I think there is a difference between what was stated during the Borg event, tradition and actual committed promises.
I've only been able to find Shans comments during the Borg event where it was stated that the Borg Queen was only going to be able to be taken to 4/5 simply by being earned in the event. There may be more out there. I think there is a similar one for Kortar but I was unable to find it. (Old forum searching I find to be a pain as well.)
However, you also have the long standing (well as long standing as Megas can be being less than a year old) tradition. based on that statement, that folks thought they can count on.
Frankly, if there hadn't been the crash affecting the standing of several of my fleeetmates that were actively playing when things went boom, I'd have just stayed out of the fray on this as it would have been a gift given, just like Scarlet Worf --- whether I felt it was tone deaf or not. I may have still done the $25 deal just so my squad would benefit. (I just really like the folks especially the lower powered ones on my squad that much...) Others may have not made that same decision.
What makes my hair stand on end is that this was supposedly compensation for the error based on the tail end of the notification email.
But realistically I don't think you're going to find a specific promise in relation to this event or in regards to Megas in general.
Doesn't make it right. Just accuracy is necessary in getting any redress of grievance. Accuracy helps in also being taken seriously later when other grievances occur.
Pardon me, Black Pebble, but you must be joking. This "response" completely ignores the core issue at hand and the source of all of our anger. DB BROKE ITS WORD TO US and blatantly betrayed our trust...DB's actions equate to consumer fraud, and has (at least in my case) forever destroyed the underlying faith between merchant and consumer.
Help me understand, why do you believe we broke our word to you, and when do you feel this happened?
@Black Pebble
The response you reference speaks to the server problems that occurred at the end of the last event. That outage was very unfortunate and obviously had horrific timing. It negatively impacted a sizable segment of players, depriving them of the opportunity to reach for a desired rank, and laying to waste the time/effort/$$$ many had invested to position themselves.
These players have a right to be upset for how they were impacted, and have a case to request compensation for that unfortunate situation. However, that was a unexpected server outage beyond your control, not a conscience business decision.
The server outage is not DB's grave offense that has sparked such rage and revolt among the players and set this forum on fire. It was the management decisions by DB (or, should I say, dictated by Tilting Point?) subsequent to the server outage that violated our core trust, betraying previously established commitments to your player base.
Many others have articulated this betrayal of trust very well throughout this forum, and I've seen you participate in many of these threads, so I can only presume that you've already read them. Nonetheless, I'll try to sum it as best I can here:
DB firmly established a precedent that it would avail 4 copies of a megaevent legendary card over the course of a mega event, but that the onus was on players to finish immortalizing him.
Given these conditions communicated by DB to players, many players elected to spend $25 or hard-earned Honor in order to obtain the 5th star, understanding from DB that these were (and would REMAIN) the only means by which to get its 5th star. (yes, there is also the trivial, 0.02 possibility of it dropping from the themed pack at the conclusion of a mega-event too...but this is far too remote an option with 0% assurance that you can actually get it)
Each player's purchase decision was made on the underlying faith that what DB communicated to us was the truth, and that DB would stand by its word! Faith in any merchant's claim of exclusivity/availability for a product establishes the trust behind purchases by consumers
Therefore, the act by DB of issuing a FREE 5th star for Picard blatantly defied its prior commitment to us, breaking your word about the parameters for megaevent legendaries and sh!ting on the fundamental trust that drove many to expend valuable $$$ or Honor to purchase Picard's 5th star
Putting aside the utter tone-deafness of such an absurd act, defying previously communicated rules around the value/method to buy an item in this manner marries quite well with the definition of consumer fraud.
I STRONGLY encourage you to go back and read the array of forum threads that all detail this very same offense by DB. It is extremely unsettling, that after ALL this time and repeated expressions of how badly DB has wronged us, you/Shan/all of DB seemingly still have no clue why everyone is so upset.
I greatly appreciate how hard you and Shan work to serve as liaisons between the player base and DB management. However, if our liaisons do not acknowledge/recognize the core essence of our rage nor the obvious violation of our trust in you, then I fear we can never achieve any satisfactory level of cross-communication.
Might I also point out, that a copy of picard does nothing compared to the fight for top 1000, which yields a troi. The outlash wouldnt have been remotely as bad if it had been a troi that everyone gotten. It would have felt related to the event and would not have upset (nearly) anyone. Literally because of the outage, many people could not fight for their spot in the event. Whether they would have gotten it or not, who is to say, but the fact of it is that that outage screwed that event up. Not picard.
