I have been hearing from many of my blog viewers and also seeing it on Facebook, about many problems with purchased sheep not working. I have had similar problems.
As stated in a previous post, I was promptly refunded my money for the purchase of sheep that did not produce "flashers", "color changers", "rollers" as they are called. I am now going to post a series of email conversations with my latest experience with Zynga over 2 incidents.
Before I post it, I want to say that as a programmer/developer, I can imagine what it would be like to try to have perfect code for 47 Million Users. Remember, Zynga makes great efforts to keep introducing new excitement into the game...more programming.
To illustrate, when I was an Web & Data Services Intern, I had made
minor code changes to just be able to migrate to a different type of server (from a 32-bit server operating system to a 64-bit server operating system in a virtual environment also). We tested it and found that one person could not access the drop-down menus. We finally figured out it was due to an add-on by Adobe that was causing the issue.
Picture a grain of sand and a glass full of sand. The grain of sand represents the illustration in the preceding paragraph. The glass represents Zynga's Farmville and its huge Farmville application (thousands of lines of code) that 47 million users with combinations of operating systems, browsers, internet service providers, malware (e.g. viruses) on their computer at times, and various add-ons.
I wonder how many servers they have to deploy just to let people access this game, never mind their other games?
The point I am making is that this is a free game. That is a great thing...in today's economy. I am not saying that they are perfect but I would like you to consider the enormous task they are faced with. Then how about the hackers (not the sheep hackers) but the hackers that try to break into their systems and cause damage to either their systems and/or ours. So they not only have to be concerned about their code but that it is secure.
So I ask that everyone take a deep breath and give them a chance to make things right. Yes, it may be a disappointment that Zynga produced a product that fails our expectations. I am very happy with the two customer service reps who resolved my issues in a timely and efficient manner. I do not work for Zynga but I do respect them just by my contact with its Customer Service Department. I can see they are well-trained how to handle us passionate farmers. All they do is hear people's complaints all day, with some really angry customers. You can read how upset people got (myself included) when we could not breed the illegal sheep:
http://farmvillefreak.com/farmville-question/farmville-issues-update-lllegal-sheep-pig-breeding
I have even blogged about it. Now I am responding to the post I made so people don't think I am still upset, if they read my post
"Zynga Stole Our Fun."
How was your customer service experience with Zynga? I will not repost what you email me, since I do not know most of you and do not have evidence. But you are free to voice your opinions as a comment here. If you ever get unsatisfactory customer service, always politely ask to speak with a supervisor or resubmit the incident.
Here are the email conversations that I have based the above comments on: (from earliest to latest)
INCIDENT #1:
I went to Zynga’s site and submitted a refund on the two faulty sheep I purchased:
Incident Entry by Zynga Customer Portal Sat May 07 13:31:57 GMT 2011
I purchased a ram with flashing/rolling dots and a chameleon ewe. I cannot breed any flashing/rolling sheep. I have waited patiently for a fix but looks like that won't happen. Would you kindly refund my money? 50 FV dollars. My Facebook ID is ***************. Thank you.
Zynga’s response to me via email:
Dear Kim,
Thanks for getting back to us!
My name is Rafael and I'll be more than happy to assist you in this matter. I understand you concern in regards to Sheep Breeding and I found that there are other accounts affected with this inconvenience.
According to the development team, the resolution is in progress and please bear with us while we resolve this. I do not have an estimated time for this to be resolved since they are tracking all accounts affected in order to fix all of them at the same time.
The issue is in development and will be applied soon in FarmVille.
You are a valued customer, I went ahead and added 50 FarmVille Cash to your FarmVille account.
Now you can continue playing FarmVille game.
Kim, if you have any other concern please feel free to contact us again. We will be here to help you.
Happy gaming!
Rafael C.
Zynga Customer Support
Your Incident # is: 110507-2871977
They refunded my money and let me keep the sheep!
INCIDENT #2:
"What a stupid request!", most people would think:
Kim ******* 5/14/2011
"I lost my mastery sign for the Majestic Roses. I put it on my home farm and tried to put it back in my gift box and it disappeared. Can u help me please?"
Zynga’s response to me via email:
Hello Kim,
Thanks for contacting Zynga Customer Support.
My name is Jacqueline and it will be my pleasure to assist you today. I would really like to apologize for all the inconveniences with missing Mastery Sign. I understand your concerns since I am a FarmVille player as well. Let me thank you very much for the information you provided me, this was very helpful to verify your account.
Kim, I also went ahead and awarded your account with 1 Squill Mastery Sign and 1 Mystery Dart, you can check this in your Gift Box. [Editor’s note: I got the Majestic Roses mastery sign, which is what I had asked for]
By the way, did you know that a good way to get more XP is using a Fertilize All right before harvesting your Crops? You are awarded with XP when you seed your Plots and if you apply the Fertilize All tip you will receive the same quantity of XP as if you were seeding again!
If you need something else, I´ll be happy to continue helping you. It has been a pleasure to assist you today.
Happy gaming!
Jacqueline L.
Zynga Customer Support
Your Incident # is: 110514-3091472
