Forum: empire-en
Board: [818] General Discussion
Topic: [305618] Customer Service (or the lack of it)
[-305618]
Genghis (IN1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 5:49 a.m.
There have been dozens of threads that have already been initiated on the customer service (or the lack of it) dished out by Good Game Studios.
For the past month, I have been patiently browsing through all these threads hoping to get some positive response or the news of one such response some where. Agreed, @CM Arcanine has tried to answer a few of the queries, but honestly, that's been grossly inadequate.
I decided, one more such thread would not really hurt anyone anymore. at least it may help me vent out!
So, here goes nothing -
My interaction with the notorious customer service started a little over a month back with the gamed 'Berimond Bug' and also a relatively long server crash on IN1 (admittedly, this was the first server crash i endured after starting the game a little over 3 months ago)
I had considerable losses. And on advise of @CM Arcanine, raised a ticket with GGE support. Unlike a lot of my friends on the forum here, I did get an immediate response with the ticket number. The ticket was created on the 9th of March 2016. (Ticket Number: 2016030910002161. This helps my cause a little bit, given that i do not have to prove that the ticket indeed is over a month old!)
The auto response was probably the only good thing to have happened to this ticket. I kept waiting amid repeated assurances on various threads by Steve and @Wicked that the tickets will eventually be responded to.
After fairly long wait of 10 days, i got the only response to my ticket so far. This was on the 19th or March 2016 The response was 2 part and had me reacting very differently.
Part 1 was regarding the losses I faced during the server crash. Fabio from customer service offered to help me with the losses i incurred and asked me to give them a break up of all the desertions I had had. To say that I was elated with the response is an understatement! I promptly responded to this request also thanking Fabio for writing to me on a Saturday which I assumed, they do not work on.
Alas, the happiness stopped right there. It's been 25 days since I last heard from Fabio. and nothing has come of the details i supplied.
Part 2 was regarding the ill-famed and much maligned Berimond. Bug. I was stupefied with the response I got. Guess I deserved that since I had been greedy. Let me explain how - Since Transfer of tools and trooops to BM is free, I decided to use this opportunity so save some of my hard earned coins. I transferred 7000 coin bannes and 4000 wodden mantlets to the BM even just before it ended in hopes of all those tools landing to me main castle in green without costing me any coins. However, as it transpired, the event did not end and When eventually it was restarted. all my tools were gone. Just like that.So, I sent in a request with my ticket for support to consider my losses and get those tools reinstated.
Regarding this issue - I got a very simple response - "Regarding the losses due to the Berimond Event extension, those are not possible to credit. Onle the ones lost after the server crash."
To say that I was furious and angry and frustrated will not be wrong.
This did get me thinking though. Why is GGE customer service not able to help us?
I could funnel down to only 3 possible reasons.
1 - They do not have any way of tracking any losses faced. This is entirely possible since leave alone reporting, they are having a lot of issues with new features and even more so with the oh-so-frequent bugs!
2 - They do not trust their paying customers to be honest about the losses and hence will not reinstate anything the customer is not able to provide proof for. Well, I play the game for fun. and am not going to take screenshots every minute to prove myself to service providers I pay to!
3 - They do not care.
The third reason may seam to be too harsh, but after a whole month of waiting on a response on a ticket, well, you get the picture!
I started writing this long post with 1 thought in mind - I will let go of these issues and not bother with customer service again. That's what I think i will do going forward.
Will this lead to me leaving the game? I don't think so. The value the friendships I have been able to forge over the last 3 months of me playing the game, currently outweigh the mistrust and lack of respect from the game handlers.
Will I spend on the Game? I don't think so. I saved up from 2 months before starting the game so that I could make my first ruby purchase and hit the ground running. I did just that. For the first 2 months, I won practically every thing. Every event, every NC. Everything. And then this mishap happened.
While it does not stop me from enjoying the game, I do wish for more respect and more timely response form the game handlers.
I really enjoy the game and am not looking to quit in the mid-term. However, all these bugs, all the misinformation, and the stunningly slow and improper customer service does take away a lot of sheen from the game play!
For the past month, I have been patiently browsing through all these threads hoping to get some positive response or the news of one such response some where. Agreed, @CM Arcanine has tried to answer a few of the queries, but honestly, that's been grossly inadequate.
I decided, one more such thread would not really hurt anyone anymore. at least it may help me vent out!
