You, the consumer, pay approximately $140.00 a year to play your favorite MMO. If you play that game for 8 years, you will pay approximately $1440.00 That number does not cover what you may also pay in micro transactions to get special items. I could go into the math on that but the point is that you pay a lot of money to these companies and deserve quality customer service. Of course this math does not include what ever console players pay.
And for those who have multiple accounts the figures will be even higher.
The point is you should not have to put up with being lied to. You should not be told days later your identity has been stolen. You should not have some forum jack boot ban you for telling others how to get good customer service results. You should not have to deal with canned messages from some boiler room in India when you submit a ticket for a game problem.
Think about what you pay these companies and ask yourself if you are being given a quality service or are you being ripped off?
-Jessica
...All about Sci-Fi and MMORPG gaming. From a girls perspective a Celtic Thunder guild leader.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Time for action.
This blog is brand new. So right now it does not have a wide readership. Until now I was not sure what I would write about. I have finally decided that I am going to dedicate part of this blog to hopefully improving how MMO companies treat their subscribers.
So I created a new "trend" #sickofMMOabuses.
In light of recent revelations about Sony and their delayed response to letting the users know their accounts were stolen I think that would be a wake up call to the consumers that enough is enough. Sony as a company has a history of not being truthful with it's subscribers. But Sony is not the only one guilty here. Cryptic is also guilty with their policy of banning players so they fear speaking up about problems and issues.
It should not take six tickets to get a problem resolved. This is ridiculous. You pay good money to these companies and to be treated like crap is just amazing. Perhaps it is the mind set of the younger generation to let things slide? I know my mothers generation would not sit still and let a company act in this manor towards them. She would send off letters to the company president, write letters to the newspapers, etc.
So here is your chance. Speak up and share your concerns and complaints about how MMO companies lack of customer service. Being silent does not improve things or make things better. Make your voice heard.
The fact of the matter is, the state of MMO customer service is a joke and a rip off.
-Jessica
So I created a new "trend" #sickofMMOabuses.
In light of recent revelations about Sony and their delayed response to letting the users know their accounts were stolen I think that would be a wake up call to the consumers that enough is enough. Sony as a company has a history of not being truthful with it's subscribers. But Sony is not the only one guilty here. Cryptic is also guilty with their policy of banning players so they fear speaking up about problems and issues.
It should not take six tickets to get a problem resolved. This is ridiculous. You pay good money to these companies and to be treated like crap is just amazing. Perhaps it is the mind set of the younger generation to let things slide? I know my mothers generation would not sit still and let a company act in this manor towards them. She would send off letters to the company president, write letters to the newspapers, etc.
So here is your chance. Speak up and share your concerns and complaints about how MMO companies lack of customer service. Being silent does not improve things or make things better. Make your voice heard.
The fact of the matter is, the state of MMO customer service is a joke and a rip off.
-Jessica
MMO companies and apathy in the mmo community that just sits back and takes poor customer service.
Recently a friend of mine received a warning on www.swtor.com I got to see first hand what the warning was about. It was a warning that the player was divulging beta information and to stop. The interesting thing is, the warning was issued to a person who is not playing beta nor has anything to do with beta but was making an observation about the game in general.
Just today in another MMO I play I received a warning for advising another player to not just roll over and take being silenced in game when they were wrongly silenced. The game is Star Trek Online. I got warned for outlining how I got something fixed and I got the following warning.
Your posting in the "xxxxxx..." thread has resulted in this moderation.
Discussing any moderation or customer service interaction on the official forums is not the way to raise your concerns. Please submit a community ticket if you have concerns regarding this, as asked in our forum rules and in our warning and infraction PMs.
Please take a moment to review our Atari Community Rules and Policies (http://forums.startrekonline.
If you feel that anyone has posted content that warrants moderation, please use the REPORT feature and one of the moderators will look into the matter further. Report violations, do not quote them or reply to them. Responding to a violation in an inflammatory manner is a violation in itself and will result in appropriate action.
If you have questions about this infraction, please use the support web page - http://www.atari.com/support/
Thank you.
-WishStone
Excuse me? In other words our policies are designed to silence you so that others do not know what methods you took to get things fixed.
So this Blog entry is about apathy of the MMO community. It is in part because of the tactics outlined above that players feel powerless. For some reason software companies do not see you and me as customers. But rather, sheep. To be told how to act and to be admonished like children. The saying "the customer is always right is tossed out the window" when it comes to MMO companies.
