Chronicles of a botched support incident - Crown Store Re-gift

Diminish · June 2022

I wanted to share my experience with everyone because it blows my mind the level of incompetence displayed. Over 2 weeks ago, I gifted a crown store item to someone, and mistakenly misspelled their @name which is a surprisingly easy mistake to make. It was a simple mistake due to not being able to distinguish between some letters depending on their letter case. After contacting support almost directly after sending the gift and noticing the error I was told there was nothing that could be done, and I had to wait the 14 days to see if it was accepted by the unintended recipient or not. To directly quote them -

"Unfortunately, we are not able to cancel gifts players sent. That being said, once the collectors pack is returned after 14 days you will then be able to re gift it to the correct player. If the gift ends up being accepted by the other player, you can reach back out to us here and we will be happy to take a closer look for you."

My first thought is that this is a terrible design. If a gifted item has not been accepted by the recipient, you should have an option to cancel the gift at any time. My next thought was how does support NOT have the ability to intervene in situations like this? Seriously, wait 2 weeks, and hope it is a dormant account you sent it to so they don't accept it? Either way, I brushed it off, and just waited the 14 days expecting some sort of option to re-gift the item when the expiration timer elapsed. Of course, that was too logical of a process, and I must have forgot this was a Zenimax game I was playing. Now the gift just sits there, unaccepted with a 0:00 expiration timer attached to it. No option to re-gift it, no option to do anything with. The crown store item bought with real money is sitting somewhere in Narnia. So I decided to contact support again -

"Waited the 14 days, the expiration counter is at 0:00, and there is no option to regift. What now?"

Let's examine their response...

"Greetings!

Thank you for contacting the Elder Scrolls Online Team!

Customer Support is unable to return mail or gifted Crown Store items sent to the wrong character. Once an item has been mailed to another player, that item is now in their possession. It cannot be taken from them, even if it was sent by mistake.
For gifts the recipient must accept the gift within 14 days to receive the item, but if they decline or fail to accept the item in time, it is simply returned to its original purchaser. Note that the purchaser in this case is unable to make use of any returned gifts themselves, but can resend it to the original or a different recipient

We suggest that you contact this player to see if they are able to return the mail to you. If the player does not open the mail and take the item, the item will be returned to you after it expires in 30 days. When a COD mail is sent, the recipient has three days to accept the mail. After this time, the mail and item(s) is automatically returned.

Thank you for your continued interest and support!"

As you can see, they told me the same thing they told me over 2 weeks prior, which clearly did not address my question what-so-ever. So I replied -

"For gifts the recipient must accept the gift within 14 days to receive the item, but if they decline or fail to accept the item in time, it is simply returned to its original purchaser. Note that the purchaser in this case is unable to make use of any returned gifts themselves, but can resend it to the original or a different recipient"

Did you guys even read my question? I have already contacted you previously regarding this, and was told I had to wait the 14 days. I have waited that time frame, and in my most recent ticket, I mentioned the expiration timer for the gift to be accepted is at 0h 00m, and there is NO OPTION TO RE-GIFT THE ITEM. So, again, I ask.... HOW DO I RE-GIFT THIS TO SOMEONE??? As it is currently, there is no option, and all I can do is look at an item that I gifted to the WRONG username that has NOT been accepted and the acceptance timer IS AT 0:00. Why make it so difficult for paying customers to just do simple actions with things that were purchased? One should not need to jump through hoops to get access to something they had paid for over 2 weeks ago just to be able to re-gift it to the proper person.

So, please reply with an actual helpful response that explains the process that I must now do in order to gift the crown store item I linked in my original ticket.

Let's take a look at their intelligent response. 3rd time is a charm, right?

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online Team. My name is Jonathan and I will be investigating your issue.

Thank you for reaching out to us, unfortunately as we had previously mentioned Customer Support is unable to return mail or gifted Crown Store items sent to the wrong character. Once an item has been mailed to another player, that item is now in their possession. It cannot be taken from them, even if it was sent by mistake.