So, here goes nothing -
My interaction with the notorious customer service started a little over a month back with the gamed 'Berimond Bug' and also a relatively long server crash on IN1 (admittedly, this was the first server crash i endured after starting the game a little over 3 months ago)
I had considerable losses. And on advise of @CM Arcanine, raised a ticket with GGE support. Unlike a lot of my friends on the forum here, I did get an immediate response with the ticket number. The ticket was created on the 9th of March 2016. (Ticket Number: 2016030910002161. This helps my cause a little bit, given that i do not have to prove that the ticket indeed is over a month old!)
The auto response was probably the only good thing to have happened to this ticket. I kept waiting amid repeated assurances on various threads by Steve and @Wicked that the tickets will eventually be responded to.
After fairly long wait of 10 days, i got the only response to my ticket so far. This was on the 19th or March 2016 The response was 2 part and had me reacting very differently.
Part 1 was regarding the losses I faced during the server crash. Fabio from customer service offered to help me with the losses i incurred and asked me to give them a break up of all the desertions I had had. To say that I was elated with the response is an understatement! I promptly responded to this request also thanking Fabio for writing to me on a Saturday which I assumed, they do not work on.
Alas, the happiness stopped right there. It's been 25 days since I last heard from Fabio. and nothing has come of the details i supplied.
Part 2 was regarding the ill-famed and much maligned Berimond. Bug. I was stupefied with the response I got. Guess I deserved that since I had been greedy. Let me explain how - Since Transfer of tools and trooops to BM is free, I decided to use this opportunity so save some of my hard earned coins. I transferred 7000 coin bannes and 4000 wodden mantlets to the BM even just before it ended in hopes of all those tools landing to me main castle in green without costing me any coins. However, as it transpired, the event did not end and When eventually it was restarted. all my tools were gone. Just like that.So, I sent in a request with my ticket for support to consider my losses and get those tools reinstated.
Regarding this issue - I got a very simple response - "Regarding the losses due to the Berimond Event extension, those are not possible to credit. Onle the ones lost after the server crash."
To say that I was furious and angry and frustrated will not be wrong.
This did get me thinking though. Why is GGE customer service not able to help us?
I could funnel down to only 3 possible reasons.
1 - They do not have any way of tracking any losses faced. This is entirely possible since leave alone reporting, they are having a lot of issues with new features and even more so with the oh-so-frequent bugs!
2 - They do not trust their paying customers to be honest about the losses and hence will not reinstate anything the customer is not able to provide proof for. Well, I play the game for fun. and am not going to take screenshots every minute to prove myself to service providers I pay to!
3 - They do not care.
The third reason may seam to be too harsh, but after a whole month of waiting on a response on a ticket, well, you get the picture!
I started writing this long post with 1 thought in mind - I will let go of these issues and not bother with customer service again. That's what I think i will do going forward.
Will this lead to me leaving the game? I don't think so. The value the friendships I have been able to forge over the last 3 months of me playing the game, currently outweigh the mistrust and lack of respect from the game handlers.
Will I spend on the Game? I don't think so. I saved up from 2 months before starting the game so that I could make my first ruby purchase and hit the ground running. I did just that. For the first 2 months, I won practically every thing. Every event, every NC. Everything. And then this mishap happened.
While it does not stop me from enjoying the game, I do wish for more respect and more timely response form the game handlers.
I really enjoy the game and am not looking to quit in the mid-term. However, all these bugs, all the misinformation, and the stunningly slow and improper customer service does take away a lot of sheen from the game play!
[4379266]
Jeffery~West (US1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 6:36 a.m.
Tell them you buy rubies, then they will respond.
But srsly, were not the ones to blame here, they can link the huge ticket spike with when the bad updates started with bugs.
but let me be stevie for you: "I'm sorry but support is overrun, please be patient"
But srsly, were not the ones to blame here, they can link the huge ticket spike with when the bad updates started with bugs.
but let me be stevie for you: "I'm sorry but support is overrun, please be patient"
[4379268]
Genghis (IN1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 6:38 a.m.
Carnifex (GB1) said:Tell them you buy rubies, then they will respond.
But srsly, were not the ones to blame here, they can link the huge ticket spike with when the bad updates started with bugs.
but let me be stevie for you: "I'm sorry but support is overrun, please be patient"
I USED to buy rubies. not anymore....
And yes I think that support should not be blamed... But then, over a month for a response? They have what, 1 person to respond to all queries?
[4379270]
Jeffery~West (US1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 6:40 a.m.
Well 1,200 employees, for all games, and different teams for each game, maybe a hundred I estimate.
[4379271]
Genghis (IN1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 6:42 a.m.
WOW! they must have tickets in the millions then! for a 100 people to take over a month to respond to tickets is hilarious!
