Why does ZOS not ask for my feedback on why I cancelled my subscription?

crush83

epoling wrote: »

If this makes you feel disrespected I can't imagine how you react if the checker at the supermarket forgets to say "Have a nice day". People work themselves into a lather over way too much. I have enough bigger things in my life that a game company not giving me an exit survey isn't a big deal.

Feeling disrespected doesn't mean I've "worked myself into a lather" over it. It's possible to feel an emotion, and let it go in the same instant. I felt disrespected, and so I made a thread about how odd it was that they didn't seem to care about their departing customer's feedback. I'm certainly not slashing wrists, or foaming at the mouth in agony.

Also, being disrespected by an individual is completely different than being disrespected by a corporation that is trying to profit from consumers.

It's simple. If they want to continue getting money, they need to provide a quality product. If people are leaving, that means the quality of their product isn't up to par.

Slash8915

zshadez_ESO wrote: »

This is like a teen girl getting angry and telling her boyfriend she's leaving and then getting more upset that he doesn't try to stop her.

Lol, this is exactly what i was thinking when I read the OP.

Hyperventilate

I guess they figure people who cancel their subs will come here and whine rant about why they cancelled their subs.

Kinda like finding who the vegan is in the room -- don't worry, they'll tell you.

SirMosh

It is clear that this thread is full of people that have no professional experience in the business world. The fact that people are unsubscribing should be a serious deal to Zenimax, and it is a threat to the longterm existence of this game.

About 75% of the general population share a negative experience with friends and family members, only about 40% recommend a product or service they particularly like.

If this was a game that relied solely on box sales (digital and hardcopy), Zenimax would be almost in the clear. But their subscription based system relies on customers staying for the longterm.

Another thing is that first impressions cannot be undone. What has happened has happened, and I am starting to fear that Zenimax dropped the ball here.

The only reason I am taking my time to write all this is because I was one to support and follow ESO throghout development. I took part in the beta and I really want ESO to be a success.

At the moment though, it doesn't look good. Assigning workforce to develop endgame content (Craglorn), with the rest of the game in it's current state, is a bad strategic move. Once they fix many of the problems it will be too late, as many who leave will never come back.

Cepeza

Let's assume ZOS is kinda smart company interested in customer feedback like they actually did during beta, because their primary goal understandably was to offer a A++ title, so as usual customers satisfaction ensures $$ big time. With that idea, which is not too far fetched I think, I can understand OPs confusion about the absence of a one question survey. What did you make cancel that wonderfull $$ flow in our wallet? Because this is the only that really matters for a smart company.

[EDIT] The OP could be little less angry, but I kinda understand his feelings.

Terminus

Hyperventilate wrote: »

I guess they figure people who cancel their subs will come here and whine rant about why they cancelled their subs.

Well, I don't want people coming on here to rant and complain,
but if Zenimax isn't gathering feedback from them,
they have the right to come on the forums and complain.

How else will Zenimax get their feedback?
EVERYONE's feedback is important, regardless of how ignorantly it's stated.

Kyotee0071

Here is my opinion that another poster shared in a thread close to this very topic a day or two ago:

The Elder Scrolls series has a deep console following. This game is launching for Consoles.

True MMORPG's have not traditionally launched on consoles in the past, and they relied on their subscription base or online store (if FTP) for income.

The fact that this MMORPG has the console market to fall back on for sales and subscriptions - as well as more than likely not having this huge bot / hacking problem, They have no ideal just yet where they stand financially. This game could flop in the PC market, but still be a huge hit in the console world over multiple platforms.

Agobi

illogicbh wrote: »

Because most people that leave after the first 30 days of an epic and beautiful mmo are tools and they dont care about your opinion.

Yes I agree ,but what does any of this have to do with elder scrolls online??

Oh well,off to continue my search for that epic and beautiful mmo....wish someone would make it allready

otomodachi

Moroch wrote: »

Actually, I do owe you sort of an apology. I did in fact just renew then cancel my subscription and I was referring to the section which says "We are sorry you wish to cancel your subscription. If there is anything we can do blah blah please contact us at help.elder etc...". So I guess you are somewhat correct.
I'm willing to admit I was wrong. But I am not a troll, just made a mistake as there was something similar to asking for feedback.

EDIT: And can I just say LOL to the post above. Very funny

Hey, you know, I feel like you really deserve recognition for this post @Moroch‌ , thanks for being classy.

stefaan.de.wasch1b16_ESO

Must be that you still have hopes for this game, otherwise why would you care ? You'd just move on and be done with it

SirMosh

One was made 10 years ago, no matter what the haters say - something has yet to come to oust it from it's throne.

Agobi wrote: »

illogicbh wrote: »

Because most people that leave after the first 30 days of an epic and beautiful mmo are tools and they dont care about your opinion.

Yes I agree ,but what does any of this have to do with elder scrolls online??

