I have had several problems with Warhammer Online. Problems ranging from not being able to get the live event rewards, to screwy server lag, and now me not getting the Recruit-A-Friend trial codes. And every instance, the so-called EA customer service has been extremely lacking. Actually, “extremely lacking” is too nice a description. Idiotic is more like it…and even that doesn’t describe my experiences.
Take, for instance, the trial codes problem. As a paying customer, I should have 3 trial codes to send to friends. And, I have 3 friends lined up that are really wanting to try the game. And two of those will most likely subscribe afterwards. But…for some reason, my account does not have any. I contact EA, and in response to my asking about not having them, they send me the PR post about the program. I know about the program. If I didn’t, why would I be asking why I don’t have the codes? Anyways, they get some info from me. Then I get a message that this is a known issue, and they are looking into as to why some accounts do not have them. Fine…just give me the damn trial codes. Is it really that difficult? Why do they need to waste 3 weeks on an investigation, during which time I will have to repeat posts to them about this issue? Why can’t they just put the trial codes into my account? Why does EA suck so much when it comes to customer service?
Really, though…they are the ones losing in the end. They may lose the chance to grab a couple more subscriptions. Unless, the subs for WAR is so out of this world high that some customers can be lost without any worries?
Anyways…I am still waiting for the trial codes. They told me to wait 4 days before I message back about this “issue”. I am sure I will still be waiting for the codes.
I hate to get all off topic on you, but maybe you should just stick to World of Warcraft. I’ve never had to deal with any messes like this when dealing with Blizzard’s customer support.
You’re not alone in experiencing poor service from a publisher/developer. I think part of the problem is that they look at their customers as mostly adolescent boys who have no real power nor principles. Complaining about it online is one way of spreading some ill-will against a publisher/developer, but not buying the game (or, in your case, not giving out the trial codes, perhaps) would be a much better way to hit the publisher/developer. Drop in the bucket, but if everyone kept to that principle, perhaps publishers/developers would have to change their ways. Unfortunately, companies bank on their customers being more talk than action, and they are right.
I had recent poor service from a publisher of a game I’ve yet to be able to find for sale (although it has been “released”). With questions unanswered and after dealing with an outright dismissive and rude rep, I decided not to buy the game (even though I’ve been waiting for it and it was a 100% buy since I heard it was in development) nor any other product by this publisher. I’m huge on customer service and support and the moment you start to fail on that, you’re going to lose me.
He likes the game enough to want to get his friends to play, and your solution to his frustration with the support department is to go play another game. Wait… what?
Mythic are actually good compared to GOA, the people who run (and I use the term loosley) WAR in europe. So far I’ve been double billed 2 months in a row after I had canceled (previously was ok). I in fact swore that I would never deal with them but some of my friends were playing it at the time and raving on about it so I bit the bullet and signed up … silly me thinking that GOA had ever changed.
14 emails, 2 phone calls and still no where closer to resolving the issue and getting my money back.
I haven’t played WAR in a few months, but I lost my password. I’m not looking forward to the process of password recover to enable canceling my account.
see, personally, I love Warhammer Online. When I did cancel for about a week, every game I played (from WoW to LotRO to even Fallout3), I only thought about wanting to play WAR.
For some reason, my connection problems I had before I cancelled seem to have cleared up, but now I don’t have the trial codes. And I am pretty sure at least 1 of the 3, possibly 2 of the 3 will buy and subscribe. But, EA doesn’t seem to care. I still don’t have the codes.
I mean, really…for those of you that work in this type of stuff, how difficult is it to access my account and verify that I didn’t get the codes, and then give them to me? Or, failing that, just give them to me?
I swear, nothing but a headache everytime EA is involved. EVERY DAMN GAME I have bought that was published by EA I have a crappy time with.
As someone who has done customer service jobs in the past, let me tell you that it might not be as simple as you think. It SEEMS like it’d be easy to just open your account, drop in some trial codes, and move along. However, have you considered that perhaps they can’t actually do that? Perhaps the CSRs you’re dealing with don’t have the permissions or tools to generate codes or place them in your account.