Here are some analogies that might clarify the issues:
1. Mirror Picard was not appropriate compensation for the server outage at the end of the Troi event. Just like 6 more expedition tickets were not appropriate compensation for the Beverly event ending a day early. .
Congratulations, BP! You're the newest point guard for the Boston Celtics! It's the second half, there's 5 minutes left on the game clock, and your team is down by 4 points. Never fear, you think. That's why you done got drafted. You dribble down the court, dodging legs and arms, and turn into the paint for a layup.
As the ball leaves your fingertips, you notice that the hoop isn't there anymore. Huh? You look around the court. Actually, both of the hoops are gone. Both of the teams are standing there in confusion, looking towards the refs--and they seem just as confused as you are. You're still holding the ball, one fist on your hip, staring at where the hoop should be, when the buzzer sounds.
The refs congratulate the other team on winning. What, winning? How could they possibly win when there were 5 minutes left on the game clock and the hoops disappeared?
The refs shrug. "Well, all players were equally affected by the disappearance of the hoops," they reply.
You're stunned. "But I had the ball," you stammer. "I was at the hoop. There were 5 whole minutes left! Sure, we were down by 4 points, but I was literally just about to close the gap to 2, and we all know a lot can happen in 5 minutes of game time!"
"Both hoops disappeared," the refs respond helpfully. "If you're that upset, I guess we can schedule 6 more matches to play today."
You blink. "I'm not playing 6 more matches."
The refs shrug again. "They are. In fact, they've already started one, and since you're not playing, I guess they're going to win that one too."
"OH COME ON!" you shout. The refs give you a dirty look. "I'm tired. I thought I only had to play one match today, and that thing with the hoops was crazy. That wasn't my fault, but now I have to play 6 more games?"
"Well, we could also just give you a win against Washington."
Washington? you wonder. But you're not playing Washington!
"How is that a solution?" you gasp. "We already played Washington two weeks ago and we won!"
"Well, they're taking the win against Washington. They're also going to play 6 more games today. So, I'm glad we've resolved this problem."
You're not happy. This is going to kill your record. But there's one more question that's really lingering before you get to the rest of this mess.
"Hey," you inquire, more quietly. "What was the deal with the hoops?"
"We're not sure," the refs quip helpfully.
"But, you're going to make sure that the hoops are actually there for the next game we play, right?"
"Maybe!" the oh-so-helpful refs reply. "But since we're not really sure what happened, we're not really sure how to prevent it from happening. Enjoy your 6 more games and win against Washington!"
2. When problems or errors are identified, they need to be communicated to players quickly and clearly. Events and packs need be thoroughly checked for errors--but mistakes happen. When they do, take immediate action to fix them. Don't allow people to buy broken things.
Well, BP. That basketball career didn't really shape up as planned. Never fear, though! You've found an exciting and lucrative career opportunity in car sales!
"Hey, uh, there's an issue with every car you've sold." There's a customer talking to you. It looks like he's standing in front of a long line of other customers, all of whom seem a little angry and confused.
"Oh, yeah?" you ask. "What is it?"
The guy scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, they explode."
"They explode," you repeat slowly.
"Yeah, I was driving home yesterday, and it kind of just exploded. All of these other folks had their cars explode too. In fact, everyone who's bought one of these cars has actually had it explode. We were hoping to get a refu--"
"That's not possible," you interject. "These cars do not explode. We checked them at the factory. They're safe."
"Actually, I've bought 100 of these cars, and they all explode every time!" a different guy pipes up from the back of the line.
You jab at the line of customers. "These cars have been tested. They do not explode. Jimmy in Production has been driving one since day one, and it hasn't exploded."
"Well, are you sure? I mean... all of our cars have exploded."
You put your hands firmly on your hips. "YES, THESE CARS DO NOT EXPLODE. If, in fact, they did all explode, you all must have received lemons."
The 100 car guy pipes up again, "Even me?"
You narrow your eyes. "Especially you."
The line devolves into exasperated muttering. You march past the line and fling the door to the lot open.
And what the hell? You stare at the car lot. All of the cars have actually exploded.
This is not good. You can fix this. You shut the door to the lot and tell the customers to keep standing in the reception area--it'll just be a moment while you look into things.
