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Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)

Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.

× Talk about collectible card here.

Wizards of the Coast Customer Service Is A Mess

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07 Jul 2012 02:04 #130158 by Sagrilarus
I have spent the last 36 hours with WotC customer service in my own personal brand of purgatory. I can't get Magic Online to load its update, and in spite of sending them detailed material to help them get me through my troubles (I do this kind of thing for a living) they keep sending me these boiler-plate bullshit answers and then close the case. They don't even read what I tell them. I get a different person each time and each does the exact same thing.

It has to be institutional. You can't have an organization with 30 Customer Service reps (their online survey lists them all by name) and have 8 of them be blithering idiots exhibiting the same behavior.

If they threw their hands up and surrendered and refunded the $10 I'd have a resolution to this. Instead they tell me their server may have been down and that I need to restart the game. I've been trying to update for 36 frikkin' hours. Then they close the case. It's like a store clerk telling you to screw off and then walking away before you can respond.

All that money and they can't give 30 people enough training to be polite. Then you call Clowdus or Tummelson and get stellar support and a great attitude in spite of a shoestring operation.

Kid's computer games SUCK. They never work correctly, they never install correctly, they always assume full admin privs on the box.

S.
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07 Jul 2012 02:46 #130159 by wadenels
I don't know if you've reached the "making threats" level yet, but the following has about a 50/50 working-for-me ratio: "Look, I've done what you've asked and it isn't working. I'm paying for products and/or services that are NOT being provided. Either you get someone who knows how to fix the issue, or my credit card issuer is going to see it my way and this whole bullshit transaction will end up costing me time, but not money."

That aside, most companies' tech support people are enough to drive a grown man to tears. A good buddy of mine had a lightning storm take out a tree in his yard about two weeks ago, which completely severed his phone line. The customer service rep had two things to say about it:
1) I understand your frustration but you need to use a paperclip to press the reset button inside your DSL modem.
2) Unfortunately if that didn't work you'll have to call back later, because the recent storm knocked out our connection to our trouble ticket system.
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07 Jul 2012 02:59 #130161 by SaMoKo
I'm not sure what's worse with modern customer service - dealing with a robot on the phone, or dealing with an actual person.

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07 Jul 2012 03:27 #130162 by SuperflyPete
"WANKERS! GIMME ME MONEY! WANKERS!!! WANKERS!!!!"

I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that.

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07 Jul 2012 03:37 - 07 Jul 2012 03:54 #130164 by Sagrilarus
I think I just figured out how to hijack their update process, so the point may be moot.

One of my pet peeves is that people think saying "I don't know" is failure. If you don't know just say it. Find someone who does or look into it further. Throwing out a bullshit line like "it must be your antivirus software, I'm closing the case" just makes you look like an idiot. That doesn't leave a good impression on your customers.

S.
Last edit: 07 Jul 2012 03:54 by Sagrilarus.
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07 Jul 2012 05:00 #130168 by ubarose

Sagrilarus wrote: One of my pet peeves is that people think saying "I don't know" is failure.


In larger operations Helpdesk really doesn't know anything other than how to fill out a ticket, search their documentation and give the scripted answer. The ticket typically has to be escalated at least three times before it gets to someone who has any actual expertise. Also, when it finally gets to the person that has the ability to resolve the problem, that really detailed description given by the customer will have been summarized into uselessness.
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07 Jul 2012 16:23 #130175 by Sagrilarus
The company I work for gets back to you in a hurry to let you know your request has been received by a real-live human, but it's rare that they answer a question on such short notice. It gets a status of "researching" while they find someone who can solve the problem. I have fifteen years in with the software so I'm generally asking tough questions these days.

They get graded on closing tickets, but they manage the customer's expectations very carefully when they do it. They ask if it's ok to close it, and make it a point to tell the customer that they can always reopen it if some part of the correction doesn't stick.

I think that's a big part of it. Digital communications are always dodgy to begin with, and if little or no care is taken it's very easy to project a "talk-to-the-hand" attitude without intending to. For all I know their software may automatically set the status to "closed" without the CS rep taking any action.

S.
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07 Jul 2012 17:07 #130180 by Notahandle
Escalate, escalate, escalate. Eventually you get to someone with a couple of functioning brain cells.
(But you know this...)

Hang in there and be a stubborn bastard!

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08 Jul 2012 15:26 #130231 by Citadel
They may also be incentivised to close cases, which of course doesn't work. There was a company in the UK that you rang to look up phone numbers for you. They had a reward system based purely on how quickly the call was answered. So the reps just typed your search into their system and immediately hung up without telling you the answer.

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08 Jul 2012 17:05 #130238 by MattFantastic
I can say that their analog customer service has always been pretty awesome.

Who else remembers calling up CS at some ungodly hour to ask for a Magic card interaction ruling? The D&D CS has been uneven in rulings, but still awesome overall.

And they have been decent enough with sending out replacement parts for recent boardgames.

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08 Jul 2012 18:03 #130239 by Jackwraith
It's true the different divisions/methods often have drastically different results. I wanted to add HBO to my Comcast account a few months ago in order to watch Game of Thrones. I figured I could just go to their website, pull up my account, and make the change. Fail. So, I talk to someone online. Fail. I keep asking for escalation or other resources because what I'm trying to do is give them more money. Fail.

So, I revert to the 20th century, pick up the phone, and speak to a wonderful woman who makes the change in under 2 minutes. I'm never going to use their website again. I wonder if they've moved all the long-time, actually experienced people to the phone division because they just assume there will be less traffic there and they can gradually phase them out?

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09 Jul 2012 13:48 #130260 by cdennett

MattLoter wrote: And they have been decent enough with sending out replacement parts for recent boardgames.

I just had to do this a couple of weeks ago without any issues. Never noticed my Castle Ravenloft had two rogues but no ranger...

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09 Jul 2012 16:50 #130296 by dragonstout
I have pretty little faith in Wizards' ability to do anything but make great Magic sets. I have a LOT of faith in their ability to do THAT, however, and I also have a lot of faith that the people in charge of doing that really care about the game.

Their digital arm is especially balls, I'm pleasantly shocked that I keep hearing that Duels of the Planeswalkers 2013 is so good.

I would totally do the threatening thing, and remind them that not only are you going to get your $10 back, but also remind them what the average Magic Online player spends on the game. They're losing a *lot* of fucking money by not getting you online.

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