explained what happened to the lady and she said it was because i took too long to act and was automatically folded. i told her i had pocket Aces and that i was going to raise no matter what and that i was ready to do so. As soon as it was my turn to act i selected the amount and clicked the button to raise, the screen froze and when it resumed i had been folded.

She then told me i had been disconnected and disconnections were not their responsiblity and i should take it up with internet service provider. i told her that i have an excellent broadband connection that hasn't had a single glitch in the 3 months i've had it. my brothers pc is also connected to broadband throught the same router and he was playing World of Warcraft, an online role play game, at the time of this incident and he wasn't disconnected. Again, she told me it was not Bet365's fault and that it was a problem on my end.

i closed the window after that and another opened to rate the service i just received, i gave it the worst possible.

i'm now looking for a new site to play poker on.

I play at Ultimatebet and there customer service is very slow but i find they always get to you in a couple of days with the answer to your problem.
I have found Nobles very good and prompt but it as only for menial questions and don't know what they would be like to a real problem.
As for pokerroom i still have not had an answer from them on a problem i have and as such i can't play there although i,d like to.

I haven't played at the three sites you mentioned, but I'd like to throw in that Poker.com has the best customer service I've found anywhere, poker site or otherwise. Every question I've emailed to support has received a non-canned, intelligent and helpful reply within minutes. It's a shame this doesn't happen everywhere and that it's a surprise to find such good service.

I like PokerStars Customer Service alot very friendly and helpful. Titans is real efficient when I had to use them. I suggest Stars because their quality of play is good also.

millarski That sucks big time. WTF do they think they are playing at? 365 is off my list of possible poker sites to play on – what’s the point in having real-time chat to reassure you – if they have nothing good to say. It’s not like you actually lost money, but they least they could have said is that they would investigate the hand. How do they know unless they actually look into it, right? If you get a dodgy answer from someone, ask for their name, we should name and shame. The power of a poker forum like ours is phenomenal.

Now onto my findings!

NOBLE POKER

I just spoke to NoblePoker CS on the phone.

For starters their Toll free international number hangs up every time you try calling it – with a voice message saying, “The other person has hung up on you” – or words to that effect. This sucks big time, as I am based in the UK, (and by some weird American centric perception of the world – that means “international”). Why they don’t say, “USA toll free number…” – and then – “Anywhere else not-toll free number…” – I don’t know.

In case you want to check their numbers are;

Toll Free Number Phone: 1-866-860-1181
International Number Phone: 63-2-8459001


Anyway, I paid full whack international prices, mainly to feed my need to know how good they are, because I have heard some seriously good things, and thought I owed to at least post my findings on here, considering this the first thread I have ever started on here!

After about three minutes of the cheesiest “doorbell muzak” tunes being drummed into my head, (if you program the music for elevators I suggest you call up them up at a busy time and record their hold music), I spoke to a good chap called Angelo. I found out their customer service is based in the Philippines and very intelligible!

Some important info is:

a)Their expected turn around time for emails is 10 minutes!
b)They have from my estimate about 20 CS people working on each shift.

After I found out they have a turn around time of ten minutes, I enquired how many representatives they must have – speculating they must have about 50 – I quote Angelo;

“Yeah Sir, there are quite a few of us here, but not as many as 50 representatives! We are really working our asses off to help our customers in any way we can!”

I asked him to explain their “Crowns” system, and how they are used in tournaments and he explained it quite well using lots of examples but I still felt a little lost. To be fair, I think that the system is actually a little vague, with no real explanation of how exactly you earn the crowns in the first place and this wasn’t Angelo’s fault.

Their site does not have much on FAQ’s compared to other sites, but with customer service by phone and email like theirs they don’t need it. If I join them, I probably would avoid calling them and because they don’t have a free number for me to call, and they don’t have real-time chat I am limited to only emails.

I have tested their response to emails, and I got a response averaging 20 minutes, which is still pretty good, but I have not asked many complicated questions, as gordo30 has suggested. I give them 3.5 out of 5 Stars for Customer Service.

I am going to do a bit more customer service research – I think PokerRoom.com next.

roundcat – Thanks for the heads-up on poker.com – I can’t believe I have not researched their site properly. I want to get a good feel for everything that is on offer to me – no longer will I be a chump sticking to the same site because it’s easier for me to hang around. I am going to do this properly!

