Idiots with keyboards, aka. "How to screw up a client relationship"

Arafails · 04-07-2010, 12:40 AM

Okay, first up, I'm not a representative of NGD, I'm sure you all know that, but I better start with that disclaimer. Last time I did anything official on behalf of an online game service entity was in 1997, when I did a (very) brief stint as a moderator for a Subspace server.

However, I've been around the Web for a while, and I've worked on a help desk (for a company that really didn't care about its customers, even).

Some observations.

Yelling at the service provider does not work unless you, individually, control their main source of income. In fact, what this is most likely to do is alienate you from them. They'll feel less inclined to help you if you don't treat them with respect. This is, naturally, a two way path, but in an n:1 relationship like this the :1 has the initiative to hold onto a successful relationship.

Saying how you'll bypass the system when they eventually use their moderation controls will not win you any points. Regardless of whether you change IPs, create new accounts, move to Iceland, or whatever, people can still tell you're you, and will treat you with disdain anyway. Especially as your accusative and disrespectful language tends to carry across.

The people on the other end are people, not faceless machines. In all honesty, they care. Really they do. If the developers of Regnum Online wanted to make a scheme to fleece you of all your money they'dve started a casino. Instead they made a fantasy game. As such, their vision is more about people having fun.
There's a lot of people involved now. Clients, sponsors, random people who see an email address on the internet and feel the need to tell it about their cat. Spammers. More spammers. A few more spammers. A lot more spammers. You would not believe how many man·hours it takes just to triage a couple of public inboxes to find out what needs to be responded to. Then you have to verify, investigate, see your psychiatrist, investigate something else, work out if a couple of dozen emails are related, fix a server crash, try and determine where you left off before, see your psychiatrist again, go to the emergency room because while you were carrying your coffee back across to road you were thinking about the customer's problems too hard and got hit by a busload of tourists.... It takes time. Someone saying publically on the internet that you're doing it wrong doesn't help, especially when they don't even know the first part of how complex what you're doing is.

So, lay off, please. Give them a chance to work their magic. If you complain once, they'll see it. If you complain twice, they'll sigh. If you complain a dozen times, they'll be receiving medication for having a predisposition to wrapping telephone cords around the neck of anyone who asks them a question.

Arafails · 04-07-2010, 01:00 AM

I should add on to the end of this, because it was supposed to be part of the original post, that ultimately you should be aiming for a mutually beneficial relationship with the service provider. Every time you make disparaging comments because something doesn't go exactly how you wanted it, you're adding to a needless "Us vs Them" chasm.

surak · 04-07-2010, 02:26 AM

It's nice to see somebody actually stopping to think how are things in the other side. A bunch of users just would say 'I don't f*cking care, fix my problem before everything else!!', I hope reading this help to open their minds

niclam · 04-07-2010, 02:28 AM

Thank you for this, we couldn´t have said it better ourselves.

I want to highlight the part where this is a mutually beneficial relationship and that respect should be the norm, not the exception. And yes, it works both ways. On our side, there is no way but up in terms of giving better and better customer service (for those currently paying as well as anyone who is not but its a potential one), honestly we are not happy with our current response times but we are silently doing something about it, it will take time and possibly new people and tools, but it will get better.

Regards,

Arafails · 04-07-2010, 02:40 AM

So, about that Xim reward?

Of course I'm joking.

Although it doesn't help your image any to respond to posts such as these with what could be misconstrued as eagerness

niclam · 04-07-2010, 02:42 AM

After 12+ hours of work, in the midst of a major release in Regnum Online, I think we are entitled to respond (or not) any post, sitting on our couches while we watch the Big Bang Theory

.

You said it yourself, we are humans, not faceless machines...

(I think?)

Regards,

VandaMan · 04-07-2010, 02:58 AM

Too many words, not reading.