The funny thing is, in any other industry this would not be tolerated by the paying customers. The company behaving in such a fashion would lose a ton of money and go out of business.
In Star Trek Online I know of many players who have problems with their characters that cause a limitation in their ability to play. One such person told me this "they will not answer my ticket. So I know it will never be fixed." Another player told me the same thing. On the forums it is common to see others trying to hush other players speaking out. "You will get an infraction for posting this!"
Here are some rules to getting your matter heard. With an mmo company it comes with risk because they hold the power to ban you. Can you imagine if you bought a TV and it did not work as advertised and you complained and the manufacturer said "I am sorry but you can not buy any more of our products. You are banned. Go away."
Here are the rules:
1. Send in your ticket. If you get a canned message and ticket is closed, send in a new ticket.
2. If second ticket is closed and canned message is issued. Send in a third ticket.
3. If third ticket is ignored, closed, issued a canned message, send in a fourth ticket. But this time post about it. Yes you might get a warning but if you live in fear nothing will get changed.
4. If it does not get answered or you are issued yet another canned message or you get a warning, get the companies address. Sit down and write a letter to the President of the company. Be rational and to the point and mail it. Faxing will work too.
Now why would I advise you to take these steps? Because I used to work in customer service. The squeeky wheel gets the grease. When I worked for a software company the things we liked were customers who would be silent. The things we hated were customers who made noise. The ones who were relentless. They were the ones we feared. If they wrote a letter, that was a clear message to our President we were not doing our jobs right in customer service. That person then become priority number one and we fixed or resolved the issue.
The bottom line is if you just sit back and take poor customer service it is your fault and you deserve it.
I for one will not remain silent and watch MMO companies walk over those who pay them good money. MMO companies act as if they are doing you a favor.
No! Mr. MMO company we are doing you a favor by giving you our hard earned money in a down economy.
-Jessica
Just today in another MMO I play I received a warning for advising another player to not just roll over and take being silenced in game when they were wrongly silenced. The game is Star Trek Online. I got warned for outlining how I got something fixed and I got the following warning.
Your posting in the "xxxxxx..." thread has resulted in this moderation.
Discussing any moderation or customer service interaction on the official forums is not the way to raise your concerns. Please submit a community ticket if you have concerns regarding this, as asked in our forum rules and in our warning and infraction PMs.
Please take a moment to review our Atari Community Rules and Policies (http://forums.startrekonline.
If you feel that anyone has posted content that warrants moderation, please use the REPORT feature and one of the moderators will look into the matter further. Report violations, do not quote them or reply to them. Responding to a violation in an inflammatory manner is a violation in itself and will result in appropriate action.
If you have questions about this infraction, please use the support web page - http://www.atari.com/support/
Thank you.
-WishStone
Excuse me? In other words our policies are designed to silence you so that others do not know what methods you took to get things fixed.
So this Blog entry is about apathy of the MMO community. It is in part because of the tactics outlined above that players feel powerless. For some reason software companies do not see you and me as customers. But rather, sheep. To be told how to act and to be admonished like children. The saying "the customer is always right is tossed out the window" when it comes to MMO companies.
The funny thing is, in any other industry this would not be tolerated by the paying customers. The company behaving in such a fashion would lose a ton of money and go out of business.
In Star Trek Online I know of many players who have problems with their characters that cause a limitation in their ability to play. One such person told me this "they will not answer my ticket. So I know it will never be fixed." Another player told me the same thing. On the forums it is common to see others trying to hush other players speaking out. "You will get an infraction for posting this!"
Here are some rules to getting your matter heard. With an mmo company it comes with risk because they hold the power to ban you. Can you imagine if you bought a TV and it did not work as advertised and you complained and the manufacturer said "I am sorry but you can not buy any more of our products. You are banned. Go away."
Here are the rules:
1. Send in your ticket. If you get a canned message and ticket is closed, send in a new ticket.
2. If second ticket is closed and canned message is issued. Send in a third ticket.
3. If third ticket is ignored, closed, issued a canned message, send in a fourth ticket. But this time post about it. Yes you might get a warning but if you live in fear nothing will get changed.
4. If it does not get answered or you are issued yet another canned message or you get a warning, get the companies address. Sit down and write a letter to the President of the company. Be rational and to the point and mail it. Faxing will work too.
