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https://forums.elderscrollsonline.com/en/discussion/668861

300 ESO Customer Service Employees Let Go

  • reften
    reften
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    Poor Irish players
    Reften
    Bosmer (Wood Elf)
    Moonlight Crew (RIP), Misfitz (RIP), Victorem Guild

    VR16 NB, Stam build, Max all crafts.

    Azuras & Trueflame. Mostly PvP, No alts.

    Semi-retired till the lag is fixed.

    Love the Packers, Bourbon, and ESO...one of those will eventually kill me.
  • Galbrant
    Galbrant
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    That sucks.
  • Shogunami
    Shogunami
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    And people still think ESO is "doing well".

    Hardly any personell to handle petitions and support tickets as it is, as it seems almost no one is actually getting a real answer and only get automated messages, and then they let 300 customer service employees go.

    This is sad.
    Sad indeed.
    -
    "I think Orcs first turned a bear head into food because it looks amazing." -Orzorga.
  • rez0055
    rez0055
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    Wow, that's a lot...
    Characters
    - Only-Drinks-With-Templars: Lvl 50 Argonian Magica Templar
    - Bialozar: Lvl 50 Khajitt Stamina Nightblade
    - Rez the Bald Sorceror: Lvl 50 Dark Elf Magica Sorceror
    - Gerard Snow: Lvl 50 Dark Elf Magica Dragonknight
    - Dorothea Black: Lvl 50 Imperial Stamina Templar
    - Demon Cleaver: Lvl 50 Orc Stamina Warden
    - Lord of BØnes: Lvl 50 Breton Magica Necromancer


    PC/EU server. You'll find my characters hoping on and off on the plains of Cyrodil with the guild The Black.
  • Jura23
    Jura23
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    What were those 300 ppl doing I wonder.
    Georgion - Bosmer/Templar - PC/EU
  • Junkogen
    Junkogen
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    Right before Christmas? Damn, that's cold.
  • Sausage
    Sausage
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    Jura23 wrote: »
    What were those 300 ppl doing I wonder.

    Lets assume both consoles sold 500k copies, so 1 mill total, so 300 employees isnt that much to take care of all those.
  • terrordactyl1971
    terrordactyl1971
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    Sad, the game must be struggling
  • Jura23
    Jura23
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    Sad, the game must be struggling

    Or it's doing so well that ppl don't submit enough tickets to keep customer service occupied.
    Georgion - Bosmer/Templar - PC/EU
  • timidobserver
    timidobserver
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    Junkogen wrote: »
    Right before Christmas? Damn, that's cold.

    Yeh that is pretty rough. Maybe they are doing it to try to meet some kind of year end goal. That is the only reason I can think of to lay people off right before Christmas.

    Though, do the Irish even celebrate Christmas?
    Edited by timidobserver on December 18, 2015 2:50PM
    V16 Uriel Stormblessed EP Magicka Templar(main)
    V16 Derelict Vagabond EP Stamina DK
    V16 Redacted Ep Stam Sorc
    V16 Insolent EP Magicka Sorc(retired)
    V16 Jed I Nyte EP Stamina NB(retired)

  • Divinius
    Divinius
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    Jura23 wrote: »
    Sad, the game must be struggling

    Or it's doing so well that ppl don't submit enough tickets to keep customer service occupied.

    Something tells me that this is not the case.
  • starlizard70ub17_ESO
    starlizard70ub17_ESO
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    Make you wonder if they're getting ready to shut down EU for good and just concenstrate on US only.

    "The Galway business was originally announced in 2011 and built with the financial support of the Irish government’s investment." Or maybe the Irish gov money ran out and Zeni just bailed on them before having to start paying the business taxes over there.
    Edited by starlizard70ub17_ESO on December 18, 2015 2:56PM
    "We have found a cave, but I don't think there are warm fires and friendly faces inside."
  • AngryNord
    AngryNord
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    Junkogen wrote: »
    Right before Christmas? Damn, that's cold.

    Yeh that is pretty rough. Maybe they are doing it to try to meet some kind of year end goal. That is the only reason I can think of to lay people off right before Christmas.

    Though, do the Irish even celebrate Christmas?

    Considering Ireland is considered the most religious country in Europe, together with Poland, I'd wager to say: Yes, they do.
    Edited by AngryNord on December 18, 2015 2:57PM
  • Shogunami
    Shogunami
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    Divinius wrote: »
    Jura23 wrote: »
    Sad, the game must be struggling

    Or it's doing so well that ppl don't submit enough tickets to keep customer service occupied.

    Something tells me that this is not the case.

    This is most definitely not the case. As far as I know, since game was actually released, customer service has been fairly horrible according to most people. People barely getting any answers on their tickets, customer support themselves saying things like "we are badly understaffed right now/we have a *** of tickets and problems and we can't answer every ticket in person, so try this bla bla bla automated response".

    This is a sign that this game isn't doing that well. Which is hardly unexpected, sadly.