You run to talk to Jimmy in Production. "Hey, uh, Jim. The people we sold the cars to said that they explode, but yours hasn't exploded right?"
Jim spins around in his chair, pondering the question. "Well, I just drive it around the parking lot. It's fine there, but could be bad on the road. I guess they could be exploding."
Oh, boy.
You run back into the lobby, but in addition to the angry people, there are a few others standing around looking to buy a car.
Well, what could the harm be in selling a few more cars while you figure out what to do? You greet the new customers and usher them into the sales office, the line watching you as you go.
3. When mistakes happen, compensate people fairly and appropriately. While the game has many elements of RNG, dealing with customer service should not be one of them.
Congrats, BP! You're now out of prison!
While that rap for manslaughter was a little much--how were you supposed to know those new folks would actually drive the exploding car?--you're a free man now. Your career has taken a little nosedive in the process, of course. But you're the head gift wrapper at a department store, just in time for the holiday rush.
"I'm so sorry to bother you," a nice lady begins, holding a present you wrapped earlier that morning, "but it looks like this wrapping paper is actually transparent." She holds it up to the light. She's right, you can actually see through it. This isn't the first time you've seen this--the cheapest option is actually just cellophane.
You helpfully point out to the woman that if she splurged on actual wrapping paper instead of cellophane, it would no longer be transparent. She looks confused. "Oh, but...I actually paid for this to be gift wrapped."
"And I did!" you helpfully reply. She stares down at the cellophane-wrapped package and steps off to the side.
Another customer is standing behind her holding another cellophane-wrapped present. "Uh, I can see through this too?" he suggests, as he lifts the box. Maybe your daily dose of caffeine has kicked in or maybe you just like his face. Either way, you motion for the guy to come forward and re-wrap his present in actual paper. The woman from earlier watches as you wrap, confusion etched across her face.
As the man leaves, she approaches the desk again. "So, will you re-wrap my present in actual paper now?"
"Nope!" you chirp helpfully. "I am unable to provide anything other than cellophane."
She points at the man's back as he disappears into the background. "But, he had the exact same complaint as me, and you re-wrapped his present."
You nod, smile, and put the 'kiosk closed' sign up in the window.
Another day, another satisfied customer. But sometimes, in the quiet moments, you wonder...what happened to those hoops?
There’s even more coming up for Timelines in the near future. Keep an eye out for more updates in January – that’s when we’ll hold the next Q&A, catch the mid-season premiere Star Trek: Discovery – and oh yeah... we have our second anniversary coming up! January’s going to be awesome.
It seems that they do keep their promise.... We started month of January and it is already awesome! lol
Pardon me, Black Pebble, but you must be joking. This "response" completely ignores the core issue at hand and the source of all of our anger. DB BROKE ITS WORD TO US and blatantly betrayed our trust...DB's actions equate to consumer fraud, and has (at least in my case) forever destroyed the underlying faith between merchant and consumer.
Help me understand, why do you believe we broke our word to you, and when do you feel this happened?
Why not just run a script like before "What we’re doing to fix broken Time Portal pulls"?
Pardon me, Black Pebble, but you must be joking. This "response" completely ignores the core issue at hand and the source of all of our anger. DB BROKE ITS WORD TO US and blatantly betrayed our trust...DB's actions equate to consumer fraud, and has (at least in my case) forever destroyed the underlying faith between merchant and consumer.
Help me understand, why do you believe we broke our word to you, and when do you feel this happened?
Silver said it far better than I ever could, but your problem right now is that you say you are going to do something, and then you don't (ever, recently) do it. I don't know why you keep saying things that you can't deliver on, it's like you just can't stop lying.
Your solution is really really simple: just do what you say you will do. Just do that or don't speak.
Oh Silver, I must be in too deep. I got a few tears there reading that post. I can't figure out how DB does not get the implications. They have created something we enjoy, but are making it impossible to continue with the status quo of bad decision-making paired with the callous response.
Pardon me, Black Pebble, but you must be joking. This "response" completely ignores the core issue at hand and the source of all of our anger. DB BROKE ITS WORD TO US and blatantly betrayed our trust...DB's actions equate to consumer fraud, and has (at least in my case) forever destroyed the underlying faith between merchant and consumer.
Help me understand, why do you believe we broke our word to you, and when do you feel this happened?
