What customer service could be...

[Paul Hexem]

I had an issue in World of Warcraft, so I opened a support ticket. An hour and a half later (approx. 2 AM PST, Blizzard is in California), this is the response I got;

 

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Sir Game Master Ranlim here. I hope this message reaches you in good spirits!

Thanks for taking the time to read my message! I was unable to catch you online so as to chat with you directly. =/ However I received and reviewed your ticket about the vanishing mail. ^.-

Great news! I was able to find your missing mail in the void dimension where deleted items and characters go. The bad news is the dead Murlocs that live there have claimed it as their property! But fear not o'brave Flalak for they are no match for "The Mighty Sir Game Master Ranlim"! I plunged steel-Shod boots first into battle, and let out my fierce battle-cry: "KERPLAAAHH!" And to make a long story short, (too late) I reclaimed your mail and have returned it to your mailbox. =)

If you have any other questions or concerns please let us know and we'll do our best to answer. ^_^

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Linden Lab, when was the last time your support team answered a ticket in under two hours, understood and fixed the problem the first time, and clearly had way too much fun doing it? It's a rhetorical question. I know they don't read the forums. That would cause a risk of communicating with their customers.

Notice at no point did Blizzard support say that the TOS says they're not liable? He didn't say they're not responsible for lost inventory, he didn't try to pass the issue off to someone else, he didn't tell me to go file a bug report, or any of that. He read the ticket, then fixed the problem, at 0200 in the morning.

Clearly, the Lab could learn a thing or two from Blizzard.

[Pamela Galli]

I am stunned! 

[Guilliaume]

When you have done things right, most of the time people would not be sure if you have done anything at all.

Oh, and I think it is cute that you believe a Blizzard employee had fun with that ticket reply to you. More often than not, customer service over the phone or over the internet is regulated with scripts that employees have to follow as a legal precaution to prevent lawsuits and other issues. It should come as no surprise that a company such as Blizzard would color their customer service scripts to relate more to their clients.

[Paul Hexem]

Way to completely miss the point.

[Monti Messmer]

Even it´s all a regulated automated process just the way things handled was the Point here.

It is not always what you say just HOW.

I do not have any bizz with WoW or Blizzard but that´s sure the way customer service has to work. Oh and other companies can do this as well :matte-motes-big-grin-wink:

Monti

[Nyll Bergbahn]

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Gadget Portal wrote:

Clearly, the Lab could learn a thing or two from Blizzard.

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You're not comparing like with like. The free to play World of Warcraft Starter Edition is basically an unlimited trial where you can only reach Level 20 and has numerous and very severe playing restrictions. Want to play the full game, well then, pay Blizzard. That is not the case with Second Life where all residents can fully engage with the world (with some restrictions for Basic members but inconsequential compared to Blizzard's free play with WoW).  If all residents had to pay Linden Lab directly to fullly enage with Second Life as it was pre 2006 with Basic membership severely restricted to what would really be an unlimited trial, then perhaps it too could employ more support staff.

[Madeline Blackbart]

Yes but on the other hand they could at least TRY to give support to basic members. Maybe just a little. seeing as how we buy lindens (and therefore pay them) to.

[Lexbot Sinister]

You seem to forget that there are Premium SL accounts, ones that also own land and pay more money to LL than an WoW subscription.

 

They get equally poor support.

[Paul Hexem]

Except I am Premium here in SL. I'm not talking free. I'm comparing paid account with paid account. And for the same price (less, when you add it up), Blizzard customer support is infinitely superior.

[Czari Zenovka]

---

Gadget Portal wrote:

I had an issue in World of Warcraft, so I opened a support ticket. An hour and a half later (approx. 2 AM PST, Blizzard is in California), this is the response I got;

 

---

Sir Game Master Ranlim here.

I hope this message reaches you in good spirits!

Thanks for taking the time to read my message! I was unable to catch you online so as to chat with you directly. =/ However I received and reviewed your ticket about the vanishing mail. ^.-

Great news! I was able to find your missing mail in the void dimension where deleted items and characters go. The bad news is the dead Murlocs that live there have claimed it as their property! But fear not o'brave Flalak for they are no match for "The Mighty Sir Game Master Ranlim"! I plunged steel-Shod boots first into battle, and let out my fierce battle-cry: "KERPLAAAHH!" And to make a long story short, (too late) I reclaimed your mail and have returned it to your mailbox. =)

If you have any other questions or concerns please let us know and we'll do our best to answer.