[4379273]
Jeffery~West (US1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 6:44 a.m.
Yup, every day they get through maybe 10,000 tickets, just estimate.
[4379274]
Genghis (IN1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 6:45 a.m.
Don't envy them in the least.... Still it should be faster!
[4379368]
Some guy5 (GB1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 9:03 a.m.
You know I think something finally clicked on their end. Its still taking ages to get a response (considering how many tickets we've been sending off I'm not surprised) but the last couple of interactions I've had with them have been significantly better. Or at least they're afraid of being spammed by us again so they're being more generous with what they give out.
I don't know if this change is permanent but the move to be more co-operative is nice.
I don't know if this change is permanent but the move to be more co-operative is nice.
[4379369]
CM Arcanine [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 9:03 a.m.
Hey guys,
Just wanted to pop in and clear some of this up for you.
Yes; the team are having a hard time getting back to everyone right now, but this isn't by choice, and we have nowhere near 100 people working on the English tickets, so please don't give other players false numbers.
I understand that it's frustrating to have to wait over a month, and it's not ideal for us either. We want to get back to everyone as soon as we can, as it's our goal to keep you guys happy. In fact that's entirely why we do customer service in the first place. All I can say for now is that we understand your concerns, and are trying to get back to all of our players in a timely fashion.
I've seen the comment 'just hire more people then!' pop up a few times too, and it's not that simple. The hiring process involves interviewing a potential candidate, setting a start date (usually a month after), bringing them over here, training them and then finally getting them onto the tickets. There's no way that we can instantly add people to the team and start immediately answering tickets. Every company has different tools and procedures for Customer Support, so even if a potential candidate was super experienced, they wouldn't be able to start immediately.
Rest assured, we'll try and get back to everyone soon, but please don't think that a lack of response means that we don't care. We care a lot, and if we could reply to everyone today we really would.
Best regards,
Steve.
Just wanted to pop in and clear some of this up for you.
Yes; the team are having a hard time getting back to everyone right now, but this isn't by choice, and we have nowhere near 100 people working on the English tickets, so please don't give other players false numbers.
I understand that it's frustrating to have to wait over a month, and it's not ideal for us either. We want to get back to everyone as soon as we can, as it's our goal to keep you guys happy. In fact that's entirely why we do customer service in the first place. All I can say for now is that we understand your concerns, and are trying to get back to all of our players in a timely fashion.
I've seen the comment 'just hire more people then!' pop up a few times too, and it's not that simple. The hiring process involves interviewing a potential candidate, setting a start date (usually a month after), bringing them over here, training them and then finally getting them onto the tickets. There's no way that we can instantly add people to the team and start immediately answering tickets. Every company has different tools and procedures for Customer Support, so even if a potential candidate was super experienced, they wouldn't be able to start immediately.
Rest assured, we'll try and get back to everyone soon, but please don't think that a lack of response means that we don't care. We care a lot, and if we could reply to everyone today we really would.
Best regards,
Steve.
[4379416]
Genghis (IN1) [None]
:: April 14, 2016, 9:53 a.m.
@CM Arcanine Steve - You have been out here and taken all the fire. So well done to you! However, you understanding our frustration is just not enough! You are in the customer service business yourself and tell me, would you have a TAT of more than a month in the worst of cases?CM Arcanine said:
I understand that it's frustrating to have to wait over a month, and it's not ideal for us either. We want to get back to everyone as soon as we can, as it's our goal to keep you guys happy. In fact that's entirely why we do customer service in the first place. All I can say for now is that we understand your concerns, and are trying to get back to all of our players in a timely fashion.
Time and again, we have asked you to define 'timely'. Trust me, this can be done with the number of tickets coming in and the processing speed. Any customer service manager worth his salt would give you a TAT projection. GGE has failed outstandingly in not only servicing it's customers but also setting expectations!
'Timely fashion' just doesn't cut it my friend.
[4379485]
Mario999 (GB1) [GB1]
:: April 14, 2016, 10:13 a.m.
Sorry crying laughing here at that quote, "our goal is to keep you guys happy" pmsl
I understand that it's frustrating to have to wait over a month, and it's not ideal for us either. We want to get back to everyone as soon as we can, as it's our goal to keep you guys happy.
Best regards,
Steve.
Then give me my berri tools you lot mis-sold me and I can be happy, not say sorry but we can't do that as it did eventually end!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sorry still laughing at that one Steve "our goal is to keep you guys happy" HO HO HO
[4387950]
Genghis (IN1) [None]
:: April 22, 2016, 5:28 a.m.
Another 8 days of waiting and still no response.