Mad_Mike989 – Thanks for your advice, I have some hesitations about PokerStars, they were the first site I ever played on, and the only one I could access on the networks at university. When work sorts me out with some more pay, I will consider going back to have a look. My boss uses PokerStars – and I haven’t heard any complaints from him. For now, I don’t think it is for me, for the reasons I mentioned earlier in my post, I feel like a small fish in a big pond there. I am happy they are good for you.

Speaking of Customer Service research - does anyone have a number for UltimateBet? I can’t find a number for them for love nor money? (I haven’t actually offered love for their number but I am not sure how to – maybe if I email them an erotic email requesting for a number to chat to them on… )

In the meanwhile I would like to continue welcoming anymore good and bad poker CS experiences.

Cheers,

Scouse.

Although I don't play there anymore, I remember being extremely impressed with Poker.com when I contacted them. I had a couple of emails sent to them, and actually got responses within 5 minutes every time (in some cases within three minutes).

... for what that's worth.

FTP's customer service has been good as well.

FTP - is that Full Tilt?

PokerRoom.com

I was having lots of issues with them not replaying to emails I have sent to them. Then I realised that their phone number is at the bottom of the webpage after you have sent them an email.

The number in the UK is +44(0) 20 7026 4217 and is not toll free, but is only charged at UK National Rate. On the plus side they also quite good real-time chat too.

He said Americans can call toll free on 1-888-MYPOKER

I called up and the customer service team for players in the UK (and I assume the USA) is based in South Africa.

Spoke to a good guy called Stuart. He solved all of my issues very quickly. I asked what would be a good time to call, and he said;
“Sir, you can contact us anytime you want, we are always here to offer you support”.
That’s quite refreshing.

a)They aim for an immediate response to emails
b)They have for definite, 20 CS people on each shift.

I must say that the emails I sent had a much longer response time, but they have said this due to a recent upgrade in their software and they have been inundated with emails. Does anyone know if this is true?

I was quite impressed with the site – their FAQ section seems very extensive, but if you read it carefully, many of the answers are relatively vague, and actually are used as a tool to promote the site further by leading you on to other sides. Good job I was impressed with the representative I spoke to.

I am giving these guys 4 out of 5 Stars.

Yes that is Full Tilt Poker. I have never had any problems with costumer service there and is 1 of my favorite poker sites. Ultimatebet is a little slow with their service but i have never had a problem that made me want to go somewhere else. Good Luck on your choices.

I've dealt little with Ultimatebet, though they have seemed cordial. Not exactly speedy with what little I've spoken with their departments.

Pokerroom, was hell and a handbag. It took them 3 weeks to even acknowledge my e-mails, and then another week to answer the question.

Noble Poker, as polite as they have been took a 3 to 4 day period to answer my letter to them. Though I think they hard more trouble in figuring out which department was required to answer my question then answering the question itself.

end result I wouldn't suggest Pokerroom, but I would suggest Noble.

Well, Noble and PokerRoom are doing well. Why is Ultimatebet being so secretive?

I have not had a reply and I emailed them ages ago. Does anyone have a number for them?


Does anyone have anymore Good and Bad Customer Service experiences?

I am convinced there is a landmine of stuff I have not even considered - even if you just post something that you really like about the CS you get or something that has really made you think, "Damn, this isn't customer service, this is .....[replace with the expletive of your choice]!"

I was having problems with Ultimatebet, i wrote a email 3 times and got a answer 20 days later and their response didnt help for sh!t, it didnt even have anything to do with my question, so im removing my $$$ from UB, I just cant take the bad service they give ^_^

Dude that is harsh - who are you thinking of moving to? I still have not heard anything from Ultimatebet. Is it actually as bad as is being made out?

Yups is that bad in regards to customer service, im thinking of going back into PS ^_^

I hear what your saying- ive lost count of the times iv asked them a simple question and got a reply about something else!

Have to say so far as Customer Services go I like the personal touch! and i aint just talking about poker

I quite like Doyle's room. Im a lazy git, so the chat and toll free number is great so I can sort out the problem quickly. They also speak english and work 24/7

Ive never had any problems with poker rooms on the Tain network either.
They seem quick and fair.

hey rudy- i see from your profile that you play at partypoker? yet you seem to big up doylesrooms and the Tain network and not even give your partypoker boys a mention! is it because their CS stinks?

Hey Eduuu and Hey Rudy! Thanks for taking the time to register with CardsChat.com and posting in this thread, I think CS in online poker has a long way to go yet!



Rudy, have you used sites where their CS didn't speak English? Who are/were they?

Interesting thread on a key issue, old friend. I've been looking for info on the best customer service before I get kicking online for real.

