How to handle people that don't read descriptions?

[Tealthantos]

Since I've rolled out my new PBR range I've received a steady stream of people who have brought the items/materials without knowing what PBR is and not knowing it's SLviewer viewer only, which I've made sure to note in the descriptions and have updated it multiple times to try and loophole proof it.

But it's still happening and my patience is beginning to fray...

Edited January 27 by Tealthantos

[Wulfie Reanimator]

Write out an explanation and copypaste it whenever someone complains. Looking at your store, your product descriptions seem fine, not much to improve there.

Customers make mistakes, you're not responsible for them.

[RohanaRaven Zerbino]

You can do a few things:

Add an image with a warning to your listings. People don't read.

Add a short line at the beginning of the MP description, capital letters with stars or something. For example: ******* PBR TEXTURES ARE FOR SL VIEWER ONLY!!! ******* Someone might see that.

Put the same line in your profile as the first line.

Create a profile pick with the same line and link to PBR SL wiki page. You can use that as a copy/paste answer as Wulfie suggested.

But above all, have patience, it will get better over time ... maybe ... well, hope dies last lol.

 

[Flea Yatsenko]

Just use the base color as the legacy texture if it's a large build. It's going to be at least a year before almost everyone is on a PBR viewer. Base color isn't as good as diffuse but it's only temporary. But it changes it from being broken with no PBR to "best viewed in a viewer that supports PBR."

If it's only a couple materials just make the legacy one.

People have zero attention spans now, they don't read, only pictures. Add a product image that says it needs PBR if you aren't going to support the legacy thing. But I would suggest suggesting legacy. I guarantee you after the ~18 months it takes to block the current non-PBR viewers that a new one will crop up that doesn't support PBR.

People are going to realize it's less work to support the legacy textures than it is to support people who don't have PBR viewers. Bottom line is you are going to miss out on sales and you are going to have unhappy customers if you only support PBR. My PBR builds can be optimized a lot more (re-use materials/textures, instance objects, etc) as opposed to baked environments like I've been doing. But the two are not compatible. I am still including the legacy baked version as a separate product when it's possible and the UV maps and stuff aren't radically different.

Regardless no one likes being told what they have is outdated and not good enough. Look how upset people were when Steam blocked Windows 7 and 8. Or when LL blocked OSX 10. Not to mention I think people are getting update anxiety. Seems like any time Windows, Android, SmartTV, etc gets an "update" it's worse.

Just my two cents but you are going to be fighting people who don't have PBR viewers for the next year. Right now the only version of Firestorm that supports is an alpha you have to jump through some hoops to get. I'm excited about PBR and the new stuff I'm making is leagues better than the older stuff but these things don't happen overnight.

[Codex Alpha]

It's sad that OP has to put big long disclaimers on his listings still at this point and time, but I feel for the same situation.

Once I figured out SL's classic SPC/GLS system, and made the appropriate maps in all the right places and alpha channels, etc, all I got were complaints from those products and low ratings - because people still didn't have their Advanced Lighting Model on, so the textures will appear flat and dead to them.

When you explain to them they need ALM, they might go fix it, but their 1 star rating remains, and you no longer sell a single item of that product ever again.

This is when I realized most creators were baking lights and environments into their products and many times even foregoing using Normal maps too (from inworld research of many products). If it is done right, baked lighting can certainly trick the eye into thinking the product has more detail and may help to minimize texture load impact.

I do like the PBR ease of upload, and not having to create a whole new workflow to get PBR projects into SPC/GLS format as of old, but I suspect the same result can happen "This doesn't look as good inworld as it  does in the photos! Looks terrible! 1-star!" can still happen, or even from users who don't know how to set up PBR environment on their own land, etc.

[Porky Gorky]

Would it be practical to provide demo versions of PBR products for customers to test first? Or would they ignore the demo just like they ignore the description?

[PheebyKatz]

Whenever I feel some users might not want to read the manual, I just mention in my listing that if they contact me to complain I will laugh at them and tell them to RTFM.

So far I have had no complaints whatsoever.

I'm assuming the sort of people who would complain simply avoid buying from me. I'm okay with it.

Edited February 13 by PheebyKatz

[Sid Nagy]

Some people simply don't read.
In the time that I sold doors with many options, there was always a manual notecard included.
If someone IM-ed for assistance, I always simply copied and past the right sentences from the manual line for line into the IM conversation, as if I'm really typed the sentences on the spot. So in a slow pace.
Always worked.
Most of the time they even thanked me, for my easy understandable explanation.

RTFM is so the 80s.

[Paul Hexem]

On 2/13/2024 at 9:20 AM, Codex Alpha said:

When you explain to them they need ALM, they might go fix it, but their 1 star rating remains, and you no longer sell a single item of that product ever again.

It's worth noting that poor ratings due to user error can be removed, if you flag it. I had to do that on two of my own products.

[OptimoMaximo]

On 2/13/2024 at 11:17 PM, Sid Nagy said:

RTFM is so the 80s.

No, it's common sense. Being in the year 3000 or in the 900 bc doesn't make any difference. It's a matter of being able to use the brain.

[Dana Enyo]

I'm probably going overboard providing information about my PBR items.  My vendors have links to my PBR Experiments Web page and a lot of photos and videos on my Flickr.  On the MP page and inworld vendor photo I include an image of what to expect in a non-PBR viewer.  My vendors will give a detailed pre-purchase info notecard, and another one if they buy the item.  If they want a PBR-wearer education, it's all there.  (Also, I'm small enough that I contact every single customer to thank them and invite comments and questions.  Takes some time each morning yo do that, but it sure heads issues off at the pass.)

(By the way, since I make clothes, my stuff is going to be moved constantly between environments over which the wearer has no control. I let them know those surprises are part of the fun!)

Edited March 17 by Dana Enyo
New thought