I can't think of one single thing I've read on this forum that more succinctly illustrates all that is wrong with DB.
And here I thought, because of all the seemingly discussion-appropriate quips, you understood the players and situation. I apologize for misunderstanding. It won't happen again.
Help me understand, why do you believe we broke our word to you, and when do you feel this happened?
@Black Pebble
The response you reference speaks to the server problems that occurred at the end of the last event. That outage was very unfortunate and obviously had horrific timing. It negatively impacted a sizable segment of players, depriving them of the opportunity to reach for a desired rank, and laying to waste the time/effort/$$$ many had invested to position themselves.
These players have a right to be upset for how they were impacted, and have a case to request compensation for that unfortunate situation. However, that was a unexpected server outage beyond your control, not a conscience business decision.
The server outage is not DB's grave offense that has sparked such rage and revolt among the players and set this forum on fire. It was the management decisions by DB (or, should I say, dictated by Tilting Point?) subsequent to the server outage that violated our core trust, betraying previously established commitments to your player base...
Did my response to your question (or @SilverRose 's EPIC analogies, or any of the dozens of other posts detailing this very same betrayal by DB) provide an adequate answer or shed light at all on the core issue at hand?
As Director of Brand & Marketing, you know better than anyone that it is a customer's experience with and perception of an organization that DEFINES its brand in their eyes. Composing and marketing the greatest messaging platform in the world is irrelevant if what a company says does not jive with the experience a customer has in their relationship with that company.
Right now, the brand perception of DB by a lot of players is severely damaged and grossly negative because of DB's betrayal and flippant disregard for its actions. Yet, when I asked why DB's official response to this matter failed to acknowledge at all the cause of this damaged relationship, your questions back to me sadly illustrated how wholly disconnected you are with today's brand perception of DB (the very thing you are hired to Direct) and how obvious DB is to their transgressions against us.
How can there ever be any hope of remedying this terribly damaged relationship if you/DB insist on remaining UNAWARE of the very thing that caused this damage? I'm serious...How??
Until you and DB can demonstrate any evidence that you recognize and empathize with the damage caused by DB's callous violation of our trust, continued dialogue is futile.
Help me understand, why do you believe we broke our word to you, and when do you feel this happened?
@Black Pebble
The response you reference speaks to the server problems that occurred at the end of the last event. That outage was very unfortunate and obviously had horrific timing. It negatively impacted a sizable segment of players, depriving them of the opportunity to reach for a desired rank, and laying to waste the time/effort/$$$ many had invested to position themselves.
These players have a right to be upset for how they were impacted, and have a case to request compensation for that unfortunate situation. However, that was a unexpected server outage beyond your control, not a conscience business decision.
The server outage is not DB's grave offense that has sparked such rage and revolt among the players and set this forum on fire. It was the management decisions by DB (or, should I say, dictated by Tilting Point?) subsequent to the server outage that violated our core trust, betraying previously established commitments to your player base...
Did my response to your question (or @SilverRose 's EPIC analogies, or any of the dozens of other posts detailing this very same betrayal by DB) provide an adequate answer or shed light at all on the core issue at hand?
As Director of Brand & Marketing, you know better than anyone that it is a customer's experience with and perception of an organization that DEFINES its brand in their eyes. Composing and marketing the greatest messaging platform in the world is irrelevant if what a company says does not jive with the experience a customer has in their relationship with that company.
Right now, the brand perception of DB by a lot of players is severely damaged and grossly negative because of DB's betrayal and flippant disregard for its actions. Yet, when I asked why DB's official response to this matter failed to acknowledge at all the cause of this damaged relationship, your questions back to me sadly illustrated how wholly disconnected you are with today's brand perception of DB (the very thing you are hired to Direct) and how obvious DB is to their transgressions against us.
How can there ever be any hope of remedying this terribly damaged relationship if you/DB insist on remaining UNAWARE of the very thing that caused this damage? I'm serious...How??
Until you and DB can demonstrate any evidence that you recognize and empathize with the damage caused by DB's callous violation of our trust, continued dialogue is futile.
Wow you nailed it. I am reminded of a thread from May of 2016 (game was 4ish months old forums had been waiting for days for a response to breach of email address sent out).
To my knowledge it was the first and last time The CEO addressed the forums. Two things stand out. The dissatisfaction by players with DBs responds to issues and how when they did respond it is with the same lack Od understanding @Black Pebble has shown.