Now why would I advise you to take these steps? Because I used to work in customer service. The squeeky wheel gets the grease. When I worked for a software company the things we liked were customers who would be silent. The things we hated were customers who made noise. The ones who were relentless. They were the ones we feared. If they wrote a letter, that was a clear message to our President we were not doing our jobs right in customer service. That person then become priority number one and we fixed or resolved the issue.
The bottom line is if you just sit back and take poor customer service it is your fault and you deserve it.
I for one will not remain silent and watch MMO companies walk over those who pay them good money. MMO companies act as if they are doing you a favor.
No! Mr. MMO company we are doing you a favor by giving you our hard earned money in a down economy.
-Jessica
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
When some one takes the game too serious...
Every so often I run into the elite PVPer who takes the game so seriously it sucks the fun out of the game. Typically if you run into this kind of person you can simply put them on ignore and walk away. But when they are in your own guild what do you do?
Often times this sort of player will bring drama into the game by, making snide remarks to members of his own guild. The know it all stance becomes clear and evident. He is or (she) is the Alpha dog in the pack. Fall in line and get told what to do down to the ship you pilot. This person can be so obsessive about the role of Alpha dog he or she will create spread sheets to show on paper what is the best build and design or a character, ship or other item in game.
Admittedly I am an alpha female gamer. But not in the way described above. I am outspoken and will not take crap off any one. Especially an Alpha Elite like described above. I suppose I was like that in my earlier days of MMO play but over the years I came to realize that fun was more important than if you win or lose.
If you are not having fun, then playing an mmo is really a waste of time in my humble opinion.
Recently I was in a "guild" that had such an individual (he was not my guild leader). He had the spreadsheets on all the ships in the the game. He knew it all. He was the authority and was in charge and boy his bark let you know he was in control. He even went so far as to blatantly tell you what you were flying was a "piece of shit" because he wanted to put this elite team. The problem was he assumed I wanted to be part of his elite team and never bothered to ask me. Next thing I know I am being barked at and ordered around.
Whoa! Hold on partner. Who are you? Ah I see. A no name elite player trying to fill your ego up by controlling others. You have lost sight of the point of an MMO. It is not a basketball team. It is not some league. It is a GAME to enjoy. Now I suppose if like minded players want to come together and be led as a league that is their 15.00 a month and more power to them.
To force that on others who do not share your vision is wrong. To create DRAMA in a guild over your vision is wrong.
In the end I decided to leave the guild. It was more hassle than it was worth. I would rather fly solo than deal with that any day.
So how does this fit in with the SWTOR guild I run? It is just more knowledge and experience to make sure as a leader this does not take place in my guild. While we will PVP from time to time Celtic Thunder is not going to be an elite minded pvp group. We as a guild play to have fun and that is the way it is going to be.
Those with the mind set I described above are not welcome to be part of the guild. It is as simple as that.
In the end, you can have all the spread sheets and data at your finger tips but if you don't like what you are playing or flying then you will not have the heart and soul of what you are doing. That is what is more important than number crunching. Loving what you play.
Now here is the million dollar question: Was he like this towards me because I am a female player he thought he could control? Who knows. But suspect that was the part of the case.
~Jessica / AKA Cerina
Often times this sort of player will bring drama into the game by, making snide remarks to members of his own guild. The know it all stance becomes clear and evident. He is or (she) is the Alpha dog in the pack. Fall in line and get told what to do down to the ship you pilot. This person can be so obsessive about the role of Alpha dog he or she will create spread sheets to show on paper what is the best build and design or a character, ship or other item in game.
Admittedly I am an alpha female gamer. But not in the way described above. I am outspoken and will not take crap off any one. Especially an Alpha Elite like described above. I suppose I was like that in my earlier days of MMO play but over the years I came to realize that fun was more important than if you win or lose.
If you are not having fun, then playing an mmo is really a waste of time in my humble opinion.
Recently I was in a "guild" that had such an individual (he was not my guild leader). He had the spreadsheets on all the ships in the the game. He knew it all. He was the authority and was in charge and boy his bark let you know he was in control. He even went so far as to blatantly tell you what you were flying was a "piece of shit" because he wanted to put this elite team. The problem was he assumed I wanted to be part of his elite team and never bothered to ask me. Next thing I know I am being barked at and ordered around.
Whoa! Hold on partner. Who are you? Ah I see. A no name elite player trying to fill your ego up by controlling others. You have lost sight of the point of an MMO. It is not a basketball team. It is not some league. It is a GAME to enjoy. Now I suppose if like minded players want to come together and be led as a league that is their 15.00 a month and more power to them.
