The title of this post alone is shocking. After all of the excitement and "spreading the word" and all of my friends who have joined (including those who didn't use my name when they did), and all of the $5 amazon.com gift certificates I earned...today I quit. And this is why:
First, they limited how many games could be won per month to 5. I was accumulating most of my SBs by playing those. But the bigger problem is that I was losing points. I wrote to them several months ago to tell them that my games were seizing up and keeping the SBs I'd paid to play without giving me the SBs I'd won with my high scores. They wrote back and said they knew it was an issue and they were working on it, and they "rebated" me the 60 SBs I'd lost that evening. So I kept playing because overall I was coming out ahead even though I was still not being paid all of the SBs I had rightfully won. Then about a month after the first email I sent, I wrote to ask how they were coming along on the whole "working on it" thing, right after I'd lost another 40 SBs, and this time the reply was that the problem was with my own computer, and knowing that the game wasn't working properly I would be playing at my own risk if I wanted to keep playing. (Can you imagine if a casino had that attitude? "We know our machines don't work right so play at your own risk.") Within a short time after this, they set the limits.
I find several things disturbing about this. First, they don't care if people are being treated honestly when playing their games. Second, They know there is a problem and don't see that it is fixed. Third, they advertise that one can earn SBs by playing their games, even though they know that people will also LOSE SBs playing their games. (Am I the only one? Absolutely not - not BY FAR! Many many similar complaints!) Would I give my money to a plumber who may or may not choose to come and fix my leak? You get the point... So today I played 5 games. 3 of them had highest scores. And those are the 3 that, not surprisingly, locked up. (It would seem that there would be some sort of governing entity for online games that can look into this - I will be checking into that also.)
Surveys: I used to qualify for about 1/3-1/2 of the surveys. Within the last few weeks I have qualified for 2. And in all but a few cases, I was only informed of that after I had completed at least HALF of the survey. They had my input, I had nothing. Yes, this happens on survey sites, I have used many survey sites for at least 6 years...but with Swagbucks it got totally ridiculous.
Special Offers: I had 19 pages - yes, NINETEEN PAGES - of offers I had completed but not gotten my SBs for. And no recourse, no replies, nothing. This represented hundreds and hundreds of SBs.
But the kicker came with a video today. I have seen a couple of questionable videos that should have been rated PG-13 in my quest to earn SBs on SBTV or on their main page. I typically just muted them and averted my eyes until they were over. But today I saw one that went WAY beyond bad taste, and cut deeply into my moral consciousness. I got a strong sense that I am not dependent on SBs for anything (I serve a great God Who meets my every need!), I am not beholden to them, and that I don't need to be cheated, lied to, or treated badly.
So, in spite of the fact that I was 75% of the way to yet another $5 amazon.com gift certificate (and I probably had one pending, although I didn't check)...I left.
Yeah, I automatically look for the SB toolbar and search box whenever I need to do a search, but that will pass within days. I unliked them and any pages relating to them on FB, I deleted the toolbar, and I have to unsub from a related email that I get that lets me know when codes are put up, and how to find them. I didn't spend a whole lot of time on a daily basis doing things to earn SBs, yet I was surprised at how much it had intruded on my life.
It was "lucrative" for a while, but the cost was too high. I value honesty and integrity above all other traits, and could no longer support a "relationship" with a business that doesn't. I know I won't be missed, and I know my absence won't matter one whit. But I feel better, I did the right thing, and that's what is the most important.
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Songs & Calls of 550+ N.American birds
I can't listen to them tonight because it would drive my 9 sleeping parrots crazy but tomorrow...yeah, can't wait!
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/by3y7
Obedience to the Word #devotions
We serve a jealous God (see http://bible.org/seriespage/jealous-god), and to put any other gods before Him is to risk his awesome rage. But to the obedient servant who seeks His will in all things He brings blessing and we live within His tender care and mercies. Living for the one true God, the great I Am...hiding in the shadow of His wings...no other way for me...
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/bxzjn
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