Total patience @ 44 Days right now.
That's 1056 hours.
More than 1k hours for a response to a 'customer service' request! WOW!!!!
Total patience @ 44 Days right now.
That's 1056 hours.
More than 1k hours for a response to a 'customer service' request! WOW!!!!
[4388267]
bobjoerock (US1) [None]
:: April 22, 2016, 1:46 p.m.
lets see a 100 people on a support team( that an overestimate or not) for all GGE sever. 100 tickets per person per day. 10,000 tickets cleared per day. So if 1 % of one million players (active population of all server) per day is sending tickets that 10,000 tickets. If more than 1% are sending tickets or sending multiple tickets it screw up the system. However right now 10% of the player sending tickets so it would take 10 days to clear it all.
[4389083]
overlord90098 (GB1) [GB1]
:: April 23, 2016, 9:41 a.m.
Again support wouldn't be so busy if the game actually worked I would understand the support being useless if we didn't have to contact them at all ever but we don't so its like rubbing salt into a gaping head wound.
[4419524]
Genghis (IN1) [None]
:: May 17, 2016, 8:26 a.m.
2 Months and 9 Days since my ticket was first logged. You still stand by your words of caring and trying @CM Arcanine ???CM Arcanine said:Hey guys,
Just wanted to pop in and clear some of this up for you.
Yes; the team are having a hard time getting back to everyone right now, but this isn't by choice, and we have nowhere near 100 people working on the English tickets, so please don't give other players false numbers.
I understand that it's frustrating to have to wait over a month, and it's not ideal for us either. We want to get back to everyone as soon as we can, as it's our goal to keep you guys happy. In fact that's entirely why we do customer service in the first place. All I can say for now is that we understand your concerns, and are trying to get back to all of our players in a timely fashion.
I've seen the comment 'just hire more people then!' pop up a few times too, and it's not that simple. The hiring process involves interviewing a potential candidate, setting a start date (usually a month after), bringing them over here, training them and then finally getting them onto the tickets. There's no way that we can instantly add people to the team and start immediately answering tickets. Every company has different tools and procedures for Customer Support, so even if a potential candidate was super experienced, they wouldn't be able to start immediately.
Rest assured, we'll try and get back to everyone soon, but please don't think that a lack of response means that we don't care. We care a lot, and if we could reply to everyone today we really would.
Best regards,
Steve.
[4419559]
John OGroat (GB1) [GB1]
:: May 17, 2016, 9:05 a.m.
Still not had an automated ticket response for last weeks ticket, let alone a support response for the ticket sent in 2 months ago !!!
[4419654]
CM Arcanine [None]
:: May 17, 2016, 11:03 a.m.
Howdy folks,
@Genghis (IN1) Absolutely, we're really doing our best. If you can send me your ticket number, I can make sure that nothing went wrong in the process, as although delay times are quite long right now, it does seem a tad longer than usual.
@John OGroat (GB1) If you haven't received an automated response, please check your spam folder. If that doesn't result in anything, try with another email address, and let me know if there's no resolution. I'll gladly try and help you fix the problem
Best regards,
Steve.
@Genghis (IN1) Absolutely, we're really doing our best. If you can send me your ticket number, I can make sure that nothing went wrong in the process, as although delay times are quite long right now, it does seem a tad longer than usual.
@John OGroat (GB1) If you haven't received an automated response, please check your spam folder. If that doesn't result in anything, try with another email address, and let me know if there's no resolution. I'll gladly try and help you fix the problem
Best regards,
Steve.
[4419884]
Fire Devil (GB1) [None]
:: May 17, 2016, 2:39 p.m.
Steve, it isn't a little longer mate, @Genghis (IN1) has been waiting about a month and a half for a response. It is shocking you're telling him that it seems a tad longer. You should be just stating the facts "delay times are quite long right now." Saying a little longer is just blatant lying.
[4422611]
CM Arcanine [None]
:: May 19, 2016, 8:43 a.m.
@Fire Devil (GB1) Not really, chief. Although a month and a half is a long time, with the current ticket queues, it's not really far fetched to imagine this to be a standard wait time.
I know it's not ideal, but we're working within our means, and the team are doing their best to get back to everyone as soon as they can.
Regards,
Steve.
I know it's not ideal, but we're working within our means, and the team are doing their best to get back to everyone as soon as they can.
Regards,
Steve.
[4422626]
gazz65 (GB1) [GB1]
:: May 19, 2016, 9:28 a.m.
maybe GGs should work weekends and get more tickets done.
most of the world works weekends now.
most of the world works weekends now.