---

Linden Lab, when was the last time 

your

support team answered a ticket in under two hours, understood and fixed the problem the first time, and clearly had way too much fun doing it? It's a rhetorical question. I know they don't read the forums. That would cause a risk of communicating with their customers.

Notice at no point did Blizzard support say that the TOS says they're not liable? He didn't say they're not responsible for lost inventory, he didn't try to pass the issue off to someone else, he didn't tell me to go file a bug report, or any of that. He read the ticket, then fixed the problem, at 0200 in the morning.

Clearly, the Lab could learn a thing or two from Blizzard.

---

I've had the same experience with WoW.  In my case, the issue was a misunderstanding on my part which resulted in several customer support communications back and forth.  At no time during any of the responses did I receive anything other than very upbeat, cheerful replies.  I was really embarrassed when I finally realized there was nothing wrong in the first place.  :matte-motes-bashful:  Oh, and the response to my original ticket arrived within 10 minutes of submission with each subsequent response almost immediate.  

Those Murlocs are a pain!!!  Although they do make me laugh with whatever it is they're saying.  Mrghlllgh!!!

 

ETA: I've had equally good customer support from Everquest owned by Sony.  EQ is an old MMORPG and has lost customers to newer games over the years but still offers great CS.

[Knowl Paine]

In my opinion,

 

I'm sick of this WoW is great, crap.

How many Free Accounts, does WoW have?

I'm not talking about 10 day free trials; permanent free Accounts. How many?

How many Paid users?

This thread is misleading.

 

The last time, was about 1 month ago. The Region was stuck in the rebake for pathfinding. My support case was answered within 2 hours.

 

Support is not perfect, and it can be improved. First thing I would do, would be to add a dedicated European Support Team, and a Team specifically for Free Accounts. Free Account would receive a query number. 1,234 Residents are in line. Wait your turn, or, shell out some cash, for faster service.

 

I once had the opportunity to read some Support Tickets. I could not believe the amount of minutia contained in the Tickets, and the fact that a Linden was dispatched, to remove a box from a Resident's head. Unreal. I thought important things were being handled. Nope, most of the Tickets are from people who are too lazy to help themselves.

 

Yeah, some Npiof Residents do spend money, but that money is not predictable. It is whimsical, based upon if the Resident feels like it.

Pay for 1 year, and you are bound. That money can be placed into future planning by LL. Get onboard, or, realize that you are not on the boat; you're only swimming next it. KYOO (keeping your options open)

 

[Nyll Bergbahn]

@ Madelaine Blackbart

Not sure what your point is. LL does offer limited support to Basic members and it's not dependant on buying Lindens..

@ Lexbot Sinister:

I'm not forgetting anything. I've been a Premium member since 2007.

@Gadget Portal:

As mentioned, I have a Premium account too.

I'm not defending LL support, which we all know is not great and it would be brilliant if everything was dealt with as quickly as your incident with Blizzard. Personally, I've had few issues that needed referral to Support and those I did refer were dealt with relatively quickly apart from one highly complex CC issue but Support never gave up on it and eventually fixed the problem. Same for the last few abuse reports which were dealt with within 8 and 12 hours. Of course I know from questions on Answers and the Forums that this is not the case for everyone. However, comparing support for a game created by software engineers with limited input by players to a user-generated world is not exactly fair. Do you have any figures to compare the number of support queries between WoW and SL on a per capita basis of active players/residents? Same for abuse reports. Would you like LL Support to be available only to Premium accounts and Private Region owners? That seems to be what you're suggesting when you say " Except I am Premium here in SL. I'm not talking free. I'm comparing paid account with paid account. And for the same price (less, when you add it up), Blizzard customer support is infinitely superior." 

[Solar Legion]

Way to compare Apples and Rocks ....

Blizzard is a big name gaming company that stretches well back into the early 90's.

Linden Lab is a fledgeling with a niche market.

You want better customer service? You foot the bill. Until then, like everyone else (myself included) you'll just have to deal with what you get.