To those who wonder why did I stay? Jon did send me a privet pm and it did mean a lot. But in truth DB is still just as non caring and unresponsive to player issues now they are just less vocal at the time and more see we listened 6 months later.
Sincerely,
Lilac Erosion
7TH Tactical Wing
Maybe the irony is that we play because we’re Star Trek fans, those hopeful idealists that like to think things will get better when we raise valid concerns about fairness and balance, etc and we forget that DB’s greed openly mocks the values espoused by the franchise they have a license
-Lord Wizzlestix IT
Pardon me, Black Pebble, but you must be joking. This "response" completely ignores the core issue at hand and the source of all of our anger. DB BROKE ITS WORD TO US and blatantly betrayed our trust...DB's actions equate to consumer fraud, and has (at least in my case) forever destroyed the underlying faith between merchant and consumer.
Help me understand, why do you believe we broke our word to you, and when do you feel this happened?
Are you seriously THAT OBTUSE?!?!?!? How you broke your word to us... Lets see....
Advertise a 5 day event FOR A WHOLE WEEK, so that people plan out how they are going to utilize their time, specifically the extra day.
Through stupidity, negligence, or just being too busy worrying about their own weekend, and not their jobs, NOT running said promised 5 day event.
Realizing they screwed up AFTER THE SECOND HALF OF THE EVENT STARTS.
Giving us a "compensation" that would only realistically be useful if there was an extra day.
Expecting your customers to be willing to play the game to the exclusion of their families or anything else ON CHRISTMAS because of your screw up.
Then having all the CSR's try and pat us on the head and say "This is the agreed upon compensation."
Which part of all of that can you not see as a breaking of your word?
Does that make it a little more obvious?
EDIT: And Silver said it WAY BETTER and WAY MORE ELOQUENTLY than I could have.
Pardon me, Black Pebble, but you must be joking. This "response" completely ignores the core issue at hand and the source of all of our anger. DB BROKE ITS WORD TO US and blatantly betrayed our trust...DB's actions equate to consumer fraud, and has (at least in my case) forever destroyed the underlying faith between merchant and consumer.
Help me understand, why do you believe we broke our word to you, and when do you feel this happened?
Are you seriously THAT OBTUSE?!?!?!? How you broke your word to us... Lets see....
Advertise a 5 day event FOR A WHOLE WEEK, so that people plan out how they are going to utilize their time, specifically the extra day.
Through stupidity, negligence, or just being too busy worrying about their own weekend, and not their jobs, NOT running said promised 5 day event.
Realizing they screwed up AFTER THE SECOND HALF OF THE EVENT STARTS.
Giving us a "compensation" that would only realistically be useful if there was an extra day.
Expecting your customers to be willing to play the game to the exclusion of their families or anything else ON CHRISTMAS because of your screw up.
Then having all the CSR's try and pat us on the head and say "This is the agreed upon compensation."
Which part of all of that can you not see as a breaking of your word?
Does that make it a little more obvious?
EDIT: And Silver said it WAY BETTER and WAY MORE ELOQUENTLY than I could have.
Careful there. People have gotten themselves banned for pointing out that level of illogic.
I will be closing this thread but I want to say that we regret all the issues that have happened lately, no one wanted this. We are sorry it got to that point and led to so much disappointment among our players.
Comments
@DB:DB ·§ë· For The Many
@MOZangelesSD
I think there is a difference between what was stated during the Borg event, tradition and actual committed promises.
I've only been able to find Shans comments during the Borg event where it was stated that the Borg Queen was only going to be able to be taken to 4/5 simply by being earned in the event. There may be more out there. I think there is a similar one for Kortar but I was unable to find it. (Old forum searching I find to be a pain as well.)
However, you also have the long standing (well as long standing as Megas can be being less than a year old) tradition. based on that statement, that folks thought they can count on.
Frankly, if there hadn't been the crash affecting the standing of several of my fleeetmates that were actively playing when things went boom, I'd have just stayed out of the fray on this as it would have been a gift given, just like Scarlet Worf --- whether I felt it was tone deaf or not. I may have still done the $25 deal just so my squad would benefit. (I just really like the folks especially the lower powered ones on my squad that much...) Others may have not made that same decision.
What makes my hair stand on end is that this was supposedly compensation for the error based on the tail end of the notification email.
