As any regular gamer will know, customer services is as important a factor in choosing or staying with a casino as it is in any other consumer sphere. Perhaps even more so due to the issue of trust and the give and take so central to the smooth working of an online betting outlet. Live chat, a Freephone number, email and Skype contact are all par for the course for any online casino worth its salt.
Thus even one simple tale from an unhappy customer can have a real impact on the casino’s image and reputation, however justified the casino may think itself to be. We’ve heard a couple of such stories surrounding Unibet, quite a big player in the online market and active in sports betting as well as online poker rooms.
Unibet criticisms..
Actually the proliferation of activities Unibet are involved in as noted above is itself a frequent criticism of Unibet on the various gambling forums, where punters can compare notes online and give each other a heads up on what’s going on, namely that their, Unibet’s, site(s) are difficult to navigate around.
Unibet aren’t alone in this of course, though in a market honored by the user-friendly designs of casinos such as Guts, Vera&John and Tropezia Palace, it’s not a fact to be dismissed too lightly either. Another oft-heard gripe is that Unibet bonuses are small compared with other sites.
..or rather, don’t you dare criticize Unibet
What about specifics though, in relation to customer services? One story (there are others) that caught our attention was that surrounding a Danish player whose account, it is alleged, was effectively closed down because he had criticized the company in email correspondence with its customer services department. Now, I don’t know about you, but is there not a sublime irony here — poor customer service being meted out in response to criticism of…poor customer service!
The player had reportedly sent email(s) which Unibet objected to as being ‘rude’, particularly with regard to comments made surrounding a specific employee. Now, noone can deny that all employees have a right to be treated with respect and certainly shouldn’t experience abuse, but there has to be some level of rationality here. If I go into a quality restaurant and the waitress scowls at me, throws the soup in my lap and brings lamb when I ordered chicken, ought I to be cast out into the street for daring to raise a voice of dissent? Of course not.
Danish Gambling Authority overrules Unibet
And if the player had written unacceptably abusive correspondence as Unibet claimed, why not make it public, thus avoiding any doubt? Clearly the Danish Gambling Authority (Unibet is based in neighboring Sweden) agrees — it ordered the company to return the frozen funds to the player, without the latter having to fullfil the demands for an apology which Unibet had apparently been making.
Other problems with Unibet
It seems this wasn’t an isolated case either. Other critical posts have surfaced in online forums from disgruntled customers, including one player who claimed to have remained loyal to Unibet for around a year, and who was, it was reported, suddenly asked to provide further ID after attempting to make a withdrawal from legitimate wins (interesting that no such verification had been demanded of the punter for as long as they had been losing money to Unibet).
Accusations of spam emails from Unibet was another general complaint to have surfaced on the online forums.
Stick with the reputable casinos!
Don’t let these episodes put you off online casinos however! There are a whole host of customer-friendly sites out there who will respond to queries promptly, provide clear guidance and happily pay out on any winnings you might make, so always do your research and go for one of the good guys, including:
- Guts.Â
- Vera&John.
- Tropezia Palace.
Â