[Trinity Yazimoto]

ah yes, again the eternal debate premum Vs free accounts... the eternal Tralala about "no matter you give 100 usd every monthes and contribute actively to SL economy, no matter you never cash out any SL money, no matter you pay commisisions on every sale you do on MP and directly to LL, no matter you pay uploads directly to LL, no matter you rent a land, no matter etc.... You are not a SL customer... "you're just swimming beside the boat "(no matter you thought you was on the boat)...... you are just a second zone resident ... and so : just "suffer the lack of seriousness of LL company without complaining, and even without hoping or dreaming it could be better, and one time for all : shut up ! "

 

Ahh yes.... i missed this one... it must be what ? 2 weeks we didnt had to hear such silly song.? Ah, yes, good things never last... 

 

Edit : my answer is not directed to you specifically, Nyll, 

[Nuhai Ling]

I am kinda shocked hearing people defend Linden Lab's poor service considering their core business is providing a service. Think about this for a moment... Unlike WoW and other on-line games that provide entertainment and controllable content (a product in other words), Linden Lab's Second Life is merely a display grid for their residents who provide their own content. Their is no product, only a service. As such, most company executives would naturally strive to provide the best service support possible to retain customers. This has never been the case with Linden Lab though. They have consistently considered themselves a product-based company with service being a low priority. That is why they have never been able to retain residents (clients) who either opt for other entertainment or cheaper same-service alternatives like OpenSim. Consequently Linden Lab now has a continual decline in revenue which will eventually wipe out profits unless they change their corporate mentality. Sure it is ok to defend a service company's poor service record but that is equal to saying they have a right to fail. Personally speaking though, I don't invest in companies that are bent on self-destruction and I think few others do too.

[Knowl Paine]

In the Context of comparing why SL Support is not the same as a juggernaut like WoW.

 

In understanding, that a majority of Support Cases, are issues a resident could have solved on their own, or, in which they themselves, are the cause of the problem.

The person who owns 5 Regions, had to wait, because someone's shoes didn't fit right. Real important stuff.

If a Resident spends so much money, what's the problem with going Premium? You can get $52 back, on a Yearly plan. Why won't they commit?

[Nyll Bergbahn]

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Trinity Yazimoto wrote:

 Edit : my answer is not directed to you specifically, Nyll, 

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i hope neither specifically or at all because I'm not advocating no suport for Basic accounts. If you think that, you're not reading what I said. That is not what this thread is about. What I and others are saying is that you can't compare Blizzard's WoW support structure with the one necessary to deal with Second Life's multiude of issues, many of which are peculiar to the uniqueness of our user-generated world and the enormous freedom residents have to mess things up compared to MMORPGs.

[Trinity Yazimoto]

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Knowl Paine wrote:

 

If a Resident spends so much money, what's the problem with going Premium? You can get $52 back, on a Yearly plan. Why won't they commit?

---

Thanks, but no, im not interested by mainland.

Im fully happy in my private land. thanks.

Ive been on mainland for a whole year and they would have to pay me a fortune for i go back there. My choice .

On top, i really hate the idea that my account can be suspended if a pb happen with my credit card. Not that it already happened, but yes, i know these kind of pb happened already for pp , not by their fault, (a well known merchant and forumer experienced this one or 2 montthes ago) and its an enough reason for me for not bound me with LL like this. LL has made already the big demonstration on their lack of seriousness, i dont want to be bound with a no serious company.

Again, its my choice, only mine, but still mine.

 

[Hoshi Kenin]

Bang on the money!

The duty-bound shills sure have been busy in this post, surprise, surprise.  :matte-motes-big-grin-squint: Amusing, is it not, that they always have immaculate service from LL!   As if.

LL has got a abysmal reputation for customer service that is thoroughly deserved..   And well our dear shills....and LL... know it.

As far as Wow is concerned, it matters not that it charges, or doesn't, what does matter is the company cares about it's customers.  No ifs or buts.

LL charges for a premium service that is anything but.   Nor do the many people who pay for rentals and goods in SL, but who opt out of the rip that is premium, get any recognition or service of this fact, despite many paying a LOT every year, and I include myself in this category.

It is high time our snoozing CEO delivered some degree of customer recognition.

