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Customer support and customer relations

Walden_Grimtine
WARNING: Flaming wall of text. Enter at your own risk.


I'm posting this in the customer support forum because it is about the customer support and customer relations provided for this game. It is not related to a specific technical or game support issue so if it get's closed or removed so be it.

It is my opinion that the manner in which Zenimax has responded to community requests for game fixes or at least information meaningful information related to game fixes has been abysmal. Simply responding to various posts and a known issues thread that "we are working hard to fix bugs" is not meaningful communication to the player base imo. These are platitudes. Some, myself included, are honestly concerned about the state of the game for what I believe are legitimate reasons. These issues have been discussed multiple times in multiple posts are should be well known by now so I will not raise them again here. I will say, that the number of legitimate problems with the game that players post about and report, some seriously detracting from the enjoyment of game play, is quite large.

The issue for me is that the serious lack of response to repeated requests for better communication leaves me lacking confidence in the Zenimax team. The general failure of providing satisfactorily informative responses to the player community regarding the state of the game leads me to believe either the Zenimax customer communications team is incapable of responding to the needs of a significant portion of the player base, or does not care. I am forced into these conclusions because you provide us no evidence, through a change in your communication with us, that you have or will ever respond to our request for better communication.

So, if the customer relations team will not respond, why should I have faith that any other team( bug fix, tech support, FORUM DESIGN) will respond with what is needed. You are the public face we see of the game, and the face you have shown me says you just don't get it.

When I read Firor's monthlyish state of the game blog/interview/post, or one of your responses simply stating we're working hard, I am left thinking that I have just been handed PR speak for a press clipping designed to keep my subscription, but not to address legitimate concerns. At this point I believe you have been disingenuous by not
communicating about the problems facing the game, and if that is true, why would I believe what you tell me about what is being done to address them.

You have a team who's specific role is to communicate with us. Why would it be so wrong to let us know why it is taking so long to address issues that are still here since launch, and even before? It seems quite obvious to me that there are some serious barriers getting in the way, but in the absence of some information about what that is, some portion of your player base is left drawing conclusions that you cannot fix the game. You could earn a great deal of loyalty from some of us who now find ourselves on the fence about continuing to play if you would just give is some quality of information.

This is just one players opinion, but unless I am way off base I think it is shared by others.
  • Shanna
    Shanna
    ✭✭✭
    I have the same impression. I read these forums, and then read the patch notes...and wonder which elite group of people they are listening to in regard to what they decide to fix, add, or improve.

    I started out with an affinity feeling for Zen, fueled by what I thought was our mutual appreciation of the TES series. Then, as the game went on, and I watched myself and others have problem after problem - combined with insufficient response from customer service - I started having a pretty strong feeling of dislike for the company. At this point, my irritation has almost turned into just a cluck of the tongue and a head shake. I think that's a sign of giving up on the idea that they are anything different from the basic business-minded companies that I also hold no regard for.

    I think they would have been better off going with the vulnerable approach. The way I see it, they present themselves as a top-notch, professional, on-the-ball organization. The evidence isn't currently supporting this image. I'd be more forgiving if they said things like "whoops!" and "we goofed!" and, most importantly, "We are very sorry that these problems are occurring. We are working hard to address these issues, and to provide you with the best gaming experience possible. Please be patient with us."
    Edited by Shanna on May 31, 2014 2:43PM
    This is all part of the game.
  • Quintal
    Quintal
    ✭✭✭
    When I read Firor's monthlyish state of the game blog/interview/post, or one of your responses simply stating we're working hard, I am left thinking that I have just been handed PR speak for a press clipping designed to keep my subscription, but not to address legitimate concerns. At this point I believe you have been disingenuous by not
    communicating about the problems facing the game, and if that is true, why would I believe what you tell me about what is being done to address them.

    You have a team who's specific role is to communicate with us. Why would it be so wrong to let us know why it is taking so long to address issues that are still here since launch, and even before? It seems quite obvious to me that there are some serious barriers getting in the way, but in the absence of some information about what that is, some portion of your player base is left drawing conclusions that you cannot fix the game. You could earn a great deal of loyalty from some of us who now find ourselves on the fence about continuing to play if you would just give is some quality of information.
    This

    Edited by Quintal on May 31, 2014 2:40PM
    ''Subscription fee means that we will offer players the game we set out to make, and the one that fans want to play. Going with any other model meant that we would have to make sacrifices and changes we weren't willing to make.''
    -Matt Firor
    Nick Konkle no longer part of ZOS
    Maria Aliprando no longer part of ZOS
    Paul Sage no longer part of ZOS
  • Arwyn
    Arwyn
    ✭✭✭
    Im currently looking at the Wildstar Launch, not going so well for them sadly but the sheer amount of communication from the devs and support team is massive! I dont think I would be wrong in saying there are already more posts from them telling people whats happening than there have ever been here.

    I actually feel important to them because of the effort obviously being put in to keep the community updated and I can honestly say if the same had been happening here I doubt I would be so unhappy with ESO right now.
  • Walden_Grimtine
    Arwyn wrote: »
    Im currently looking at the Wildstar Launch, not going so well for them sadly but the sheer amount of communication from the devs and support team is massive! I dont think I would be wrong in saying there are already more posts from them telling people whats happening than there have ever been here.

    I actually feel important to them because of the effort obviously being put in to keep the community updated and I can honestly say if the same had been happening here I doubt I would be so unhappy with ESO right now.


    Exactly. It's about communicating in an effective way to your customers that their concerns matter. It gives the customer a sense of confidence in the company providing the service.

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