GameFly online chat assistance passes noobie test with flying colors

My recent pizza cravings have earned me a free 30 day trial at GameFly, compliments of Pizza Hut. If you don't know what GameFly is think Netflix for video games. If you don't know what Netflix is, think of GameFly as your online game rental store.

When I decided to claim my free 30 day trial code at GameFly earlier today, I had every intention of writing about my experience with GameFly in this blog post. But the problem I ran into along with the eventual solution to that problem changed my direction completely.

It all started when I noticed the free promo code on a GameFly flyer on my Pizza Hut pizza box. Rather than tear off the pizza-smelling flier from the pizza box, I decided to just copy the promo code down to another piece of paper. This would have been fine and dandy if it was obvious where I was supposed to enter the code on the GameFly web site.

I'm guessing there was a specific web site address--something other than gamefly.com--on the flyer because when I went to gamefly.com the only option I had was to start a new account. I figured somewhere along the line it would ask me for my promo code but it never did. I did see an option for a 10 day trial but that was what anyone could get and I wanted my 30 day trial. So before I entered my credit card information, I went back to the GameFly home page and decided to have a second look. Still nothing.

When all else fails, guess

Then as any good techie would do, I tried to guess at what the special promo code web page address would be. Keep in mind the flier that probably had this web page address was long gone in the trash. Here are 3 that I tried:

• www.gamefly.com/pizzahut
• www.gamefly.com/pizza
• www.gamefly.com/ph

None of these worked. I even Google'd "pizza hut gamefly promo" which immediately found Pizza Hut's web page mentioning the promo but still didn't give me the web page address I needed.

Meet Mike

As a last resort I went back to the GameFly web site to ask for help. I noticed a "click to chat" button on the sign up page and clicked away. Within seconds, Mike, my online helper, asked me how he could help me. I told Mike that I had a Pizza Hut promo code but I couldn't find where to enter it on the web site. Mike then asked me for permission to move our chat window so I could see the GameFly web page better. I agreed by clicking a "Yes" button and my web browser resized to allow the chat window to appear at the bottom of my screen.

Next, Mike told me he would take me straight to the page where I needed to enter the promo code. And again, a few seconds later, my browser window refreshed with a new web page. It was still the GameFly web page but this time, there was a big obvious box in the top right corner that read, "Congratulations! Enter your special code below."

I knew immediately I was on the web page I was looking for and thanked Mike for his time. He replied, "You're welcome" and I ended our chat session.

Noobie approved

Nothing tickles me more than having an excellent customer service experience that any noobie could have handled. Clicking the chat button was easy. Mike was extremely friendly and helpful. And my problem was solved immediately.

Not to mention my kids will be thrilled. My first video game rental is already on its way!