Oh well,off to continue my search for that epic and beautiful mmo....wish someone would make it allready

Yankee

crush83 wrote: »

Feeling disrespected doesn't mean I've "worked myself into a lather" over it. It's possible to feel an emotion, and let it go in the same instant. I felt disrespected, and so I made a thread about how odd it was that they didn't seem to care about their departing customer's feedback. I'm certainly not slashing wrists, or foaming at the mouth in agony.

No disrespect intended, but before you edited you original post (with it's all caps title) extensively, it did appear to me that you might be lathered up and maybe even a little foamy. Perhaps not quite at the /wrists level though.

Of course, I could be wrong as text does not always translate emotions well.

Eris

I remember a developer for another MMO once saying that the subscriber population (the MMO was around 3-4 years old at the time) changed +/- hundreds and sometimes thousands a day. I wish I could remember who and which one, but can't. They expect people will cancel, they expect people will come back, and they expect new people will come along. That is just the nature of an MMO.

xxs0cksxx

SirMosh wrote: »

It is clear that this thread is full of people that have no professional experience in the business world. The fact that people are unsubscribing should be a serious deal to Zenimax, and it is a threat to the longterm existence of this game.

About 75% of the general population share a negative experience with friends and family members, only about 40% recommend a product or service they particularly like.

If this was a game that relied solely on box sales (digital and hardcopy), Zenimax would be almost in the clear. But their subscription based system relies on customers staying for the longterm.

Another thing is that first impressions cannot be undone. What has happened has happened, and I am starting to fear that Zenimax dropped the ball here.

The only reason I am taking my time to write all this is because I was one to support and follow ESO throghout development. I took part in the beta and I really want ESO to be a success.

At the moment though, it doesn't look good. Assigning workforce to develop endgame content (Craglorn), with the rest of the game in it's current state, is a bad strategic move. Once they fix many of the problems it will be too late, as many who leave will never come back.

I am very grateful that I got to see your contribution. Most of the other posts in here seem to come from people that have already frozen their brains to keep it fresh and unused for 80 years...
This is exactly what is happening. And ignoring it will make the game worse for the people playing it - not the ones that left the game already.
I totally agree - I want ESO to be successful also. But what hurts the game is all the people that are unable to think and insult the OP as "whiny girl".

I personally am very frustrated by the cheap business practices Zenimax shows here. They have enough personell to remove single posts in the german forum because there is words they do not like (yes ! that is done manually). But they simply can not get their act together.

And the post from OP clearly shows they just do not care.

crush83

Yankee wrote: »

No disrespect intended, but before you edited you original post (with it's all caps title) extensively, it did appear to me that you might be lathered up and maybe even a little foamy. Perhaps not quite at the /wrists level though.

Of course, I could be wrong as text does not always translate emotions well.

I didn't edit the title. The forum makes the title into all caps. I never type in all caps (well sometimes I'll write a single word in all caps for emphasis). My original post was worded a little more pointedly than I should've written it. That was a mistake on my part trying to elicit outrage, rather than presenting things objectively.

I do find it amusing how many people don't seem to understand what "whiny" means.

"Whyyyyy me, why me, this isn't fair. whhhhyyy." <--- whiny
"You're incompetent, slathering fools who never get anything right." <---melodramatic prick

Completely different things. I was being a melodramatic prick. I've scrubbed that from the post because it wasn't really fulfilling my intended purpose.

ScribeOfSalmacis

You are entirely right. Unbelievable that there actually are businesses that fail to map the leaving customers' opinions. Strange that Bethesda lets ZOS miss that.

codyyoungnub18_ESO

Back in college worked a temp job for a company that did feedback/consumer forms for other companies, single key words were searched for hot trends, never actually read them just, some guy making 10 bucks an hour to fill in data on sharepoint to produce spreadsheets much like a poll.

Based on email responses to actual ingame problems I would assume a lot of CS is outsourced, but yeah I guess they could put one up so in your mind your a special snowflake that matters I guess but reality is even the ones who do are probably looking for two words, and don't even read your half page just fyi.

Minack

zshadez_ESO wrote: »

This is like a teen girl getting angry and telling her boyfriend she's leaving and then getting more upset that he doesn't try to stop her.

Grow up. This is a business, not your fap fantasy.

crush83

codyyoungnub18_ESO wrote: »

Based on email responses to actual ingame problems I would assume a lot of CS is outsourced, but yeah I guess they could put one up so in your mind your a special snowflake that matters I guess but reality is even the ones who do are probably looking for two words, and don't even read your half page just fyi.

I'm pretty sure that everything you said is accurate. However, the keyword extraction is fine. They don't need to wade through all of the hate mail. All they need to know is what are the major reasons people are leaving. That's exactly what a survey of keywords would show.

And yes, Zenimax should be bending over backwards to make people feel like special little snowflakes because that is what is going to make Zenimax rake in the dough.

dobrt

This thread is the reason why most MMO's fail......

