User blog comment:Beckyw/And my quest with TinyCo Support starts.../@comment-24.173.155.230-20121105160109

I have noted the posts and responses related to Tiny Co's approach to customer service. Looking at the employees of the company, I would have thought a more reasoned and developed approach to customer service would be in place than there is. With social gaming and the related revenue streams being a relatively new phenomenon many companies are still searching for the right approach to generate the revenues needed to sustain the companies that are formed.

But, unfortunately, Tiny CO is missing the piece of the equation that drives loyal, return customers to their games as they leave individuals feeling like they haven't been heard. The negative impact of these comments on boards such as this far outway the cost to address concerns in a manner that satisifies the user of their product.

The customer isn't always right, but you do what them to be left with the sense that their concern has been heard and a reasonable solution obtained. I know that I accept that there is no return of crystals related to an errant touch that causes me to spend them. The company has done what they can to address this aspect of the games they produce.

I know that I tend to make a decision on what value I place on one of these games as I play it and I spend real dollars accordingly on it. I also recognize that the company must make money to survive.

Unfortunately, I am at this point much less likely to spend real dollars on Tiny Co games going forward based on my own experience with their customer service and I know that I would tend to consider more carefully whether to start playing one of Tiny Co's games in the future.

Hopefully, the company is able to find the right balance of addressing these customer service issues. Having spent nearly two decades in corporate management, I know the real world impact if they don't. The cheapest thing they have to give away is their product (i.e. crystals in many of the support ticket cases I would guess). What does it cost them to resolve something when a support ticket identifies a problem....very little. If they are concerned that some may take advantage of them "rewarding" complainers with crystals I ask them to think about what really happens in that scenerio. In instances where it is an honest player that feels they have a genuine complaint, they would end the experience satisfied. The dishonest players would feel they "gamed the system" and be satisfied. Both instances result in zero negative publicity. The company's real world dollar impact is minimal, if any, as they are not providing a "hard good" or physical object to players, merely an additional of virtual crystals. It would gain them the goodwill of the players making them more likely to spend real world dollars going forward and insure stronger revenue streams in the future.

Just my two cents for what its worth.