Copy & Paste Customer Service

Following this introduction is my exchange with a Blizzard customer support representative regarding the issue in my previous post.

Now, I cast the blame partly on him and partly on the corporate mentality that emphasizes issue resolve time and neatly worded replies. I worked briefly in Customer Service for Star Wars Galaxies at launch so I know what goes on. I had plenty of co-workers who would do nothing but use a program that pasted issue solutions. They did just what Osomveskin does, see the basics of the problem paste the generic response. You can the same thing on a lot of phone support where you can tell they are following a flow-chart. Yes, they appear to have a great resolve time, but they it is still HORRIBLE customer service because they not only don't solve the customer's problem, they look like idiotic monkeys.

All is not lost however, there are some companies who shine at customer service like Amazon.com and American Express. With both of those companies I have personally experienced, and heard many stories from others, about how they listen to your problem and fix it beyond the customer's expectations.

You'll note in my response to Osomveskin that I did figure out what the problem is with a further search of the forums.

Joseph
12/8/2011 8:39 PM I have been accepted into the Diablo III beta and played for a little while. I have found, however, that I cannot post in the Diablo III forums. I get the "game license has expired or been cancelled" message when trying to reply and creating a new topic. A search for this error has only given me old information pertaining to other games.


Osomveskin
Customer Service Representative
1 hour ago Howdy!

Thank you for contacting the Blizzard Entertainment Tech Support Department.
If you are having problems accessing or using the Forums, we have some steps for you to try to correct the problem. Note that an active StarCraft II or WoW account is required to post on the forums.

1. As a general step, you may want to clear the temporary internet files and 'cookies' on this computer. Please note that this may clear your saved passwords and settings for certain websites. Instructions on how to remove cached files and cookies for some of the more common browsers are listed below. If your browser is not listed please consult your browser's help files on how to delete cached files and cookies.

If you are using Internet explorer, click on Tools in the menu bar at the top, select Internet Options, Look for the Temporary Files or Browsing History section and click the Delete button. Make sure to delete Files and Cookies when prompted.

For Firefox, select Tools from the menu bar, click Clear Private Data, and make sure Cache and Cookies are selected and click the "Clear Private data now" button.

For Safari, in the menu bar click on Safari, select Preferences, Security, Show cookies and Click remove all.

Cookies must be enabled for you to access the forums. Your browser security settings or computer security software can stop you from accessing the page properly. If you are unsure how to clear your temporary internet files, or change the security settings for your internet browser, please see your browser's help section for further assistance. You may even want to try a different web browser.

2. If you receive a "Login Server Down" message, the login server itself may be experiencing a temporary downtime. This is often concurrent with login problems with the game itself, and should be resolved shortly after the login server is back online.

3. If you receive any generic or specific "Error" when you try to post, please wait 5-15 minutes and give it another try. This can occur during website maintenance or even during login server issues
If you are using Google Web Accelerator with your internet browser please try disabling it and then log back on to the forums. If you are not sure how to disable the Google Web Accelerator, please visit http://webaccelerator.google.com/support.html for further assistance.

Regrds,

Freddy M.
Customer Support
Blizzard Entertainment
www.blizzard.com/support


Joseph
A few seconds ago Thank you for your cut and pasted reply that doesn't address my issue at all and was a complete waste of my time to read.

Here is a link to the actual solution to my problem: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/forum/topic/3657426031

UPDATE!
I just got home and found that they took the Diablo III beta server down until tomorrow, but as I'll be out of town until Sunday night it means I won't get to play this weekend.

I did get another update to my customer service ticket though, and this guy actually read my email and spend the time to type out an actual response. See, they aren't all bad. I don't even mind the mistakes (yeah, like I'm one to talk) because this way I know that I am actually getting his attention where the pre-typed out response makes me feel like I'm being ignored.

Customer Service Representative 3 hours ago Hey there Joseph =)! I do apologize for the earlier response and it was just a general troubleshooting for a lot of forum threads. For beta testing within D3 (congratz btw!) some of the issues and answers can be found on the forums as you found =). If you do run into any future D3 issues I do implore that you do post on the forums as well as the developers *do* read them and it is important we document any problems as well. Thanks in advance for future feedback and hope you enjoy your time in D3 not only in Beta but on actual release as well =). Happy holidays! Thanks and take care! 

- James

Diablo III beta

I have been in the Diablo III beta for two nights now. At this point it sucks because I can't play.

I got to play a little last night, but it keeps losing connection to the server. If you've kept up, you have to be connected to the server in order to play, even if you are playing the single-player game. They've said some things but we all know it is for two reason which are not in any particular order: anti-piracy for one. And two, the real-money auction house where you can buy and sell items and they really want to make sure you aren't going to cheat. But watching the server go up again down like (insert inappropriate joke about your mom here) you can see where the concept is slightly flawed.

The worst part, and the reason I am so frustrated, is that the launcher gives you an error that is a number that tells you nothing. I think I have seen three different error numbers but I don't know what they mean. At first I thought maybe there was something wrong on my end, but at least I on the forums this isn't the case. The last post from Blizzard was over two hours ago and said the server is back up, which is then immediately followed a few minutes later by a billion posts from people who can't get on. Nothing else official has been posted.

Oh, and I can't post on the forums. I get "This account has limited posting access due to the following condition: This game license has expired or been cancelled."

I tried to search their forums for what this problem was related to, but all the information I could find was related to the old Starcraft II beta and not relevant. I went to their customer service section and filled out the web form, of course their neatly organized categories didn't really come anywhere close to the problem I was having. I picked something that seemed relevant if you squint. Hopefully it will get passed along to the right department.