    However, I still have hopes for this game. But I somehow feel that I KNOW that this game won't get it's *** together. Below mediocre DLC with crappy content after below mediocre DLC with crappy content, and they expect us to pay for it?
    Yeah, good luck with that.

    Stop making DLCs and focus on real expansions instead. Stop being so uptight about policies and crappy rules, your paying customers are suffering for it. (Forum censorship, not getting customer service, not getting refunds after blatantly being cheated by ZOS, etc etc etc)
    -
    "I think Orcs first turned a bear head into food because it looks amazing." -Orzorga.
  • terrordactyl1971
    terrordactyl1971
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    Shame they didn't keep that $1million giveaway and use it for salaries to keep staff going.

  • Rylana
    Rylana
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    Merry Christmas

    =/
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  • zornyan
    zornyan
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    Shogunami wrote: »
    Divinius wrote: »
    Jura23 wrote: »
    Sad, the game must be struggling

    Or it's doing so well that ppl don't submit enough tickets to keep customer service occupied.

    Something tells me that this is not the case.

    This is most definitely not the case. As far as I know, since game was actually released, customer service has been fairly horrible according to most people. People barely getting any answers on their tickets, customer support themselves saying things like "we are badly understaffed right now/we have a *** of tickets and problems and we can't answer every ticket in person, so try this bla bla bla automated response".

    This is a sign that this game isn't doing that well. Which is hardly unexpected, sadly.

    However, I still have hopes for this game. But I somehow feel that I KNOW that this game won't get it's *** together. Below mediocre DLC with crappy content after below mediocre DLC with crappy content, and they expect us to pay for it?
    Yeah, good luck with that.

    Stop making DLCs and focus on real expansions instead. Stop being so uptight about policies and crappy rules, your paying customers are suffering for it. (Forum censorship, not getting customer service, not getting refunds after blatantly being cheated by ZOS, etc etc etc)

    How are people being cheated by zos?
  • Kahl_dur
    Kahl_dur
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    First and foremost, I'm sure we all feel badly for the 300 employees. As Junkogen said regarding the layoffs, right before Christmas is cold. No two ways about it. A total Mr. Potter move that I'm sure Molag Bal would be proud of.

    Obviously, we don't know the entire situation, or the reasons why ZOS made this business decision. My first instinct was that the game was in trouble somehow. A total "oh no!" punch to the gut feeling. That being said, this isn't the first time ESO staff has been let go, including customer service reps: http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/3/6103179/elder-scrolls-online-zenimax-online-studios-layoffs

    There very well may be sound business reasons for the layoffs that have nothing to do with the overall financial health/sustainability of the game.
  • terrordactyl1971
    terrordactyl1971
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    Next time someday says "I pay the subscription to support ZOS and the game", I will point them to this post as there isn't much evidence of ZOS supporting their own staff in return.
  • Saint314Louis1985
    Saint314Louis1985
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    Shame they didn't keep that $1million giveaway and use it for salaries to keep staff going.

    that 50k per year (or 1million after 20 years) would be enough to keep 1 employee. Maybe 2 at most. They arent even giving it away until next year. I would guess they are expecting the giveaway publicity to bring in more than 50k revenue next year.In big business, 50k is nothing.
    Edited by Saint314Louis1985 on December 18, 2015 3:08PM
  • zornyan
    zornyan
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    Lots of misinformation in this thread.

    First off it doesn't mean zenimax is doing badly, don't forget their linked/own Bethesda and other companies that all bring in millions of profit.

    It was probably an expense that wasn't needed, also just because they were custom service staff does not mean they are part of the same staff that reply to our tickets

    Also even huge companies that make millions will shut down staff and locations that aren't seen as necessary, my wife works as part of a major insurance company in the uk, they themselves are a very large company, and also own about 18 different small companies including most underwriters.

    Even though they made huge profits, enough for all staff in my wife's office to earn 1.5x their usual yearly Christmas bonus, they shut down one of their biggest offices up north, and another local office, some 900 staff let fo, and others offered to relocate to other branches.

  • Shogunami
    Shogunami
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    zornyan wrote: »
    Shogunami wrote: »
    Divinius wrote: »
    Jura23 wrote: »
    Sad, the game must be struggling

    Or it's doing so well that ppl don't submit enough tickets to keep customer service occupied.

    Something tells me that this is not the case.

    This is most definitely not the case. As far as I know, since game was actually released, customer service has been fairly horrible according to most people. People barely getting any answers on their tickets, customer support themselves saying things like "we are badly understaffed right now/we have a *** of tickets and problems and we can't answer every ticket in person, so try this bla bla bla automated response".

    This is a sign that this game isn't doing that well. Which is hardly unexpected, sadly.

    However, I still have hopes for this game. But I somehow feel that I KNOW that this game won't get it's *** together. Below mediocre DLC with crappy content after below mediocre DLC with crappy content, and they expect us to pay for it?
    Yeah, good luck with that.