Thank you,
Jonathan
The Elder Scrolls Online Team

[snip] I am frustrated to the point I honestly could care less about the loss of the crown store item I purchased. I guarantee if the roll was reversed, and I was having an issue actually purchasing a crown store item this incident would have been solved day1. Anyone that has had to re-gift a crown store item care to chime in and share their experience with the process on actually how to do it would be great

[edited for bashing]

SimonThesis · June 2022

Customer support in general is pretty unhelpful. I once had an issue with the cyrodiil queue and they could not understand the difference between that and the dungeon group finder queue. Most of customer support does not seem to play the game unfortunately.

notyuu · June 2022

They are saying that they can't do anything about the item, [snip] i have had a sillimar issue in the past with some crates going uncollected for about a year, poked customer service, fernaggled up way up to a senior agent and they were able to both cancel the gift and refund the crowns, so mayhaps try aiming for that instead?

[edited for bashing]

Aislinna · June 2022

As I understand the process, there is a 14 day recipient acceptance period, and if the gift is not accepted, the 30 day return to sender process starts and then you should receive the give back and can re-gift it.

Diminish · June 2022

Aislinna wrote: »

As I understand the process, there is a 14 day recipient acceptance period, and if the gift is not accepted, the 30 day return to sender process starts and then you should receive the give back and can re-gift it.

So you wait 44 days to get access to something you paid for? Seems a bit extreme. Why even have the initial 14 day expiration on the acceptance of the item, and why cant support expedite this process, even if only after the initial 14 day gift acceptance period. This is not a well thought out design process. Finally, if this is in fact the process, why does there appear to be so much confusion about this process on customer supports' end? I am sure this is something that happens somewhat regularly.

Aislinna · June 2022

Diminish wrote: »

Aislinna wrote: »

As I understand the process, there is a 14 day recipient acceptance period, and if the gift is not accepted, the 30 day return to sender process starts and then you should receive the give back and can re-gift it.

So you wait 44 days to get access to something you paid for? Seems a bit extreme. Why even have the initial 14 day expiration on the acceptance of the item, and why cant support expedite this process, even if only after the initial 14 day gift acceptance period. This is not a well thought out design process. Finally, if this is in fact the process, why does there appear to be so much confusion about this process on customer supports' end? I am sure this is something that happens somewhat regularly.

Sorry, those are questions @ZOS would have to answer.

Diminish · June 2022

Update, days back and forth via email with customer support with no adequate response. 24 minutes after making this post -

Greetings!

Thank you for contacting The Elder Scrolls Online Team. My name is Zerina I will be looking into your account.

Hello I understand that you gifted the wrong person. I have removed the gift and restored your 2100 Crowns back to your account. You will see this the next time you log back in. You are welcome to send your gift to the correct person when you are ready.I hope that I have resolved your issue. Please enjoy the rest of your day.

Thank you,
Zerina
The Elder Scrolls Online Team

I don't know what kind of disconnect there is with support, but there clearly is one based on the mixed responses regarding this matter. ZOS needs more Zerina's working for them. 3 representatives prior to Zerina either simply did not want to help, could not comprehend the simple issue at hand, or just didn't care to assist with this and found it easier to just say that my request was not possible. With the exception of Zerina, customer service was severely lacking in this case. I can say without a doubt, I will not use the gift option in the future unless the process is improved. I'd rather waste my time in Shadowfen/Murkmire farming leads for 3 days than waste more time with something as simple of a request this should have been.

