Every summer thousands flock to Las Vegas to play in the world's largest poker tournament series - the World Series of Poker. Roughly 60 bracelet events are run over six weeks with constant side satellites, tournaments and cash games running in the cavernous Rio convention rooms. It makes for a major logistical challenge each year with all the various moving parts. Inevitably glitches and errors occur that the staff try to correct, sometimes unevenly.

What shouldn't be a major challenge is how the players are communicated with and treated. The players are the lifeblood of the events as they put up all the money for events that Caesars profits off. Demanding or not, their issues should be paramount. Systems for player feedback have been implemented in the past (e.g. Player Advisory Committee), but after the latest debacles at the 2012 WSOP (e.g. uneven implementation of a new forced verbalization of all actions at final tables, the official @WSOP Twitter account retweeting [*read endorsing] a prominent player, active critic, and near recent bracelet winner a "the only one who cries all day every day....a complete bitch") it seems time to revisit some solid public relations and customer service advice from which the WSOP could benefit.

Manage Change - Every year, the WSOP makes adjustments to events offered and rules of play. I appreciate that people appreciate the familiar and can be resistant to change, but I firmly believe it's more a matter of communicating more effectively to your customers. The WSOP established a player committee to gain feedback, so there is no excuse for new rules and major changes not to be vetted by the committee first. Secondly, in today's day and age, the WSOP should have the email address for ever player who has played before. A detailed email should be sent in advance of the series that clearly points out any changes to the rules, with a reasonable explanation for the motivation for the change. Players aren't stupid. They can see through PR spin. If you are attempting to increase revenue, state that. If you are trying to increase TV ratings for the benefit of the WSOP, state that. So many companies fail miserably when raising prices because they don't give their customers a reasonable explanation. Explain how you plan to offer more value with your new revenue. Customers are usually preoccupied with their own lives and limited perspectives, so sharing information about the context of your business helps them understand why you are making the changes you are.

Consistency - One of the greatest strengths that a company can have is consistency of message, whether it be in their product or their customer service. Customers are quick to notice inconsistencies in your message. If for several years you don't want players talking and celebrating, then you switch around and encourage talk and celebration, it is confusing to players. Players want to understand your position on the major issues. They resent the appearance of flippant or punitive changes.

The Voice of Dissent - Poker players, especially with the relative ease and distance of Twitter, relish voicing dissent and complaint. Some players are more vocal and less respectful than others, but if their gripes are legitimate it is highly dangerous to demonize any dissenting viewpoint. What people often don't realize is that for every dissenting voice that chooses to speak up and voice their displeasure, there can by dozens, hundreds or thousands that share the same perspective but who never make the effort to speak up. The vocal few may be a pain in your side as they hurl insults and criticism along with their legitimate grievances, but it is your task to shield your personal frustration and focus on the core of their message that affects your product and company. Deal with the substance of their message, respectfully respond, and urge them to keep the discourse at a higher level so you can more effectively manage their issues. The intensity of reaction is usually a result of a cumulative build up of unaddressed issues.

We All Make Mistakes - No event as complicated as the WSOP can go off without numerous errors. When mistakes happen, accept responsibility. Remove your ego. Apologize quickly. Do your best to explain the context and circumstances and what you are doing to rectify the situation. Own up to your error and apologize, don't just make excuses. People have a tremendous capacity for forgiveness and second chances if they see acceptable signs of contrition.

*Note - Monday evening Seth Palansky under his @WSOPRGUY moniker tweeted "Sorry for the offensive RT/language on @WSOP account. It was wrong & a bad moment. Love the WSOP & the players. Sorry for damage done. Going forward the @WSOP account will be managed by @WhoJedi and @jesswelman." Although a bit belated, it was a positive step in accepting responsibility and making changes to avoid it happening again in the future.

Any Attention is Good Attention - There are some that believe that any attention is good attention if it gets your company's name out there to a broader audience. I strongly disagree. I accept that negative attention can often spread more quickly and wider than carefully crafted positive promotional messages, but courting any negativity is a big risk. Much like tilt can undermine days and weeks of steady profitable poker, negative press and customer reaction can destroy the foundation of a business that has labored for months or years to establish themselves. Each time we read a new story of some poker player's mishandling debts or misdeeds in the main press, it puts a further black eye on the the game amongst casual observers that negates much of the positive press that is promoted through traditional channels.

Be Egalitarian - The goal of your business should be to treat all your customers equally. The reality is often quite a bit more complex, but signs of preferential treatment of notable players can quickly undermine the psychology of the masses of relative no-name players. One of the greatest qualities of the WSOP is that anyone willing to put up the buy-in can play an event (assuming it's not capped by size). You can walk in the halls, or play against the biggest names in poker on a daily basis. If players see only prominent players' voices heard, it's bad for business (e.g. quick response to Vanessa Selbst's concern about women's bathrooms when several other less prominent women players voiced the concern earlier with no response).

Get with the Times - I noticed a Twitter comment by ESPN columnist Gary Wise that asserted that "Aguiar airing his grievance on Twitter instead of going to them directly was equally unprofessional." I wholeheartedly disagree. As poker pro Steve O'Dwyer responded, players have approached WSOP management on multiple occasions only to be rebuffed. The private approaches have been ineffective. Most of their grievances aren't really private issues to be resolved behind closed doors as they affect thousands of other players. By publicly airing their concern via Twitter, poker players have an expedient manner of gaining feedback on their issue, allowing for other affected players to weigh in and collectively have their issue heard.

I would certainly urge poker players to use a respectful tone and non-combatative language, but Twitter actually gives a greater voice to the players that in the past may have not had their issues recognized by the great poker community. Another poker pro Ben Wilinofsky commented that Twitter is an appropriate forum to air grievances but just because the medium was appropriate doesn't mean the message was in that particular case. The WSOP needs to be more savvy in responding to these various issues if they hope to quell the tide of dissent. Twitter removes the veil of ignorance that traditional powers have relied on in preventing dissent from uniting and collectively venting and seeking action.

Ultimately, all these public relations and customer service lessons point towards the notion that your business is never bigger than your customers. The World Series of Poker has built the biggest and most successful poker tournament series in the world, but without respect for their customers the trends of growth can quickly return in the other direction. If prominent players are voicing their frustration and urging others not to play, that's the worst possible type of news because they have many followers. The WSOP can only prosper long term if they work proactively not reactively with the players.

*Update Tuesday - I wanted to share a QuadJacks interview with WSOP executive director Ty Stewart where he takes responsibility for the WSOP's errors this year, but also emphasizes that they are trying hard to implement and be consistent with many of the suggestions I made. I liked his suggestion of being more available and transparent. GL