But realistically I don't think you're going to find a specific promise in relation to this event or in regards to Megas in general.
Doesn't make it right. Just accuracy is necessary in getting any redress of grievance. Accuracy helps in also being taken seriously later when other grievances occur.
@Black Pebble
The response you reference speaks to the server problems that occurred at the end of the last event. That outage was very unfortunate and obviously had horrific timing. It negatively impacted a sizable segment of players, depriving them of the opportunity to reach for a desired rank, and laying to waste the time/effort/$$$ many had invested to position themselves.
These players have a right to be upset for how they were impacted, and have a case to request compensation for that unfortunate situation. However, that was a unexpected server outage beyond your control, not a conscience business decision.
The server outage is not DB's grave offense that has sparked such rage and revolt among the players and set this forum on fire. It was the management decisions by DB (or, should I say, dictated by Tilting Point?) subsequent to the server outage that violated our core trust, betraying previously established commitments to your player base.
Many others have articulated this betrayal of trust very well throughout this forum, and I've seen you participate in many of these threads, so I can only presume that you've already read them. Nonetheless, I'll try to sum it as best I can here:
I STRONGLY encourage you to go back and read the array of forum threads that all detail this very same offense by DB. It is extremely unsettling, that after ALL this time and repeated expressions of how badly DB has wronged us, you/Shan/all of DB seemingly still have no clue why everyone is so upset.
I greatly appreciate how hard you and Shan work to serve as liaisons between the player base and DB management. However, if our liaisons do not acknowledge/recognize the core essence of our rage nor the obvious violation of our trust in you, then I fear we can never achieve any satisfactory level of cross-communication.
Sorry DB, we really do like you.
1. Mirror Picard was not appropriate compensation for the server outage at the end of the Troi event. Just like 6 more expedition tickets were not appropriate compensation for the Beverly event ending a day early. .
Congratulations, BP! You're the newest point guard for the Boston Celtics! It's the second half, there's 5 minutes left on the game clock, and your team is down by 4 points. Never fear, you think. That's why you done got drafted. You dribble down the court, dodging legs and arms, and turn into the paint for a layup.
As the ball leaves your fingertips, you notice that the hoop isn't there anymore. Huh? You look around the court. Actually, both of the hoops are gone. Both of the teams are standing there in confusion, looking towards the refs--and they seem just as confused as you are. You're still holding the ball, one fist on your hip, staring at where the hoop should be, when the buzzer sounds.
The refs congratulate the other team on winning. What, winning? How could they possibly win when there were 5 minutes left on the game clock and the hoops disappeared?
The refs shrug. "Well, all players were equally affected by the disappearance of the hoops," they reply.
You're stunned. "But I had the ball," you stammer. "I was at the hoop. There were 5 whole minutes left! Sure, we were down by 4 points, but I was literally just about to close the gap to 2, and we all know a lot can happen in 5 minutes of game time!"
"Both hoops disappeared," the refs respond helpfully. "If you're that upset, I guess we can schedule 6 more matches to play today."
You blink. "I'm not playing 6 more matches."
The refs shrug again. "They are. In fact, they've already started one, and since you're not playing, I guess they're going to win that one too."
"OH COME ON!" you shout. The refs give you a dirty look. "I'm tired. I thought I only had to play one match today, and that thing with the hoops was crazy. That wasn't my fault, but now I have to play 6 more games?"
"Well, we could also just give you a win against Washington."
Washington? you wonder. But you're not playing Washington!
"How is that a solution?" you gasp. "We already played Washington two weeks ago and we won!"
"Well, they're taking the win against Washington. They're also going to play 6 more games today. So, I'm glad we've resolved this problem."
You're not happy. This is going to kill your record. But there's one more question that's really lingering before you get to the rest of this mess.
"Hey," you inquire, more quietly. "What was the deal with the hoops?"
"We're not sure," the refs quip helpfully.
"But, you're going to make sure that the hoops are actually there for the next game we play, right?"
"Maybe!" the oh-so-helpful refs reply. "But since we're not really sure what happened, we're not really sure how to prevent it from happening. Enjoy your 6 more games and win against Washington!"
2. When problems or errors are identified, they need to be communicated to players quickly and clearly. Events and packs need be thoroughly checked for errors--but mistakes happen. When they do, take immediate action to fix them. Don't allow people to buy broken things.