At a previous job I constantly had people bitching at me on the phone because I couldn’t do this or that for them. It’s not my fault that the company I worked for wasn’t providing me with the ability to do what the customer wanted.
Yeah seriously. The person the OP was talking to probably has the authority to file a report including a comment about his complaint, and that’d be about it.
If you want something special, ask for a supervisor. They have marginally more authority, so you’d at least have some options.
Yes but CSR’s make an easy target and while some of us understand its not your fault for failing to do your job, it is somebodies. Unfortunately we have no access to them so we scream at you, on the forums, and every other avenue we have available.
And dam, some of these companies really need to invest in the infrastructure CSR’s use because when I worked as a CSR half the problem was neither I nor my supervisors had the tools to help. We were basically there to make it seem like the company cared while it really only wanted to spend as little as possible, even if it cost them customers and ill will.
Seriously, Lotro and War and Conan are basically DOA in a certain sense. Their fates are predetermined. Eventually the minimal number of subscribers will dwindle to the point that it doesn’t make sense to keep the servers up. They need to pinch pennies until then because no amount of good customer service is going to make an also-ran game into a hit.
It’s sad, especially in the case of Lotro, but not surprising.
I don’t see LOTRO as DOA. It’s still going and just had an expansion recently. If the game was really struggling I think it would have been shut down by now like Tabula Rasa will be and Asherons Call II was. I think Warhammer can cobble together some sort of viable player base as long as EA sticks with it. Conan seems to be in the most trouble, and I think it will probably be shutdown before the end of next year.
However, that only goes so far. I’m not one to abuse customer service reps, but I don’t care about your problems, I care about mine, and if you can’t help me, opaque internal finger pointing is not a damn excuse.
I don’t care if it’s EA, Mythics, some Indian outsourcing firm, Richard Garriot, Lum, Tom Chick, George Bush, or Simon Cowell’s fault, my problem still exists, and the method for resolving problems has failed, and the entire faceless whole will feel my wrath in whatever manner I choose to employ.
And that´s the problem in this industry. Customers are mostly adolescents and/or addicts. You can treat them like crap and they buy your products anyway. So why should EA care about customer relations?
Even if you swear to avoid a certain publisher, the next time a triple A game catches your attention, you will be back.
And nevertheless you still buy their products like a good puppy…
that is why I am asking if it is actaully more difficult than it seems. I understand there are protocols, processes, and policies that need to be followed. But, my God, when there is an issue, a known issue, and an issue that could cost them lost subscriptions…I would think they would be on top of it taking care of it.
Here is another example that has happened. The live event where you had to do the tasks to unlock the chest to get the new tank class. I had done all the tasks, maxed out the event influence bar…but the npc would not give me the chest. I got the other two items with no problem. But the chest itself was greyed out. I contacted, I kid you not, 5 different CSR’s. Each one gave me some reason (it was my connection being the most ridiculous), and “bumped it higher”. After they were bumped higher, I never heard about that ticket again. I had to keep opening up new tickets. Finally, the last CSR actually did something about it, and while I was still chatting with him (he wanted to make sure I did indeed get the item…he simply dropped it into my inventory bag), I had the chest. Now, why couldn’t the other 4 CSR’s do that? Why did I have to open up 5 tickets, 4 of which dead-ended somewhere “higher” (still never got any messages back about them)?
That is why I am asking, is it more difficult than it looks. Because when I finally got one that actually did his job, my issue was taken care of. The first 4? Never heard about those tickets again.
Yet Blizzard spends a ton of money on their Customer Service department, and from what I gather, treats their CS people like human beings.
Mythic’s CS has been good in the past, but their management doesn’t seem to have a lot of respect for the department, if the stories I’ve been told by some former reps are true. I suspect this never improved after the EA purchase.
