Sunday, January 06, 2008

Rant - UPDATED

This time, against Webkinz. MM got one from his aunt on Saturday. Sunday morning, we tried to "adopt" it, which means we have to register.

Everything was going fine. Name? Done. Region? Done. Username and password? Done and done. Webkinz code word? Done.

Then it asks us to type in the captcha letters we see on the screen.

Except...we don't see any captcha letters on the screen. And there's no link for "I don't see the letters". So I finally find my way to the help section, which says that we need at least IE 6 and the latest Adobe flash. Well, I've got IE 7 and my Adobe is up-to-date. So then I try to send a note to Webkinz Tech Support.

And here's where they've lost me.

To send a message to tech support, you need to be registered.

But I NEED TECH SUPPORT TO GET REGISTERED!

So I go to Dr. Google and find an email and phone number (not listed on the Webkinz site) and I send an e-mail and leave a phone message. Whereupon I learn that Webkinz tech support is only available 9-5 EST, M-F.

When are most kids playing with their Webkinz? On the weekends and in the evenings.

MM was bummed that he didn't get to play on-line with his new toy, but we showed them! He decorated a box to be a house, and made a little bed out of curly ribbon for his friend and is sleeping cuddled up with her right now.





I know that in the grand scheme of things, this is truly minor. But it irks me that their customer service is so lousy.

UPDATE:
I finally was able to get MM registered (captcha letters appeared late last night), but I haven't gotten a response to either my phone call or my e-mail. Do you think enough people complain over the weekend that they can't get to them all in one eight-hour work day? Or do they just not respond to complaints? I'll let you know if they get back to me!

8 comments:

susan said...

We had the same problem registering. But the next day, Fluffy got registered, and happiness reigns in the land. I hope MM gets his pet registered soon. I think the site is experiencing some tech problems-it's been unavailable at weird hours.

-R- said...

I had a similar issue with iTunes. Grrr.

Anonymous said...

I'm afraid of Webkinz. Very, very afraid.

Genevieve said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Genevieve said...

I sooo hear you and why the heck do they package all of these piece of **** toys like they are pure gold, with more wire and tape than any parent has the patience for???Eeeekk! Thanks for the warning about the Webkinz my 7 year old has been wanting one too!
Have a great week!

ccw said...

We have 17 Webkinz residing in our house and on the computer. We never had any trouble getting them registered. I'm glad because this would have driven me batty.

halloweenlover said...

Boo, hiss! That stinks.

This is the problem with these complicated toys, darn it!

I'm glad he got registered finally!

Jody said...

Webkinz has been in a tech tailspin since Christmas. They were seriously unprepared for the new load of users this time around. The slow loading times in particular are driving us bananas around here.

Hopefully they will be working overtime to expand their capacities, because if not, they're going to lose my kids' allegiance pretty fast!