SWTOR/EA/BW: You lost me!

What do you do when you're just a customer, helpless to a ban, money charged, horrible support, left wondering what just happened? When your treated as if you are not valued by the company you support? I hear it all the time, how players expect too much, how they expect companies to care, and they need to get over themselves. Today all I have to say is that, companies NEED to start valuing customers and providing the best support they can. Because if you don't... There are swarms of other companies that I can, and will, support instead of yours-- if you can't stand up to the plate. It is NOT acceptable anymore, and I'm not supporting these companies that can't get it together.

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The MMORPG genre is flooded with so many companies competing for my money, why should we put up with anything less than exceptional when it comes to supporting companies who value us as customers. Something I think a lot of gamers forget is that we are customers. Keeping your customers is called job security! I'm not a huge blogger, but I will share my experience today in hopes to get it out there this is not acceptable. I wouldn't keep using my cable or phone company if they treated me this way. I surely won't keep paying to a company for entertainment which blows me off, they need us, not the other way around. 

With that said. I've been banned accidentally before, gotten upset, but nothing to this degree. Today my SWTOR account was apparently banned. No email, nothing, just leaving me puzzled. I'm so angry at the way I was blown off, Ill just share a copy of my email to BW/EA/SWTOR. 


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Today I contacted your phone support about my account being banned. I had paid up and downloaded the game on the 18th, checked again last night to make sure everything was ready for today's update. Being able to login fine. Today upon logging in, I'm told the account isn't authorized to login. If an email was sent, it wasn't received. I'm at a loss of what's going on. I was glad to be able to call customer service to actually speak to someone to try to find out.

At this point you lost me as a customer, and I'm not even sure why I'm even bothering to outreach in this email other than to hope that this doesn't happen to your other customers. I'm not as angry about the ban as I am with the way your support handled my problem-- basically wanted me off the phone. I was an irritation, an inconvenience, no longer a customer.

I spoke to a supervisor named David, who kept telling me to check my email, which I explained that I didn't receive anything from your company. He spoke over me and kept telling me he couldn't help me, to the point of causing me to become irate, instead of trying to make a customer feel valued and heard. Even when i repeatedly asked who to contact he still was rude, causing me to become the irate customer.

In the end I asked David for an email or phone number for feedback, which he told me there was none. Which is clearly and completely bull, as I looked up this email on your website and here I am emailing you feedback. He was spiteful in his attempt to just get me of the phone. Nope, sorry we don't take feedback. You don't? He told me twice you do not take or value feedback.

I'm a gaming blogger, I know there is support to contact, I've been dealing with companies such as yours for well over a decade. The fact that I asked him twice who I could contact, and he told me nobody, is really something your company should worry about. This is not how you retain customers! I know your company is doing all it can do so in many ways, but maybe you need to look into your support.

What was ironic is the support email I received after the call, stating world class support, how your company values 'my' feedback. That's exactly the opposite of what I experienced. Maybe world class in blowing customers off.

In the end, my account was banned, without receiving an email or any way to find out why. My money taken. I was blown off as a customer. I was lied to by your support. You lost me, not just as a SWTOR customer, as a blogger, a fan, a supporter and enthusiast and lastly as a customer of all the games I supported.

If your support had acted as if I were a customer that was valued, not some randomly banned jerk, the outcome could have really been avoided. I've come to the point where this isn't acceptable anymore, I won't support a company with this level of support. But what's one customer, right?


Thanks for your time



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Dear *********,


Thanks for contacting Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Customer Service to report the issue you encountered.


Please contact the account disputes team, via email, at swtoraccountdisputes@bioware.com and state your case. They are the only ones that can lift the ban on your account.

http://www.swtor.com/support/helpcenter/1882


As always, at BioWare and EA, we strive to provide you with the world's best customer experience for the world's best games. We're always interested in hearing back from you, the player, about your experience with our Game Advisors so that we can improve our service to you.


We'll listen to any feedback you'd like to provide as we're committed to making sure you always have a personal and positive connection to our game, our people and our community.


Thank you for playing Star Wars: The Old Republic.


Regards,

******

Star Wars™: The Old Republic™ Customer Service

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In closing, I've said it before, I'll say it again. When I was a guide for SOE, we were always told we were the face of the company. Sometimes that's all it takes is that one interaction, not just with my case, which I have had stellar support in the past with SWTOR. But how about other players that just don't know what to do? That are not experienced with dealing with these companies? Clean your face off EA/BW/SWTRO.