All I've found (here and elsewhere) it seems, is people slagging off Party, often referring to the fact that they are in India as a kind of explanation for their incompetence. Is this racist, or am I being over-PC?

I know that in the UK, there's been a lot of bad blood since some banks outsourced their CS to India... Conclusions?

Either we are all racist, or maybe there's something else at stake... I was thinking that maybe the people's irritation at talking to someone in Mumbai rather than Glasgow, or North Shields is at least partly down to the fact that such outsourcing is taken as a sign of rampant tight-wadded thinking on the part of the bank/poker room. If CS is something they're so keen to save money on, how much do they really value their customers?

Like I said in my intro post, I'm still a relative poker virgin, but still when you read about the poker sites' profits (particularly, ironically, those of Party Poker - $10 billion float!) do they really need to scrimp and save on such an important aspect of their business? Why are they such tight-asses?

The only consistently good stuff I've read seem to be for Poker Stars. So, how is it their company/CS is run which makes them so much better than everyone else? You'd have thought that someone else would have found out and copied them by now....

Cheers...

R.

The fact that it is in India is a symptom of the problem, not the problem itself. I have no doubt that any nationality can perform adequate CS, but when a company chooses India, they show that cost is the most important factor to them when it comes to CS. And this is further accentuated when you realize that all the answers you're getting are standard forms, where all they've changed is your name.

What makes Stars CS great? I've always gotten the impression that I'm dealing with people who know something about poker. There was a thread awhile back on a reply that someone had gotten when they reported a possible collusion situation (two players collaborating), and it was very impressive. As has all my communication with them been.

Garibaldi Red has made some good thought provoking comments though - I know there are people who will frown whenever they are put through to a CS team in India, but what the reasons are for this will probably vary from player to player.

Ideally, as F Paulson points out, we won't care where our poker site's CS team is based, as long as they can actually support us, and not be another hurdle of bureaucracy before, many emails later, getting some mediocre result. A good point raised is the image any company is portraying when it slams it's cutomer service far away from itself, in a country where it is cheaper - does this make the company look cheap? I say it does IF they are choosing value over quality.

Maybe there is also another issue with accountability, deeper in our subconscious, based on the idea that although we would never dream of turning up at the offices of a customer service team based someone where in our country, we are much less likely to make the trek half way round the world to India to try and get things sorted.

My deamnds are:

Quick email support – often indicated by having specific email addresses for me to email to. I now know that PokerRoom.com has many different emails (of categories of issue and further sub-categories), only for all their emails to end up in the same queue. Doesn’t that defeat the point?


I want my support – I which is increasingly email based – to be personalised, I have a good rapport with the organisers at my local poker game – why do I get treated like a fool when I spend more money online – I make the site money – and all I am worth to them is a template email answer?


I want easy fast cashouts – I don’t want to be itching, staring at my bank balance waiting to see if it has finally arrived yet – (it always seems to leave my bank account quick enough).


I want excellent phone support, so if something messes up, I can get in touch now. However, phone support with a monkey only trained to hinder me is not what I need. I do not believe we should tolerate phone support that consists of much “Umm-ing” and “Aghh-ing” followed by a, “I need to ask my manager, please hold…<Click. Dial Tone.>”.
If the poker room is going to be open 24/7 – they should pay for experts to be there 24/7 – What do we all pay rake and entry fees for? – it's not like they are paying the dealer’s wages – he is a computer!


If the above number is not free for me to call, because I am in the UK, then I expect to see real-time chat support. This should be of the same standard as the phone support I just outlined.
If anyone could tell me where this poker site is, I will go and sign up today!

I am part of the microwave generation - and as such - I want everything now, to be convenient, to be good value and most of all be the best quality I could hope for!

The only site I have really had a problem with was Spin palace poker (a prima network site). I was unable to cash out for quite some time and the helpline was actually very unhelpful, basically I was told to wait for an e-mail to arrive which would let me know what was going on. The E-mail never actually came, and when i was finally able to withdraw my funds I never played on a prima site again!

Neishe - so they told you to wait for them to contact you; "Don't call us, we'll call you..."

Is pacific poker much better?

Out of the things that I have mentioned above; (fast cashout, quick personalised response, good telephone support, and real-time chat) - what would you rather use?

Also what is the pet complaint re: these guys (CS in general)?

Is is slack replies or something more specific?

OMG how long does it take to reply to an email? If this was a money issue I had at Ultimatebet, I think I may have torn my eyebrows out by now!

This sucks so much, I can actually feel a breeze.