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Quoted from another forum, but extremely helpful. PASS THIS ON EVERYWHERE YOU CAN (LS site, your LJ, anywhere).
I sent a nice "little" letter myself. Do us all favor and get typing. =)
Originally posted by rahskala
(Another damn GM-related thread. If this is too long to read, skip to the bottom for a nice pretty picture with a summary)
Okay, so many recent events have indicated that GMs can't/won't do a damn thing about gilsellers, and here's why. I've worked in customer care before, so I think I have a pretty good understanding of how things are done.
SE outsources their customer support to another agency. This agency probably has several clients, of which SE is only one. This agency gets paid a lot of money to handle SE's in-game and out-of-game problems. Quite a lot of money. They want to keep SE happy any way they can, so that SE doesn't terminate the service contract and find some other agency to do the work for them.
Now, the problem is, most of the avenues players have been using to send feedback go through this agency. I'm talking about GM calls, the PlayOnline phone support, e-mail support, etc. The people on the "front lines" (GMs, CSRs) are probably $10/hr flunkies who can't do anything other than follow a strict procedure when it comes to handling complaints - Namely, they forward it to their superiors and close the ticket. Their superiors look at the complaint and then ignore it.
The reason gilsellers aren't being banned is because of bureaucracy. This agency most likely doesn't have the authorization to ban one of SE's paying customers without SE's explicit permission, so even if a player gets a hundred reports, it still has to filter through the proper channels until it reaches one of SE's executives, who finally makes the go/no-go decision to make the ban.
The support agency, again, is primary concerned with keeping the client happy. The agents (GMs, TSRs) are paid to keep the client happy, and all of the procedures they follow were designed to keep the client happy. Keeping customers happy? Well, that'd be nice, but the customers aren't the ones paying their salaries. SE pays their salaries, and they need to make it look like they're doing a good job. It's all about statistics: Average handle times, average hold times, average incidents-resolved-per-hour, all have to be kept down.
We need to tell Square-Enix what we think of their customer support, not the customer support people themselves. Money talks, and if Square hears that the agency they've hired to do the job isn't doing a good job, I can most positively assure you that the boot will come down and things will change.
There's always an avenue of feedback that goes directly to the parent company instead of through the customer support agency, so I decided to find it.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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You have been connected to FFXI TSR Carl.
FFXI TSR Carl: Hello, $NAME, thank you for contacting the PlayOnline Information Center. Just a few moments while I review your question, please.
(I ask him to reset my password as a pretense for the questions to come)
Me: thanks.
Me: just out of curiosity, are you folks in the same offices as the FFXI GMs?
FFXI TSR Carl: Same building, different department and floor.
Me: ah... you've never met GM Gludd, have you?
Me: actually, since he's in another department, you probably haven't... forget about that.
I do have one other question, though..
Me: I understand that Square passes their customer service work for FFXI along to another company. I've done customer support work before, so I know what kind of environment that can be...
Me: There's always pressure to keep handle times down and get more issues marked as resolved, even if they aren't actually resolved...
Me: So my question is, are you aware of any avenues that an end user could communicate with Square itself and let them know what they think of the work their customer support people (GMs) are doing?
Me: A lot of people in the FFXI community feel that in-game GMs aren't really getting things done because the agency doing the work is only trying to please Square, not the end user
FFXI TSR Carl: At anytime, feed back can be submitted directly ro SE Japan about anything POL, TM or FFXI related. Simply go to Service and Support, Support, Email, Comments and Suggestions from your POL viewer.
Me: Thanks. Feedback sent there goes directly to SE?
FFXI TSR Carl: It does and they do read it, you most likely won't get an actual reply back.
Me: Yeah, I understand that, I know how it is with that sort of feedback. Thanks a lot for the pointer.
FFXI TSR Carl: The character restores, World Migration and the Return Home campaign were a result of a demand in regards to such individual scenario.
Me: Like I said, I've done customer care work in the past, so I know what kind of environment and what kind of pressures you folks there work under
FFXI TSR Carl: Is there anything else I can help you with right now?
Me: Nope, that's it... thanks again.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In summary, for the people who didn't want to bother reading any of this:
That button is a direct line to Square-Enix Japan that bypasses the GM and Customer "Service" agency. Go tell Square-Enix what you think about the fantastic job they're doing.
Post links to this thread elsewhere in the community, and hopefully we can get more people informed about this.
Okay, so many recent events have indicated that GMs can't/won't do a damn thing about gilsellers, and here's why. I've worked in customer care before, so I think I have a pretty good understanding of how things are done.
