Farmville Customer Service Gives TLC

Like Farmville customer service? Having avoided Farmville for two months, I must tell you how delighted I feel this week. Zynga and its caring public service team reached out to me. Here’s the first email from the company’s VP of Player Advocacy and Service:

“Hello Brian, We noticed that your Farmville game has been quiet for some time. Just a short time ago, your game was thriving from your TLC and creativity. We wanted you to know that your game misses the sweet sound of your mouse clicks.

As a part of the Player Advocacy Team, I wanted to check with you to see if you had any game-related issues that made you move on to other pastures. And because you were so dedicated with with game, I’d love to get your feedback on what would we could have done better.

 We value all of our players and want you to know we’re on your side. Let us know how we can get your game going again and we will do our best. If you would like to submit your feedback, please reply to this message.”

Warm regards,

VP Player Advocacy and Service
Zynga Inc.

Now, how often do you hear from technology companies that truly appreciate your business? Especially one that cut its cord with Facebook to better serve its customers. As I re-read the email, I almost cried, partly in guilt because I used the MouseTractor to quickly harvest my crops.

Farmville Customer Service – My Reply

And so I replied to the VP explaining why I avoided Farmville:

“Hi… Great title for a job, I must say. Two reasons for cutting back on Farmville and CityVille. First, I don’t have as much time to play due to my schedule. And second, I got tired of Zynga’s constant barrage of digital commercials. Sometimes it took me five minutes of saying no to your offers before getting to my farm. I’m sure during that time the strawberries were withering.

I also think you should get rid of the restrictions on player levels and what I can get with my points, not just my farm cash. I’ve heard that only 3% of Zynga’s players send you money. But I bet you you’d earn a lot more from a larger percentage of your millions of players if you charged less and offered more.

The energy thing is another irritant. After buying Brian’s Donut Store or whatever, I’m forced to use lots of energy before I can open the front door. Sometimes construction takes weeks.

I’m a blogger and podcaster (see MobileBeyond ) and I’ve written about Farmville. If you’re interested in some humor, try googling “Brian Prows Farmville.” I wrote a scathing piece on Zynga and Farmville  last year.”

Keep those games coming!

Best,

Brian

P.S. If you or anyone else would like to appear on MobileBeyond,  let me know.

Giving TLC to Farmville Game Players

What an opportunity! I shared with a Zynga VP my candid comments about Farmville customer service. In fact, I’m certain Zynga’s Farmville Team did cartwheels when they read my response. After all, I believe that Zynga’s customer care team is just as responsive as Facebook’s. Here’s to ya!

Customer Service Contact by Zynga Rep

Boy was I surprised when a Zynga Player Advocate sent me an email the same day! I’ve rarely seen such responsiveness and dedication by the Farmville customer service team. Here’s what she said:

“Dear Brian. Thanks so much for your feedback. We truly appreciate you taking time to voice your opinion. I am gathering feedback from several dedicated players such as yourself to make a strong case to the Farmville studio for game updates.

For your inconvenience, I’ve credited your account with 25 Farm Cash, so that you can still have some fun in the meantime. About your interview query I appreciate your information and I’m forwarding your inquiry to the correct team.

Thanks again and I sincerely hope that you will consider visiting our games in the future.”

Have a great day!

Regards,

Zynga Player Advocate

Follow Us on Twitter @zynga

Well, Zynga’s Farmville customer service team has truly proven to me they CARE. What other company would respond so quickly, agree to follow up, plus send me 25 Farm Cash? I don’t often praise tech companies, but Zynga’s on my list and I look forward to a podcast interview with one of its execs.

Oh, I forgot to tell you. Farmville’s Customer Service department emailed me yet another survey a few hours later. I can’t tell you how thrilled I’ll be when the President of Zynga calls me.

I’d write more, but I must get back to the farm and start planting and building again. After all, I lost two months of work.

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