Well, BP. That basketball career didn't really shape up as planned. Never fear, though! You've found an exciting and lucrative career opportunity in car sales!
"Hey, uh, there's an issue with every car you've sold." There's a customer talking to you. It looks like he's standing in front of a long line of other customers, all of whom seem a little angry and confused.
"Oh, yeah?" you ask. "What is it?"
The guy scratches the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, they explode."
"They explode," you repeat slowly.
"Yeah, I was driving home yesterday, and it kind of just exploded. All of these other folks had their cars explode too. In fact, everyone who's bought one of these cars has actually had it explode. We were hoping to get a refu--"
"That's not possible," you interject. "These cars do not explode. We checked them at the factory. They're safe."
"Actually, I've bought 100 of these cars, and they all explode every time!" a different guy pipes up from the back of the line.
You jab at the line of customers. "These cars have been tested. They do not explode. Jimmy in Production has been driving one since day one, and it hasn't exploded."
"Well, are you sure? I mean... all of our cars have exploded."
You put your hands firmly on your hips. "YES, THESE CARS DO NOT EXPLODE. If, in fact, they did all explode, you all must have received lemons."
The 100 car guy pipes up again, "Even me?"
You narrow your eyes. "Especially you."
The line devolves into exasperated muttering. You march past the line and fling the door to the lot open.
And what the hell? You stare at the car lot. All of the cars have actually exploded.
This is not good. You can fix this. You shut the door to the lot and tell the customers to keep standing in the reception area--it'll just be a moment while you look into things.
You run to talk to Jimmy in Production. "Hey, uh, Jim. The people we sold the cars to said that they explode, but yours hasn't exploded right?"
Jim spins around in his chair, pondering the question. "Well, I just drive it around the parking lot. It's fine there, but could be bad on the road. I guess they could be exploding."
Oh, boy.
You run back into the lobby, but in addition to the angry people, there are a few others standing around looking to buy a car.
Well, what could the harm be in selling a few more cars while you figure out what to do? You greet the new customers and usher them into the sales office, the line watching you as you go.
3. When mistakes happen, compensate people fairly and appropriately. While the game has many elements of RNG, dealing with customer service should not be one of them.
Congrats, BP! You're now out of prison!
While that rap for manslaughter was a little much--how were you supposed to know those new folks would actually drive the exploding car?--you're a free man now. Your career has taken a little nosedive in the process, of course. But you're the head gift wrapper at a department store, just in time for the holiday rush.
"I'm so sorry to bother you," a nice lady begins, holding a present you wrapped earlier that morning, "but it looks like this wrapping paper is actually transparent." She holds it up to the light. She's right, you can actually see through it. This isn't the first time you've seen this--the cheapest option is actually just cellophane.
You helpfully point out to the woman that if she splurged on actual wrapping paper instead of cellophane, it would no longer be transparent. She looks confused. "Oh, but...I actually paid for this to be gift wrapped."
"And I did!" you helpfully reply. She stares down at the cellophane-wrapped package and steps off to the side.
Another customer is standing behind her holding another cellophane-wrapped present. "Uh, I can see through this too?" he suggests, as he lifts the box. Maybe your daily dose of caffeine has kicked in or maybe you just like his face. Either way, you motion for the guy to come forward and re-wrap his present in actual paper. The woman from earlier watches as you wrap, confusion etched across her face.
As the man leaves, she approaches the desk again. "So, will you re-wrap my present in actual paper now?"
"Nope!" you chirp helpfully. "I am unable to provide anything other than cellophane."
She points at the man's back as he disappears into the background. "But, he had the exact same complaint as me, and you re-wrapped his present."
You nod, smile, and put the 'kiosk closed' sign up in the window.
Another day, another satisfied customer. But sometimes, in the quiet moments, you wonder...what happened to those hoops?
Proud Former Officer of The Gluten Empire
Retired 12-14-20. So long, and thanks for all the cat pics!
Just completely awesome.
I wish there were black and white comic style illustrations to go along with that.
There’s even more coming up for Timelines in the near future. Keep an eye out for more updates in January – that’s when we’ll hold the next Q&A, catch the mid-season premiere Star Trek: Discovery – and oh yeah... we have our second anniversary coming up! January’s going to be awesome.