    Stop making DLCs and focus on real expansions instead. Stop being so uptight about policies and crappy rules, your paying customers are suffering for it. (Forum censorship, not getting customer service, not getting refunds after blatantly being cheated by ZOS, etc etc etc)

    How are people being cheated by zos?

    People buying crowns and not getting crowns, back in the days of subscription people paying twice the money (bug) for one or more months and not getting refunds, people buying digital collector's edition on regular account page (EU) only to be told that the upgrade they bought is only valid on the US megaserver, while regular boxed collector's edition is both US and EU, as are all DLC's, but ZOS will offer no refunds. Just to mention a few :/

    Some of these might have been resolved as time has passed, but people are still getting screwed by ZOS.
    Edited by Shogunami on December 18, 2015 3:10PM
    -
    "I think Orcs first turned a bear head into food because it looks amazing." -Orzorga.
  • Erdmanski
    Erdmanski
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    Maybe they lost their jobs because they weren't doing them well. Everyone here complains about how bad the customer service is, so maybe this is actually an initiative by ZOS to improve customer service. Perhaps they are moving all customer service to a single location to improve efficiency and improve departmental communication.

    A layoff like this doesn't necessarily mean the game is struggling or they are struggling financially.
  • Rune_Relic
    Rune_Relic
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    We knew this months ago ???
    I am sure you can dig up the threads if you hunt for it.
    Anything that can be exploited will be exploited
  • Shogunami
    Shogunami
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    But then again, these layoffs might be totally unrelated to anything we know of.
    Although considering ZOS's already underwhelming customer support in all areas, it's hardly a good idea to layoff 300 employees. Unless they've already replaced them, that is.

    Still a cold thing to do, just before christmas.
    -
    "I think Orcs first turned a bear head into food because it looks amazing." -Orzorga.
  • zornyan
    zornyan
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    Shogunami wrote: »
    zornyan wrote: »
    Shogunami wrote: »
    Divinius wrote: »
    Jura23 wrote: »
    Sad, the game must be struggling

    Or it's doing so well that ppl don't submit enough tickets to keep customer service occupied.

    Something tells me that this is not the case.

    This is most definitely not the case. As far as I know, since game was actually released, customer service has been fairly horrible according to most people. People barely getting any answers on their tickets, customer support themselves saying things like "we are badly understaffed right now/we have a *** of tickets and problems and we can't answer every ticket in person, so try this bla bla bla automated response".

    This is a sign that this game isn't doing that well. Which is hardly unexpected, sadly.

    However, I still have hopes for this game. But I somehow feel that I KNOW that this game won't get it's *** together. Below mediocre DLC with crappy content after below mediocre DLC with crappy content, and they expect us to pay for it?
    Yeah, good luck with that.

    Stop making DLCs and focus on real expansions instead. Stop being so uptight about policies and crappy rules, your paying customers are suffering for it. (Forum censorship, not getting customer service, not getting refunds after blatantly being cheated by ZOS, etc etc etc)

    How are people being cheated by zos?

    People buying crowns and not getting crowns, back in the days of subscription people paying twice the money (bug) for one or more months and not getting refunds, people buying digital collector's edition on regular account page (EU) only to be told that the upgrade they bought is only valid on the US megaserver, while regular boxed collector's edition is both US and EU, as are all DLC's, but ZOS will offer no refunds. Just to mention a few :/

    Some of these might have been resolved as time has passed, but people are still getting screwed by ZOS.

    Well the upgrade on us or eu servers only is for anything bought via zos, that's pretty common knowledge and is stated in the T and C , which anyone should or can read before making a purchase.

    AFAIK all the threads that people wernt getting crowns were resolved, at least every thread I've ever seen.

    So how are they currently getting screwed?
  • driosketch
    driosketch
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    Is this story current? I'm pretty sure we heard about customer service employees at an Irish call center being laid off last year.
    Main: Drio Azul ~ DC, Redguard, Healer/Magicka Templar ~ NA-PC
    ●The Psijic Order●The Sidekick Order●Great House Hlaalu●Bal-Busters●
  • timidobserver
    timidobserver
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    Erdmanski wrote: »
    Maybe they lost their jobs because they weren't doing them well. Everyone here complains about how bad the customer service is, so maybe this is actually an initiative by ZOS to improve customer service. Perhaps they are moving all customer service to a single location to improve efficiency and improve departmental communication.

    A layoff like this doesn't necessarily mean the game is struggling or they are struggling financially.

    Normally I would agree, but a layoff before Christmas seems a bit desperate/abrupt. Just for the sake of PR, they would have waited until January/February if it were just improving efficiency. I have actually seen layoffs delayed for this reason.
    V16 Uriel Stormblessed EP Magicka Templar(main)
    V16 Derelict Vagabond EP Stamina DK
    V16 Redacted Ep Stam Sorc
    V16 Insolent EP Magicka Sorc(retired)
    V16 Jed I Nyte EP Stamina NB(retired)

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