SE outsources their customer support to another agency. This agency probably has several clients, of which SE is only one. This agency gets paid a lot of money to handle SE's in-game and out-of-game problems. Quite a lot of money. They want to keep SE happy any way they can, so that SE doesn't terminate the service contract and find some other agency to do the work for them.
Now, the problem is, most of the avenues players have been using to send feedback go through this agency. I'm talking about GM calls, the PlayOnline phone support, e-mail support, etc. The people on the "front lines" (GMs, CSRs) are probably $10/hr flunkies who can't do anything other than follow a strict procedure when it comes to handling complaints - Namely, they forward it to their superiors and close the ticket. Their superiors look at the complaint and then ignore it.
The reason gilsellers aren't being banned is because of bureaucracy. This agency most likely doesn't have the authorization to ban one of SE's paying customers without SE's explicit permission, so even if a player gets a hundred reports, it still has to filter through the proper channels until it reaches one of SE's executives, who finally makes the go/no-go decision to make the ban.
The support agency, again, is primary concerned with keeping the client happy. The agents (GMs, TSRs) are paid to keep the client happy, and all of the procedures they follow were designed to keep the client happy. Keeping customers happy? Well, that'd be nice, but the customers aren't the ones paying their salaries. SE pays their salaries, and they need to make it look like they're doing a good job. It's all about statistics: Average handle times, average hold times, average incidents-resolved-per-hour, all have to be kept down.
We need to tell Square-Enix what we think of their customer support, not the customer support people themselves. Money talks, and if Square hears that the agency they've hired to do the job isn't doing a good job, I can most positively assure you that the boot will come down and things will change.
There's always an avenue of feedback that goes directly to the parent company instead of through the customer support agency, so I decided to find it.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Thank you for contacting the PlayOnline Information Center. Please wait while you are connected to the next available agent. You will be notified once you are connected to an agent.
All agents are currently busy. Please stand by.
An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience.
The next available Agent will be with you in a moment.
All agents are currently busy. Please stand by.
An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience.
The next available Agent will be with you in a moment.
All agents are currently busy. Please stand by.
Currently experiencing network delays, one moment please....
An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience.
Network connection re-established.
The next available Agent will be with you in a moment.
All agents are currently busy. Please stand by.
An agent will be with you in a moment. Thank you for your patience.
The next available Agent will be with you in a moment.
All agents are currently busy. Please stand by.
You have been connected to FFXI TSR Carl.
FFXI TSR Carl: Hello, $NAME, thank you for contacting the PlayOnline Information Center. Just a few moments while I review your question, please.
(I ask him to reset my password as a pretense for the questions to come)
Me: thanks.
Me: just out of curiosity, are you folks in the same offices as the FFXI GMs?
FFXI TSR Carl: Same building, different department and floor.
Me: ah... you've never met GM Gludd, have you?
Me: actually, since he's in another department, you probably haven't... forget about that.
I do have one other question, though..Me: I understand that Square passes their customer service work for FFXI along to another company. I've done customer support work before, so I know what kind of environment that can be...
Me: There's always pressure to keep handle times down and get more issues marked as resolved, even if they aren't actually resolved...
Me: So my question is, are you aware of any avenues that an end user could communicate with Square itself and let them know what they think of the work their customer support people (GMs) are doing?
Me: A lot of people in the FFXI community feel that in-game GMs aren't really getting things done because the agency doing the work is only trying to please Square, not the end user
FFXI TSR Carl: At anytime, feed back can be submitted directly ro SE Japan about anything POL, TM or FFXI related. Simply go to Service and Support, Support, Email, Comments and Suggestions from your POL viewer.
Me: Thanks. Feedback sent there goes directly to SE?
FFXI TSR Carl: It does and they do read it, you most likely won't get an actual reply back.
Me: Yeah, I understand that, I know how it is with that sort of feedback. Thanks a lot for the pointer.
FFXI TSR Carl: The character restores, World Migration and the Return Home campaign were a result of a demand in regards to such individual scenario.
Me: Like I said, I've done customer care work in the past, so I know what kind of environment and what kind of pressures you folks there work under
FFXI TSR Carl: Is there anything else I can help you with right now?
Me: Nope, that's it... thanks again.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
In summary, for the people who didn't want to bother reading any of this:
That button is a direct line to Square-Enix Japan that bypasses the GM and Customer "Service" agency. Go tell Square-Enix what you think about the fantastic job they're doing.
Post links to this thread elsewhere in the community, and hopefully we can get more people informed about this.
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