The Customer is Always Right?

[Higherpower]

I wholeheartedly agree that each and every person who pre-ordered (with few exceptions) saw the statement "up to 5 days of early access". I do not disagree whatsoever, and anyone complaining about this fact can cease immediately. In the end, this comes down to the fact that some people are "getting ahead" in the game, and people are feeling left out. It sucks to be left out of things that you derive enjoyment from--no one disagrees with this. However, this is a fact of life. Sometimes you don't always get to participate right away--or at all--and it takes maturity to accept this. Within the next 7 days, all of us will be playing this game, and we will be having a great time.

 

My concern (as is many others) is the lack of communication with the majority of their playerbase as to when exactly this vague, but rather lengthy, timespan will play itself out. For example, how many times have you heard people complain when the local plumber or cable guy tells you that he will be out between the hours of 10 and 4? That is 6 hours that you have to wait around at your house *hoping* that he will show up towards the earlier side of this timeline. And that is only 6 hours of waiting for a single person! What happens when you tell supposedly 2 million people that they need to stare at their computer screens, iPhones, etc. for the next 7 days in anxious anticipation of something they cannot WAIT to get their hands on? You are going to get a lot of frustrated individuals, that is what.

 

I'm not in the Early Access as we speak, and in no way am I complaining that I am not. However, instead of arguing with the people who are on here because they care about playing this game that is being dangled right in front of their faces like a carrot on a stick, maybe try understanding.

 

I believe it was Marshall Field's store a while back who took on the mantra that the "customer is always right". While he did not mean this literally, the idea is that if the customers are upset about something, regardless if it is rational or correct, then perhaps there is a problem anyways. If the customers perceive a problem with a business's practice, then the simple matter of fact is that There Is.

[Higherpower]

Wish the forums weren't moving a million miles an hour..

[Entarri]

Great post OP. +1

[RokarooJack]

Sure, the customer is always right.

 

The signal that the customer is sending to Bioware is that they are doing a good job. Until and unless people pull their pre-orders, Bioware can only assume that people are happy with their product.

 

The only feedback that matters in a business transaction is whether or not money is exchanged. I'll bet that less than a half-percent of customers will cancel their pre-orders because of the way EGA is handled, so Bioware can only assume that the customer is satisfied with their product.

[xyzaaa]

A well thought out post in this sea of childish ranting. Kudos.

[-NovalGaraint-]

The problem is.......

 

While to YOU it might not matter........

 

 

To LOTS of us who paid our money to the respective retailer to be in as soon as possible...

 

 

A couple thousand / tens of thousands of people are out there right now leveling and gaining an advantage over those of us NOT in the game right now.....

 

Some of us are competitive players.......

 

 

For instance, almost everyone in my guild was pre-ordered within the first week of the game being available........

 

Yet we only have 1 person who got invited today....

 

 

Kind ****s any plans for going after server firsts if this trend keeps up.....

[Derity]

Great post.

 

And you're right, something is very wrong with the customers, I mean look at how many people are literally raging on this forum. How can BioWare possibly be so ignorant to this fact.

 

Something has to be done, I'm not exactly sure what. But something.

[choxor]

It's a dynamic rollout. There's no way to give a definite timeline. And if they gave ANY kind of timeline, regardless of how much they emphasized how vague or rough it is, the SECOND the rollout deviates from that timeline the QQ on these forums would cause a singularity and destroy humanity.

[BrimstoneAshe]

I wholeheartedly agree that each and every person who pre-ordered (with few exceptions) saw the statement "up to 5 days of early access". I do not disagree whatsoever, and anyone complaining about this fact can cease immediately. In the end, this comes down to the fact that some people are "getting ahead" in the game, and people are feeling left out. It sucks to be left out of things that you derive enjoyment from--no one disagrees with this. However, this is a fact of life. Sometimes you don't always get to participate right away--or at all--and it takes maturity to accept this. Within the next 7 days, all of us will be playing this game, and we will be having a great time.

 

My concern (as is many others) is the lack of communication with the majority of their playerbase as to when exactly this vague, but rather lengthy, timespan will play itself out. For example, how many times have you heard people complain when the local plumber or cable guy tells you that he will be out between the hours of 10 and 4? That is 6 hours that you have to wait around at your house *hoping* that he will show up towards the earlier side of this timeline. And that is only 6 hours of waiting for a single person! What happens when you tell supposedly 2 million people that they need to stare at their computer screens, iPhones, etc. for the next 7 days in anxious anticipation of something they cannot WAIT to get their hands on? You are going to get a lot of frustrated individuals, that is what.

 

I'm not in the Early Access as we speak, and in no way am I complaining that I am not. However, instead of arguing with the people who are on here because they care about playing this game that is being dangled right in front of their faces like a carrot on a stick, maybe try understanding.