Jaimeh · June 2022

Diminish wrote: »

[snip] I am frustrated to the point I honestly could care less about the loss of the crown store item I purchased. I guarantee if the roll was reversed, and I was having an issue actually purchasing a crown store item this incident would have been solved day1. Anyone that has had to re-gift a crown store item care to chime in and share their experience with the process on actually how to do it would be great

[snip] unless you escalate it enough so that somebody will read through the whole email. This is the only thing you can do OP, keep the ticket open and try to have it resolved, it's your RL money you are talking about, and since these are digital goods, it's very odd that can't do anything about the gift. I hope at least that it won't get received so it can be returned to you and you can re-gift it to the right person.

[edited for misinformation]

Kurague · June 2022

They refunded a CD key for my collector's edition, so I lost the key and didn't get the money back. They obviously didn't take responsibility for it. The report was about missing items in my collector's btw, no one asked them for a refund.

Tandor · June 2022

Diminish wrote: »

Aislinna wrote: »

As I understand the process, there is a 14 day recipient acceptance period, and if the gift is not accepted, the 30 day return to sender process starts and then you should receive the give back and can re-gift it.

So you wait 44 days to get access to something you paid for? Seems a bit extreme. Why even have the initial 14 day expiration on the acceptance of the item, and why cant support expedite this process, even if only after the initial 14 day gift acceptance period. This is not a well thought out design process. Finally, if this is in fact the process, why does there appear to be so much confusion about this process on customer supports' end? I am sure this is something that happens somewhat regularly.

You're waiting to get something back that you made a mistake over. Your mistake, not theirs, and that should be reflected in the tone of your submissions to them rather than using phrases like "Did you guys even read my question?" All they've done is point out the procedure that is laid down in these situations, and which seem reasonable.

Gaebriel0410 · June 2022

So when you make a mistake in writing the name it's a simple and easy mistake, but when you don't get the immediate response you want, you question their intelligence? You're forgetting that there's people behind the screen on the other side.

That tone you use will never be helpful, and in many companies tickets worded like that go to the bottom of the pile. Being rude to people handling your tickets is just as bad an idea as it is to be rude to people handling your food.

[snip]

[edited for baiting]

spartaxoxo · June 2022

A slightly rude and testy tone should have stopped mattering in resolving the issue when the automated process that's supposed to happen didn't work. It's one thing not to go the extra mile when someone is being rude, and rely on the routine procedure. But, after those 14 days were up, OP should have been helped right away. He was rude, but it was not super abusive enough to warrant banning him. Therefore, it was also not rude enough to not resolve his issue.

Diminish · June 2022

I wouldn't exactly say I was rude in any of my responses. Frustrated, yes, but rightfully so. I asked simple questions, and got responses that in no way answered the question I had asked. It was not a tough question by any means, and they either didn't care to read the question, or used canned responses that most closely were related to what I was asking (but still didn't address the direct issue) in their replies.

In the end, they resolved the issue. However, it took 4 messages spanned across multiple days for it to come to conclusion. The process to cancel/regift an unclaimed crown store items should be an automated built-in feature. If not, and customer service needs to be involved then they really need to read people's messages better.

Diminish · June 2022

Gaebriel0410 wrote: »

So when you make a mistake in writing the name it's a simple and easy mistake, but when you don't get the immediate response you want, you question their intelligence? You're forgetting that there's people behind the screen on the other side.

That tone you use will never be helpful, and in many companies tickets worded like that go to the bottom of the pile. Being rude to people handling your tickets is just as bad an idea as it is to be rude to people handling your food.

[snip]

[edited for baiting]

Don't get an immediate response? I did get "immediate" responses... Just not to the question being asked. Here in lies the problem. I also wouldn't call it a mistake in typing the name when it is impossible to differentiate between "I" and "l" in-game.

Diminish · June 2022

Tandor wrote: »

You're waiting to get something back that you made a mistake over. Your mistake, not theirs, and that should be reflected in the tone of your submissions to them rather than using phrases like "Did you guys even read my question?" All they've done is point out the procedure that is laid down in these situations, and which seem reasonable.

