I'm not even sure why I'm bothering to write this. Maybe this is more for me than anything else. Because heaven knows, despite repeated discussions with Shane and posts in various threads over the past month that have largely been ignored by their indirectly intended targets (911gambling dude and Shane), I can't get through on a human level. So I guess this is just for me, and will be just another post, another wasted effort, ignored by Lock Poker and its representatives.
Lock Poker - the company, the management, and at least one of the representatives, don't care about the people that post here. That's pretty apparent, and obvious without needing direct source material - just check out quotes from CEO Jennifer Larson in recent statements posted on various poker news sites. Alright, the 2+2 community doesn't represent every player on Lock. Fair enough. But to treat them as though they are all a bunch of piriyas piling on because "a few" people have legitimate issues needing resolutions, or basically treating them as though they are beneath Lock's mighty management and representation team, is something I'm surprised many people seem to take without too much of an issue. They want the money that's owed them, or solutions to their ills - so they ignore or choose not to respond or acknowledge Lock's clever yet easily identifiable vernacular that basically amounts to Lock thinking you are worthless to them.
Lock's ammo has been to ignore the major problems in their weak public response lately and try to paint the picture as though everything is largely alright. Their canned responses from repeated emails or live chats from concerned people - some of who have been waiting countless months for payments owed - are a lazy way to deal with their customers who played the system as Lock set it up and trusted them to pay when it came time to pay. Instead of doing things that would have, at the very least, raised public perception in a small way (if that's even possible now), they've chosen to stay the course that's led them to this point in the first place.
Everyone knows this - none of this is really a revelation.
The distressing, sad reality, though, is Lock could end all of this, right now. It's called leadership - something I don't think Larson understands. I don't care that you take your pros and wine and dine them in fancy retreats once a year. Others might - that's their prerogative. I don't really care that you hire pros to "promote your game" when, A: 90% of the pros on your staff could probably walk down every main street in most any country worldwide and never once be recognized; and B: the best people in the world that could be promoting your company, for free, are your players. And I certainly don't care that you view the internet as something a few dorks hanging in their parent's basement peruse. By the way, just about everyone in the developed world has internet-able device or a friend with one, either. Yet Lock treats it as such, as a simple "Lock Poker issues" entry into Google will supply any regular or casual fan a nice "Lock Poker Scandal" link right below the one for support. If I'm Joe Blow and I see that, why would I deposit money in your room?
Leadership, Ms. Larsen. Starts with the letter "L" and ends with culpability.
Today, Lock Poker has the ability to own their standing in the poker world and turn it around. Even after every issue that's come about, they could still become more than just a viable option. Think about the PR campaign you could wage - and you wouldn't even need to be in front of the staged teleprompter with the "in your back pocket" reporter ready to scribe every word of your heavily prepared, carefully worded non-answers, as if you had ample time to ready them. The PR campaign would wage itself, and eventually, the players would be on your side. Well, that ship might have long since sailed...but here's what I am getting at.
#1: Make a list, check it twice, of every single person who hasn't been paid from their withdrawal within the past 45 days. Check, WU, Skrill, carrier pigeon - doesn't matter. Pay them by the end of this week via incremental checks from a newly created account solely meant to pay off those who are due. If you and your fancy team can't come up with the dough yourselves, find an investor. Take out a loan. Do whatever it takes. Whatever funds you cannot reverse that are languishing in whatever "queue" you have them in (let's face it - they're not in a queue, so this will be easier than it seems), you lose. But, you will now no longer have that issue to deal with. And be sure the account is fully funded - wouldn't want any of those checks to bounce.
#2: Any pros under whatever contracts you have them on - if there is no cost to end them, do so. If there is a penalty to end the contract in the contract's terms (and from what little I've gathered, some are actually paid in Lock funds, so I guess currently that is penalty enough), eat the cost, and end them. Announce (if you wish - or keep it internal) that you will not be bringing on any more pros until at least 2014 (and just saved you an extra $2,000 in skin funds per week on those $100k GTD pro bounties that aren't bringing in any additional traffic).
#3: Take the coming week and determine whether whatever current method, pipeline, processor, sand castle, or hamburger stand you are channeling withdrawal funds through can actually take a month or less to reach your players in the world as it is right now. If you cannot guarantee that 30-day period, then find something that will guarantee it. It's too bad the Netspend recently switched operational banks, because that would have been a likely perfect option for US players. However, there are so many options you guys have probably not even thought of - hell, in front of my local Western Union store, there are all kinds of money moving options and that's here in the US. Chances are one or two of them is not backed by a FDIC-insured bank. In addition - why are there even "processors" when dealing with Western Union? It's a simple thing - you pay the person, and they go pick it up. No banks involved at all, and it can be done in minutes. Why does there even need to be funneling? Sure, some high-stakes folks would rather not go to their local grocery store, settle up to the WU counter with big white bags with dollar signs on them. But cash is cash, and they can deposit cash into their own banks if they wish (or hide it in their mattresses like some folk do!). But hey - it's better than waiting months on end. At any rate, make it your mission to find a way. Like George McFly once said - if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything. Go and do likewise.
#4: Time to get some people working for you who actually have customer service experience. You know, like people who actually treat people as though they are a person and not a dog trying to chase a moving vehicle. Again, this may require some forward thinking, and a change in philosophy since any CS team will likely just be an extension of what you as a CEO are like and aim to accomplish. But hey - I just saved you a ton on pro contracts, so get rid of all of the "Greg", "Steve", "Ganish", "Harry", "Linda", and "Floyd"'s you got working for you (sounds to me like they all spend more time searching Random Name Generators than actually helping people) and tell them to take a hike. But like I said, it all comes from the top. So if you aren't ready to be a human being, I guess I can't really help you here.
And finally...
#5: Own up to your mistakes and just, for once, try to be genuine. Most people, as somewhat stated above, accept that the world isn't made of roses and if they end up being made whole or at least given their fair shake, they'll take a little attitude and even serve up some of their own. But I still maintain to this day that the lion's share of this whole debacle could have been avoided with proper attention to the people who are putting you in those nice yearly retreats. Yes, I'm talking about the customers of Lock Poker. Some of whom are actually needing the money you're keeping from them right now. While you hobnob and brush shoulders with nice fancy folks and live the good life on top of your little cozy world, there's more than a few folks who can't afford to wait another week, two weeks, month, or months on end for the money you promised them when they earned it through playing on your site. I don't doubt there were handfuls of folks who tried to earn a quick buck via player-to-player transfers (you called it "laundering"). But don't try to make it out as though that issue alone is why some of these delays are now reaching beyond half a year. You're a human being - all of you at Lock are human beings. And if you had any soul among you, you'd look beyond your own little world for a moment and own up to the situation you've created - and fix it, by any means necessary.
I'm done - if any of you made it this far, thanks for letting me get it out. The thing with me is - sometimes, I care more than I should, and I get a little frustrated and inspired to write long articles or scripts, or whatever. I just want to see one company rise out of the poker ashes, as it were, and just do right by the players. All of them - not just some of them. That's all.
Last edited by IHasTehNutz; 05-20-2013 at 05:52 AM.
