Kristina Reviews

EA Games + POGO = A NO GO

I had a horrible experience with POGO and their CLUB POGO service. Rather than just explain it, I am copy and pasting the online correspondence that occurred between their customer service and me. And while it was eventually resolved in my favor, I would like you to look at how long it took for this to be resolved. And even more importantly, read what cause the problem to begin with.

Customer (Kristina): 01/19/2008 09:10 AM

  My name is Kristina Brooke (username kandykd3). I signed up for Club Pogo’s free trial on January 18, 2008 and chose the Paypal option. No where did it say that I would be charged instantly- and to do so negates the idea of a 14 Day Free Trial. I called your customer service hotline on January 19, 2008 and spoke to a representative who was rude and basically implied that I was an idiot because I used my PayPal account and not my credit card. If the 14-day free trial is offered for credit card users only, then PayPal should not be offered as an option. As someone who uses PayPal often to pay for online purchases, I find it odd that Cub Pogo would offer it as an option for payment but then ignore the terms of a Free Trial by charging right away. Your customer service representative was not only unprofessional, but uneducated and disrespectful as well. I am offended by the service that I received and, although I may have signed up for Club Pogo in the future, I am now turned off by the service. I would like to cancel my subscription and be given a full refund as soon as possible. Failure to do so will result in me taking further action with The Better Business Bureau.

Response (Ankur Jain): 01/19/2008 09:27 AM

Hi Kristina,
Thank you for contacting Electronic Arts. We apologize for the inconvenience caused to you, please respond with the following information:
Account Name:
Email Address registered with PayPal:
PayPal transaction ID:
Date of Payment:
Once we receive this information we will be able to resolve the issue in an effective manner.
We look forward to your reply.
Thank you,
Ankur
EA Online Support.

Customer (Kristina): 01/19/2008 10:22 AM

Account Name: kandykd3
Email Address registered with PayPal: {NOT SHOWN FOR PRIVACY}
PayPal transaction ID: {NOT SHOWN FOR PRIVACY}
Date of Payment: 1/18/2008

Customer (Kristina): 01/22/2008 03:31 PM

I have yet to receive a resolution to my complaint.

Response (GM Myria): 01/30/2008 06:31 PM

Dear Kristina,

Thank you for contacting Pogo Support.

I sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. I have refunded your PayPal account.

Please feel free to contact us if you have any other questions. You can also reference our support site at support.pogo.com.

Sincerely,

GM Myria
Player Relations
Electronic Arts

I give EA GAMES and CLUB POGO a BIG FAT ZERO!

Posted in For Dads, For Moms, Online Games | 6 Comments »

A Techno Geek from the Start

A few months before Christmas, hubby and I went a little toy crazy in Target and purchased Mya a Vtech Tote and Go Laptop Plus. Because I spend so much time on the Internet procrastinating, I wanted her to have one of her own. There is nothing worse than a toddler with ‘puter-envy.

At first, she was vaguely interested. She would play with it for about 10 seconds and then she was off to something else. Then she found the volume button. When pressed, a little monkey comes onto the screen and begins “ooo ooo ooo”ing. She was excited and would even mimic the sound. That got old for me and her dad rather quickly, but I loved to watch her curiosity as she pressed buttons and tried to type like Mommy.

The laptop feature 30+ games that help children practice spelling, matching, counting, and even learn the difference between uppercase and lowercase letters. While she doesn’t quite understand what to do, for a 20-month old she has learned quite a lot from it. For example, she knows how to turn it on and off. She learned that the blue buttons are different than the yellow ones. She knows that when Mommy is on the laptop, she can pull hers out and sit on my lap and type.

I highly recommend this for toddlers and I think 4-5 year olds may like it too. It is not fancy (monochrome screen), but it does feature a mouse that can be used with your left or your right hand. And, the keys are in alphabetical order so as to avoid confusion. And at $14.95 from Target, it is a steal.

DO NOT BUY IT FROM AMAZON. They are charging $34.95 for it and it is not worth that much. If Target is out, try Walmart where it is bein sold for $19.95.

Posted in For Children, Techno Geeks in Training, Toddlers | No Comments »

A Mega Hit for Santa

I have never been more pleased with a toy delivery from Santa than I am with the Canadian toy Mega Bloks™. They are like Legos™ but bigger and better. What makes them so good? Well, for one thing, they are big and brightly colored so they are attractive and easy to use. Mya heads right to them every morning, opting to dump all 120 pieces out of their resealable bag. Then she begins to build. We sit on the floor with her building houses and skyscrapers and creatures with very long hands and short legs.

But there is one reason that I am recommending these blocks. Television and video games are killing our children’s imagination. But Mega Bloks™ are charged to bring it back. They allow kids to create without limits.

Posted in Creative Play, For Children | 1 Comment »