To force that on others who do not share your vision is wrong. To create DRAMA in a guild over your vision is wrong.
In the end I decided to leave the guild. It was more hassle than it was worth. I would rather fly solo than deal with that any day.
So how does this fit in with the SWTOR guild I run? It is just more knowledge and experience to make sure as a leader this does not take place in my guild. While we will PVP from time to time Celtic Thunder is not going to be an elite minded pvp group. We as a guild play to have fun and that is the way it is going to be.
Those with the mind set I described above are not welcome to be part of the guild. It is as simple as that.
In the end, you can have all the spread sheets and data at your finger tips but if you don't like what you are playing or flying then you will not have the heart and soul of what you are doing. That is what is more important than number crunching. Loving what you play.
Now here is the million dollar question: Was he like this towards me because I am a female player he thought he could control? Who knows. But suspect that was the part of the case.
~Jessica / AKA Cerina
Sunday, May 15, 2011
A huge thank you to..... (Twitter Blade Runner night)
I created this blog entry to thank Edward James Olmos for accepting Marty Sader's request to do a Blade Runner night on twitter #MovieNightTweet. A Marty Sader idea. Yes Marty you started a new trend. Word of this is going to spread like wild fire.
It all started off with Edwards tweet: 33 minutes to go start the clock.... so say we all.... START THE FRAKKING CLOCKS.... (Name the BSG episode those words were spoken)
It is because of these two men and Dawn Hickerson and their down to earth nature that made this possible for all of us to participate in a unique night.
My favorite EJO twitter was this one: #movienighttweet wake up the frakking machines... 127 tweet later he hit his update status limit! He then finished up on Marty Saders account.
127 amazing tweets in 3 hours people! I would say in all he did about 150 tweets tonight. That my friends is dedication to his fans and he did it all with out pay.
It is his passion and his love for people reminds me of this saying: "No one cares what you know until they know that you care!"
— Benjamin Franklin
So what did we learn about Edward's experiences on Blade Runner? I think Dawn of @olmosperfect summed it up best so I am going to give you a link to her site at the end of this post.
The neatest thing to learn was that Blade Runner is a book end to Battlestar Galactica. It all makes sense. I would have never known this had this night not been made possible. We learn that Gaff is a descendant of the Adama blood line. That is right, Edward made that very clear. Think about that for a while and remember what was said between Six and Baltar at the end of BSG that this has all happened before. Blade Runner and the Battlestar Galactica series tie perfectly together.
Mr. Olmos, Marty Sader and Dawn Hickerson, you have given us all a night we shall not forget! So Say We All!
Please see www.olmosperfect.com for more information.
-Jessica
P.S. Thank you Alex Breitenberger for the correction!
#movienighttweet stats: Approx 162 twitter users sent messages and @edwardjolmos sent over 127 tweets!!!
It all started off with Edwards tweet: 33 minutes to go start the clock.... so say we all.... START THE FRAKKING CLOCKS.... (Name the BSG episode those words were spoken)
It is because of these two men and Dawn Hickerson and their down to earth nature that made this possible for all of us to participate in a unique night.
My favorite EJO twitter was this one: #movienighttweet wake up the frakking machines... 127 tweet later he hit his update status limit! He then finished up on Marty Saders account.
127 amazing tweets in 3 hours people! I would say in all he did about 150 tweets tonight. That my friends is dedication to his fans and he did it all with out pay.
It is his passion and his love for people reminds me of this saying: "No one cares what you know until they know that you care!"
— Benjamin Franklin
So what did we learn about Edward's experiences on Blade Runner? I think Dawn of @olmosperfect summed it up best so I am going to give you a link to her site at the end of this post.
The neatest thing to learn was that Blade Runner is a book end to Battlestar Galactica. It all makes sense. I would have never known this had this night not been made possible. We learn that Gaff is a descendant of the Adama blood line. That is right, Edward made that very clear. Think about that for a while and remember what was said between Six and Baltar at the end of BSG that this has all happened before. Blade Runner and the Battlestar Galactica series tie perfectly together.
Mr. Olmos, Marty Sader and Dawn Hickerson, you have given us all a night we shall not forget! So Say We All!
Please see www.olmosperfect.com for more information.
-Jessica
P.S. Thank you Alex Breitenberger for the correction!
#movienighttweet stats: Approx 162 twitter users sent messages and @edwardjolmos sent over 127 tweets!!!
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