 

I believe it was Marshall Field's store a while back who took on the mantra that the "customer is always right". While he did not mean this literally, the idea is that if the customers are upset about something, regardless if it is rational or correct, then perhaps there is a problem anyways. If the customers perceive a problem with a business's practice, then the simple matter of fact is that There Is.

 

The brick and mortar retail analogies to an online game are really getting old. They've been communicating. They've explained everything they could and then they've explained why they couldn't give you even more information. If you don't like their reasons, fine, but communication is a two-way street and the other side needs to listen. There is no lack of communication. There is just a severe lack of listening and comprehending.

[Higherpower]

Sure, the customer is always right.

 

The signal that the customer is sending to Bioware is that they are doing a good job. Until and unless people pull their pre-orders, Bioware can only assume that people are happy with their product.

 

The only feedback that matters in a business transaction is whether or not money is exchanged. I'll bet that less than a half-percent of customers will cancel their pre-orders because of the way EGA is handled, so Bioware can only assume that the customer is satisfied with their product.

 

I do agree with this wholeheartedly, and the forums are not the place to find coherent information with the exception of a few jewels if you are a Community Manager like Stephen Reid. However, there must be some responsibility to the consumer by the business that they care about not only the dollar that customer represents, but about that customer as a consumer and an individual. In fact, it would probably appear to be quite a great PR move if Stephen Reid came out right now and said "We apologize for the way we handled this rolling release and will have some type of estimate within the next hour of how long each month of preorders is expected to wait for their early access. " Not only would this fulfill the needs of some individuals on the forums currently, but it would appear (regardless of whether they do or not) that they have some concern over the time of their excited customers. It would be a win-win.

[Sikale]

I pre ordered the first day . I got my email early this morning. I went to work and when I got home I played. Im levle 14 now and going to bed.

 

Next time dont wait to pre order everyone excpet some people not in the USA has same chance. the min was 5-25 bucks . The game is awesome and Im glad I bought a CE . your time will come. The game launches the 20th.

[BigLuvins]

The customer is not always right, but deserves to be heard. So ppl will post their displeasure but that doesn't mean they are right.

 

Is a car company going to give me a discount if I fart in the car during my test drive and I don't like the smell?

Edited December 14, 2011 by BigLuvins

[Higherpower]

@NovalGaraint

 

I completely am on your side. I am very much a competitive gamer and I will be forever. I hate the fact that there are people who are going to beat me to the top, and that is the foundation of the entire problem that everyone is experiencing right now. Some people get to play, and others don't. And that is ticking a lot of avid gamers off. Trust me, I am on your side, and I am trying to get the argument to die down, in that I am trying to get the sides to see each other more clearly.

[choxor]

@NovalGaraint

 

I completely am on your side. I am very much a competitive gamer and I will be forever. I hate the fact that there are people who are going to beat me to the top, and that is the foundation of the entire problem that everyone is experiencing right now. Some people get to play, and others don't. And that is ticking a lot of avid gamers off. Trust me, I am on your side, and I am trying to get the argument to die down, in that I am trying to get the sides to see each other more clearly.

 

See, this is what I don't understand. If playing the the earliest possible moment was such a concern for you, why did you wait to preorder?

[Soulskar]

Don't agree with everything you said, but well written. I think they know this and were probably expecting the million whines, but imagine the magnitude if they told you exactly when you'll get in and for whatever reason it didn't pan out. No matter how much you beta/stress test something, a live environment is different ball game. So better to just quietly do things and not say a whole lot at this critical point or any damage would be a lot worse if expectations aren't met. Personally I am willing to give them benefit of the doubt that this is the best that can be done right now.

 

I suppose I could be wrong and it's a conspiracy to keep me out of the game. That makes me mad!!

[Endlesness]

It's a dynamic rollout. There's no way to give a definite timeline. And if they gave ANY kind of timeline, regardless of how much they emphasized how vague or rough it is, the SECOND the rollout deviates from that timeline the QQ on these forums would cause a singularity and destroy humanity.

 

Because this is going awesome and there is almost zero backlash on the forums.

[Sikale]

he didnt even reg until Oct .......

[Higherpower]

It's a dynamic rollout. There's no way to give a definite timeline. And if they gave ANY kind of timeline, regardless of how much they emphasized how vague or rough it is, the SECOND the rollout deviates from that timeline the QQ on these forums would cause a singularity and destroy humanity.

 

I understand your point, and I understand the point of each of the posts that the community managers, particularly Stephen Reid, have pointed out to us. It may be incredibly difficult, if not impossible for them to give an accurate timeline as to when people are going to be able to play the game they are so excited about.