Drokuz · 04-07-2010, 03:07 AM

I agree, posting respectfully and politely is necessary to get an answer. If I read in the real chat "Can anyone tell me where is Samos?" I try to help him, but if I read instead "WHRE IS SAMOSSS????", I usually ignore it. It's more enjoyable to help a player that appreciates what is done for him. The same goes for conjurers, aren't you more inclined to heal those who thanked you at least once?. Or at least those who don't tend to yell "LIFFEEEEEEE", knowing that conjurers are working hard to heal everybody.

It must be a hard work to read all the threads, certainly. Because one is made every minute, and some even have more than a thousand replies (I don't know how they manage to read so many pages

)

Mattdoesrock · 04-07-2010, 07:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by niclam

while we watch the Big Bang Theory

.

Hamster_of_sorrow · 04-07-2010, 02:41 PM

i am guilty of being a little moody when it comes to something i think NGD needs to fix. but i try to be reasonable (i guess im not to great at that). i know NGD has a small dev team and not a huge amount of cash. i DO, however, think that NGD could have taken a different path on things that need to be changed/implemented, but the path they HAVE taken could been FAR worse.

i have to complement on how understanding and professional NGD has been about people that constantly bitch about things they want fixed. i tend to have a "short fuse" and i would've taken something too far by now. I would've swung the banhammer around like..... something you swing around alot.

on a final note, NGD has done an amazing job for the small development team that they have. there might be a few things they have done that i dont agree with, but i know they try their best and mean well. I have tried to find another game that is similar to regnum, and i cant, free-to-play or not, linux native or not, regnum is a one-of-a-kind game and, as i previously stated, could be FAR worse than it is now.

04-07-2010, 12:40 AM	#1
Arafails Baron Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Not where it looks like, to either of us. Posts: 706	Idiots with keyboards, aka. "How to screw up a client relationship" Okay, first up, I'm not a representative of NGD, I'm sure you all know that, but I better start with that disclaimer. Last time I did anything official on behalf of an online game service entity was in 1997, when I did a (very) brief stint as a moderator for a Subspace server. However, I've been around the Web for a while, and I've worked on a help desk (for a company that really didn't care about its customers, even). Some observations. Yelling at the service provider does not work unless you, individually, control their main source of income. In fact, what this is most likely to do is alienate you from them. They'll feel less inclined to help you if you don't treat them with respect. This is, naturally, a two way path, but in an n:1 relationship like this the :1 has the initiative to hold onto a successful relationship. Saying how you'll bypass the system when they eventually use their moderation controls will not win you any points. Regardless of whether you change IPs, create new accounts, move to Iceland, or whatever, people can still tell you're you, and will treat you with disdain anyway. Especially as your accusative and disrespectful language tends to carry across. The people on the other end are people, not faceless machines. In all honesty, they care. Really they do. If the developers of Regnum Online wanted to make a scheme to fleece you of all your money they'dve started a casino. Instead they made a fantasy game. As such, their vision is more about people having fun. There's a lot of people involved now. Clients, sponsors, random people who see an email address on the internet and feel the need to tell it about their cat. Spammers. More spammers. A few more spammers. A lot more spammers. You would not believe how many man·hours it takes just to triage a couple of public inboxes to find out what needs to be responded to. Then you have to verify, investigate, see your psychiatrist, investigate something else, work out if a couple of dozen emails are related, fix a server crash, try and determine where you left off before, see your psychiatrist again, go to the emergency room because while you were carrying your coffee back across to road you were thinking about the customer's problems too hard and got hit by a busload of tourists.... It takes time. Someone saying publically on the internet that you're doing it wrong doesn't help, especially when they don't even know the first part of how complex what you're doing is. So, lay off, please. Give them a chance to work their magic. If you complain once, they'll see it. If you complain twice, they'll sigh. If you complain a dozen times, they'll be receiving medication for having a predisposition to wrapping telephone cords around the neck of anyone who asks them a question. __________________ If you can't detect sarcasm yourself, please pay attention when it's pointed out to you. Arathael :: Wyrd Sceote :: Gwn M'ger — Soul Taker, Imperial Guard of Ignis