[Nyll Bergbahn]

Shocked over what? I've just re-read the thread and don't see anyone defending Linden Lab's service.

[Knowl Paine]

I agree.

 

SL does not generate the same revenue as WoW. They do not have the same resources.

All Accounts should have access to Support. All Tickets should be read, and receive a response from LL.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

I don't know how to fix Support.

If I was in charge of Support, my problems, would be very low on the response list.

 

1. Regions Off Line
2. Object Grief on the Grid
3. Private Region Owners
4. Mainland Region Owners
5. Top Merchants
6. Top Groups
7. Premium Memberships
8. Residents with L$, or usd
9. Residents with -0-L

 

If  the number (9) Resident, reports a Region offline, that Case is a Priority #1.

 

I've tried to be considerate, of all Residents, in making a list.  (checking it twice, gonna find out whose been naughty or nice...)

 

 

 

 

[Trinity Yazimoto]

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Nyll Bergbahn wrote:

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Trinity Yazimoto wrote:

 Edit : my answer is not directed to you specifically, Nyll, 

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i hope neither specifically or at all because I'm not advocating no suport for Basic accounts. If you think that, you're not reading what I said. That is not what this thread is about. What I and others are saying is that you can't compare Blizzard's WoW support structure with the one necessary to deal with Second Life's multiude of issues, many of which are peculiar to the uniqueness of our user-generated world and the enormous freedom residents have to mess things up compared to MMORPGs.

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Nyll, im sorry, ive hit the general reply button but well, forum page decided it was an answer to you.

i understand what you are saying, but i dont agree about the fact noone here is opposing premium accounts against free ones... 

This is not new, we have threads like this every weeks... and pp with a real simplist view about economics just say that if you are not premium then you dont give your money directly to LL so you are not a customer so you have no legitimity for complaining... Forgettting that they are also other ways to give direct money to LL and that LL get also indirect money from residents. Im so bored to read such things... well, i guess i should just no read lol... but yes here i see the spectre of the same debat flying around.

just to give you an exemple, let me quote for you this sentence from Knowl :  "Pay for 1 year, and you are bound. That money can be placed into future planning by LL. Get onboard, or, realize that you are not on the boat; you're only swimming next it."

So you didnt said it, i know, but it has still been said by other posts.

[Jadeclaw Denfu]

Triniti Yazimoto wrote: "On top, i really hate the idea that my account can be suspended if a pb happen with my credit card."
Exactly the reason, why I don't go premium.

However, the quality of the support seems to depend on, which team needs to handle the problem,
I had always good results, when it comes to region problems, answer times usually under two hours
and the issues had always been resolved.

 

[Knowl Paine]

I only said that emphasize my point. WoW can count on most of the Revenue they generate, because of the pay systems they have in place.

The phone company , and cable company, both want 2 year service agreements. I'm not alone in my thinking.

A company requires Capital, to plan for, and to make capital improvements. It also provides for peace of mind, to the investors. Yearly plans, not just month to month.

 

I am also getting bored.

How about we find a way to fix it.

Do you have any suggestions, as to what the Priority Cases are, and the order in which they should be answered?

 

[Lexbot Sinister]

I'm pretty absolutely sure that LL's support already has priority cases for their support. What they are, we will never know or be told about.

 

The problem is that once you give someone bad support, basic account or premium, or Consierge level, they will remember it forever. There is no room for giving bad support to ANYONE using the service. It was LL's call to allow free accounts, and they have to own their decisions.

There are many people that have gotten poor support from LL while paying them hundreds of dollars every month, just the same as free accounts getting poor support. Now you might say, that the priority of course goes to those that pay a lot first, and yes, it already does, but the problem with ignoring free accounts is that they will never move up to be paying members/landowners if they are unhappy with the service to begin with!

LL can't simply say that "this free account will never spend any money" because it's not true. How much money did YOU spend your first month? Your first year? Your second year?

So what if the new residents have to us, really trivial problems. When those problems go unsolved, the customer goes away and never becomes a paying member.

 

In a small comparison- imagine that you give out free cookies as a promotion of your cookie brand. But the cookies you give away for free taste horrible. Do you think people would then buy your cookies, even if you said " The ones you pay for will taste really great, i promise!"