 

However, this is an issue of perception. The customer perceives a problem, and they do not see a direct solution to their problems. Even if Stephen Reid came out and pulled out a rough estimate of the timeline, which I am absolutely sure he could do, it would quell the issue temporarily and perhaps save people who pre-ordered in November from checking the website every 5 minutes for the next 3 days.

 

If the Community Managers in this situation would even give an incorrect attempt, it would be an attempt nonetheless, and would go a lot further than the vague posts they have thrown at us throughout the day.

[Mandrath]

 

1. You preordered a game
   
2. The company, as a bonus for preordering, offered you an early start over the masses who buy after release
   
3. The company has always stated that you will have up to 5 days, not a guaranteed 5 days.
   
4. You'll still be getting early access, so the company has kept their word.
   
5. End of discussion
   

 

[BrimstoneAshe]

@NovalGaraint

 

I completely am on your side. I am very much a competitive gamer and I will be forever. I hate the fact that there are people who are going to beat me to the top, and that is the foundation of the entire problem that everyone is experiencing right now. Some people get to play, and others don't. And that is ticking a lot of avid gamers off. Trust me, I am on your side, and I am trying to get the argument to die down, in that I am trying to get the sides to see each other more clearly.

 

They've been up front for many months now on the staggered Early Access based on pre-orders. They said people would be getting up to 5 days early access. So they've been communicating. So if you're as competitive as you claim, if you didn't pre-order the day it came out, you had ALL the info available to let you know there would be people getting ahead of you months ago.

[Fungi]

Sure, the customer is always right.

 

The signal that the customer is sending to Bioware is that they are doing a good job. Until and unless people pull their pre-orders, Bioware can only assume that people are happy with their product.

 

The only feedback that matters in a business transaction is whether or not money is exchanged. I'll bet that less than a half-percent of customers will cancel their pre-orders because of the way EGA is handled, so Bioware can only assume that the customer is satisfied with their product.

 

This would be correct assuming the people at Bioware are illiterate or without access to the interwebs.

[-NovalGaraint-]

Why did I wait to Pre-Order!?!?!?!

 

 

BECAUSE WHILE YOU WERE SITTING AT GAMESTOP THUMBING MAGAZINE AND DOING WHATEVER YOU WANTED, I WAS IN THE THE MIDDLE OF A F$)(@#%$&*U)(ING DESERT FREEZING MY NUTS OFF EVERY NIGHT AND EATING DRIED NASTY SYNTHETIC SCRAMBLED EGGS EVERY MORNING FOR 2 WEEKS BEFORE I COULD EVEN GET BACK TO MY HOUSE AND FIND OUT ABOUT IT.....ITS CALLED 2 ON 1 OFF FIELD ROTATION, COME JOIN THE ARMY AND LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT IT

 

 

Not everyone is so privileged to either live with their parents still or have a nice cozy job where you never have to leave your creature comforts in your life.....

[choxor]

More fitting than "the customer is always right" would be "you can't please everyone all the time."

 

Floodgate launch that results in server crashes, lag, and ridiculous queues: "Well Bioware, you should have seen this coming! You knew how many pre orders there were!"

 

Systematic launch done two days ahead of schedule: "Well bioware, I love how you're screwing us by giving an unfair advantage to only a few players!"

 

And I'm sure a tentative wave schedule release would ultimately end with: "Bioware, you liars! You said I was going to get in today! I took off from work to play this! You've ruined my life!"

[Higherpower]

he didnt even reg until Oct .......

 

Good Lord. I am not complaining that I am not in the Early Access right now. I am saying that we are all excited to get into the game as soon as possible, and I am accepting the fact that I did not pre-order until late. However, to a majority of the people who may have pre-ordered earlier than I did, and to all for that matter, would it not be acceptable to even give a rough estimate as to when someone in November would get into Early Access versus someone who pre-ordered in September?

 

I simply cannot believe that they could not give even a 24-hour rough estimate in this situation, for the mere fact that half the people on these forums could give a rough estimate that could be semi-close to the actual date of access. There has been a communication breakdown leaving customers of Bioware staring at their computers all day, and will leave customers staring at their computers for the next seven days, that could be solved with a simple, rough estimate post. For goodness sakes, businesses get a heck of a lot further in profit when they have the goodwill of their customers. That is business 101.

[Shredding]

The brick and mortar retail analogies to an online game are really getting old. They've been communicating. They've explained everything they could and then they've explained why they couldn't give you even more information. If you don't like their reasons, fine, but communication is a two-way street and the other side needs to listen. There is no lack of communication. There is just a severe lack of listening and comprehending.

Dude they said the 15th forever and then ambushed the 13th.. thats why people are getting antsy.. that and the servers are all standard or light pop at a prime playing time on a release day.