It seems that they do keep their promise.... We started month of January and it is already awesome! lol
Why not just run a script like before "What we’re doing to fix broken Time Portal pulls"?
https://forum.disruptorbeam.com/stt/discussion/comment/5301#Comment_5301
Silver said it far better than I ever could, but your problem right now is that you say you are going to do something, and then you don't (ever, recently) do it. I don't know why you keep saying things that you can't deliver on, it's like you just can't stop lying.
Your solution is really really simple: just do what you say you will do. Just do that or don't speak.
Just Bravo.
BP, I hope that clarifies why we don't think the response is good enough. Silver didn't even hit point #4, communication (or lack of).
I can't think of one single thing I've read on this forum that more succinctly illustrates all that is wrong with DB.
And here I thought, because of all the seemingly discussion-appropriate quips, you understood the players and situation. I apologize for misunderstanding. It won't happen again.
Shhhh,if they hear you they'll make the forums VIP 14 exclusive or you have to purchase monthly card.
Hello @Black Pebble?
Did my response to your question (or @SilverRose 's EPIC analogies, or any of the dozens of other posts detailing this very same betrayal by DB) provide an adequate answer or shed light at all on the core issue at hand?
As Director of Brand & Marketing, you know better than anyone that it is a customer's experience with and perception of an organization that DEFINES its brand in their eyes. Composing and marketing the greatest messaging platform in the world is irrelevant if what a company says does not jive with the experience a customer has in their relationship with that company.
Right now, the brand perception of DB by a lot of players is severely damaged and grossly negative because of DB's betrayal and flippant disregard for its actions. Yet, when I asked why DB's official response to this matter failed to acknowledge at all the cause of this damaged relationship, your questions back to me sadly illustrated how wholly disconnected you are with today's brand perception of DB (the very thing you are hired to Direct) and how obvious DB is to their transgressions against us.
How can there ever be any hope of remedying this terribly damaged relationship if you/DB insist on remaining UNAWARE of the very thing that caused this damage? I'm serious...How??
Until you and DB can demonstrate any evidence that you recognize and empathize with the damage caused by DB's callous violation of our trust, continued dialogue is futile.
Have a nice weekend everyone.
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
DB: Do Better.
Member of Starship Trista.
Wow you nailed it. I am reminded of a thread from May of 2016 (game was 4ish months old forums had been waiting for days for a response to breach of email address sent out).
https://forums.disruptorbeam.com/stt/viewthread/51723/
To my knowledge it was the first and last time The CEO addressed the forums. Two things stand out. The dissatisfaction by players with DBs responds to issues and how when they did respond it is with the same lack Od understanding @Black Pebble has shown.
To those who wonder why did I stay? Jon did send me a privet pm and it did mean a lot. But in truth DB is still just as non caring and unresponsive to player issues now they are just less vocal at the time and more see we listened 6 months later.
Lilac Erosion
7TH Tactical Wing
Maybe the irony is that we play because we’re Star Trek fans, those hopeful idealists that like to think things will get better when we raise valid concerns about fairness and balance, etc and we forget that DB’s greed openly mocks the values espoused by the franchise they have a license
-Lord Wizzlestix IT
Are you seriously THAT OBTUSE?!?!?!? How you broke your word to us... Lets see....
Advertise a 5 day event FOR A WHOLE WEEK, so that people plan out how they are going to utilize their time, specifically the extra day.
Through stupidity, negligence, or just being too busy worrying about their own weekend, and not their jobs, NOT running said promised 5 day event.
Realizing they screwed up AFTER THE SECOND HALF OF THE EVENT STARTS.
Giving us a "compensation" that would only realistically be useful if there was an extra day.
Expecting your customers to be willing to play the game to the exclusion of their families or anything else ON CHRISTMAS because of your screw up.
Then having all the CSR's try and pat us on the head and say "This is the agreed upon compensation."
Which part of all of that can you not see as a breaking of your word?
Does that make it a little more obvious?
EDIT: And Silver said it WAY BETTER and WAY MORE ELOQUENTLY than I could have.
Careful there. People have gotten themselves banned for pointing out that level of illogic.
As I said in this thread: https://forum.disruptorbeam.com/stt/discussion/2655/01-02-outage-compensation-update, we will work on better compensation processes, and on PS inconsistencies.
Actions of course speak louder than words and I hope the coming weeks, months will show just that.
Black Pebble and myself will continue to work with you and the team to make this happen.