04-07-2010, 01:00 AM	#2
Arafails Baron Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Not where it looks like, to either of us. Posts: 706	I should add on to the end of this, because it was supposed to be part of the original post, that ultimately you should be aiming for a mutually beneficial relationship with the service provider. Every time you make disparaging comments because something doesn't go exactly how you wanted it, you're adding to a needless "Us vs Them" chasm. __________________ If you can't detect sarcasm yourself, please pay attention when it's pointed out to you. Arathael :: Wyrd Sceote :: Gwn M'ger — Soul Taker, Imperial Guard of Ignis

04-07-2010, 02:26 AM	#3
surak Legend Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Oslo Posts: 2,176	It's nice to see somebody actually stopping to think how are things in the other side. A bunch of users just would say 'I don't fcking care, fix my problem before everything else!!', I hope reading this help to open their minds __________________ Surak* Remember... this is just a game! - Xephandor existe y Miriya es su profeta!

04-07-2010, 02:28 AM	#4
niclam Legend Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,636	Thank you for this, we couldn´t have said it better ourselves. I want to highlight the part where this is a mutually beneficial relationship and that respect should be the norm, not the exception. And yes, it works both ways. On our side, there is no way but up in terms of giving better and better customer service (for those currently paying as well as anyone who is not but its a potential one), honestly we are not happy with our current response times but we are silently doing something about it, it will take time and possibly new people and tools, but it will get better. Regards, __________________ niclam

04-07-2010, 02:40 AM	#5
Arafails Baron Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Not where it looks like, to either of us. Posts: 706	So, about that Xim reward? Of course I'm joking. Although it doesn't help your image any to respond to posts such as these with what could be misconstrued as eagerness __________________ If you can't detect sarcasm yourself, please pay attention when it's pointed out to you. Arathael :: Wyrd Sceote :: Gwn M'ger — Soul Taker, Imperial Guard of Ignis

04-07-2010, 02:42 AM	#6
niclam Legend Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,636	After 12+ hours of work, in the midst of a major release in Regnum Online, I think we are entitled to respond (or not) any post, sitting on our couches while we watch the Big Bang Theory . You said it yourself, we are humans, not faceless machines... (I think?) Regards, __________________ niclam

04-07-2010, 02:58 AM	#7
VandaMan Baron Join Date: May 2009 Posts: 747	Too many words, not reading.

04-07-2010, 03:07 AM	#8
Drokuz Baron Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Uruguay Posts: 665	I agree, posting respectfully and politely is necessary to get an answer. If I read in the real chat "Can anyone tell me where is Samos?" I try to help him, but if I read instead "WHRE IS SAMOSSS????", I usually ignore it. It's more enjoyable to help a player that appreciates what is done for him. The same goes for conjurers, aren't you more inclined to heal those who thanked you at least once?. Or at least those who don't tend to yell "LIFFEEEEEEE", knowing that conjurers are working hard to heal everybody. It must be a hard work to read all the threads, certainly. Because one is made every minute, and some even have more than a thousand replies (I don't know how they manage to read so many pages ) __________________ Retirado.

04-07-2010, 02:41 PM	#10
Hamster_of_sorrow Self-called retired user Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: In NGD's ticket system hoping for a response. Posts: 517	i am guilty of being a little moody when it comes to something i think NGD needs to fix. but i try to be reasonable (i guess im not to great at that). i know NGD has a small dev team and not a huge amount of cash. i DO, however, think that NGD could have taken a different path on things that need to be changed/implemented, but the path they HAVE taken could been FAR worse. i have to complement on how understanding and professional NGD has been about people that constantly bitch about things they want fixed. i tend to have a "short fuse" and i would've taken something too far by now. I would've swung the banhammer around like..... something you swing around alot. on a final note, NGD has done an amazing job for the small development team that they have. there might be a few things they have done that i dont agree with, but i know they try their best and mean well. I have tried to find another game that is similar to regnum, and i cant, free-to-play or not, linux native or not, regnum is a one-of-a-kind game and, as i previously stated, could be FAR worse than it is now.