1. The immature pre-teen (and those who act like it);
2. The troll, trying to gain attention; and
3. Those who want the title to work properly (play and customer service), but are frustrated by other two groups.

Etchesketch

I asked this just a few days into the buggy beta for consoles process.

It's unusual to say the least.

I actually think it boils down to a group of super nerds that blatantly advertised how great they were and how great an experience everyone was going to have with this game and that they got caught completely by surprise.

They didn't have the experience with online gaming and didn't put the support personnel and features in place to accommodate the exodus. They have neglected basic customer service at many points.

I actually think they are just naïve and lack experience with having to deal with real people and neglected basic CSR protocol because it just never occurred to them that they would need it.

Hopefully and I have seen some improvement, they will learn. They are busy right now with ironing out the game for console release. After that, we might see more work on the community relation front.

LeCreaux

It's probably safe to say we've all left at least one MMO, probably the same one multiple times. Chances are we're not as vital to the game as we thought we were when we clicked that button. The game goes on without us and the folks who keep supporting the game financially get the attention, not the ones who don't and claim they won't.

crush83

LeCreaux wrote: »

It's probably safe to say we've all left at least one MMO, probably the same one multiple times. Chances are we're not as vital to the game as we thought we were when we clicked that button. The game goes on without us and the folks who keep supporting the game financially get the attention, not the ones who don't and claim they won't.

I've played multiple MMOs where the nature of the game has changed due to the public outcry on the forums, and the departure of players.

Sometimes it has a positive effect on the game.
Sometimes it has a negative effect on the game.

metaliquidorwb17_ESO

I perfectly get what op is trying to say and is truth, they did extensive beta surveys and at this point, like any legitimate company (every 9/10 subscriptions i cancel do the "why you leave?" question, just with marketing purposes) so i think they weren't prepared to offer decent CS at all and their assets are caped, leaving them no choice more than solving the immediate issues to be able later on to offer incentives for players to get back to tamriel.

Dunhilda

liquid_wolf wrote: »

They have more important things to worry about than "why you left" at this point.

That isn't a slap against you... just a simple statement that their time and energy is better spent elsewhere.

Shareholder : Mr Altman could we ask why had so many had removed their subscription? Seem we be losing on our money here, what did they say?

CEO: Hrm well you see we didn't think to ask them when they unsubbed...

Shareholder: So how are you going to fix their woes and try to get them back if you don't listen to their feedback? They're Cash cows and we want to milk them for their money, get some feedbac and prevent them from leaving!


You see learning a reason why someone left means you can fix the game and improve on it in hopes in getting them back, or preventing others from leaving for the same reasons.

Dodece

Honestly I found it somewhat refreshing that they didn't insult my intelligence by asking me to fill out a survey. In my experience the vast majority of surveys offered upon cancellations only serve to alienate the leaving consumer further. There is just too much temptation there for them not to give into. Instead of just garnering real feedback. What they end up doing instead is making one more sales pitch.

Not only is it disingenuous, but it makes the company in question sound like it is completely detached from reality. Neither of which impresses the consumer that is leaving, and honestly it usually ticks you off that much more. That they were either that insulting, they thought that little or you, or they were just that stupid.

I remember when I cancelled my Xbox Live Gold subscription on my 360. I was given the opportunity to fill out their out the door survey. After carefully reading the options they gave me, and realizing the point of the survey was to inform me that I had multiple payment options in regard to their service. I went from being disappointed by their service to feeling disgusted, and outright insulted by their underhanded stunt.

I would hate to have such a experience mar this game for me. Have I cancelled my subscription. Yes I have. Do I regret having played the game. No I do not in the least. I feel like I got my moneys worth. It cost me eighty bucks, but I got over eighty hours worth of play out of it. At a dollar per hour. I can, and have done worse. It was worth the chance.

I might even give the game, or the developer another chance somewhere down the line, but it has gotten tedious. I suppose I appreciate sandboxes more then I appreciate linear presentations. The game is feeling way too claustrophobic right now for my tastes. That said I do feel like there was an opportunity wasted here with this game. This is such a great sandbox franchise the online offering should have stayed truer to its roots.

crush83

Dodece wrote: »

...

I understand what you mean. I've run across a couple of those insulting exit surveys myself. I think SWTOR had one actually, now that I think about it.

I haven't cancelled my XBOX Live subscription yet, but I probably should.

Yeah, if ZOS made an exit survey like that, it would be worse than having no exit survey at all.

I think they should simply have a textbox where you can leave some feedback right before you click "Cancel Subscription". No last ditch sales pitches.

I agree with everything else you said as well.

ZOS_JoanaL

We understand and respect that sometimes people will leave The Elder Scrolls Online community. crush83, we thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us and we wish you the very best. We're closing this thread now per our Code of Conduct policy on quitting/goodbye threads.