Perhaps they should have read the question the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th time I had asked it. I wasn't asking how to regift the item or if it were even possible as that was answered in their first reply. I was asking what to do now that the 14 day acceptance timer was at 0:00 with no regift option after being told initially I had to wait for that to elapse. I even sent them screenshots in my replies. They still managed to answer my very first question, all with varying responses.

spartaxoxo · June 2022

It's very easy to be rude when your expressing frustration. It's something to keep in mind when formulating messages, as customer service agents are still people. Sometimes, it can be better to step away from the situation for a little before formulating a response. Regardless of all that, I definitely agree with you that this process should be changed in the future. It shouldn't be this difficult to get an item back from someone after it already expired, at least. It should automatically be sent back to the sender if the recipient doesn't claim it in time.

Diminish · June 2022

spartaxoxo wrote: »

It's very easy to be rude when your expressing frustration. It's something to keep in mind when formulating messages, as customer service agents are still people. Sometimes, it can be better to step away from the situation for a little before formulating a response. Regardless of all that, I definitely agree with you that this process should be changed in the future. It shouldn't be this difficult to get an item back from someone after it already expired, at least. It should automatically be sent back to the sender if the recipient doesn't claim it in time.

I'm still curious how any of my replies were rude? I reiterated my question with capital letters to emphasize the important parts, and asked them to please reply with an actual helpful response pertaining to the question at hand. If you think that is rude then I would hate to have a conversation with you.

spartaxoxo · June 2022

Diminish wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

It's very easy to be rude when your expressing frustration. It's something to keep in mind when formulating messages, as customer service agents are still people. Sometimes, it can be better to step away from the situation for a little before formulating a response. Regardless of all that, I definitely agree with you that this process should be changed in the future. It shouldn't be this difficult to get an item back from someone after it already expired, at least. It should automatically be sent back to the sender if the recipient doesn't claim it in time.

I'm still curious how any of my replies were rude? I reiterated my question with capital letters to emphasize the important parts, and asked them to please reply with an actual helpful response pertaining to the question at hand. If you think that is rude then I would hate to have a conversation with you.

You talked down to them like they were idiots (actually helpful, did you even read?) and the way you used caps-lock was a in a manner that is generally perceived as yelling. IMO.

jaws343 · June 2022

Diminish wrote: »

spartaxoxo wrote: »

It's very easy to be rude when your expressing frustration. It's something to keep in mind when formulating messages, as customer service agents are still people. Sometimes, it can be better to step away from the situation for a little before formulating a response. Regardless of all that, I definitely agree with you that this process should be changed in the future. It shouldn't be this difficult to get an item back from someone after it already expired, at least. It should automatically be sent back to the sender if the recipient doesn't claim it in time.

I'm still curious how any of my replies were rude? I reiterated my question with capital letters to emphasize the important parts, and asked them to please reply with an actual helpful response pertaining to the question at hand. If you think that is rude then I would hate to have a conversation with you.

The "Did you guys even read my question" lead off is not a good tone starter. I've definitely had some brash interactions with support in similar fashion.

I do think that it is likely that the Support who read this thread and remedied the situation is not the same as the support who handles a ticket. So while one group are not able to really do much in this situation, another group may have more power to override or make exceptions in situations. But, due to the likely high volume of tickets, there is probably no point in escalating something you are told you cannot change anyways.

A good example is, I worked as an Assistant manager at a pizza place. We had a general operational understanding we had to follow, but leeway in our approach to a point. But, if my boss were running a shift and someone raised a complaint, his approach to the situation may differ than mine, and if I were there, I would have to defer to him on the issue. If, however, his boss, the district manager showed up, and the same situation arose, he may approach it differently. And likewise if I were running the store on my own, I may approach the same situation differently than either of them.

The point being, when I ran the store on my own, I wasn't calling up my bosses to handle a situation, I was making a judgement based on what I had been instructed to do. And maybe they would make a different decision, but from my point of view, there was zero reason to escalate things because I already had an idea on how to handle the situation.