No more favo(u)rs please, DB.
SMM
✭✭✭
in The Bridge
Dear DB,
More often than not, there are side effects to the rewards, gifts or compensation presented by you. Examples include sorrytons, crew, event tokens, and so on. In some cases the customer base suffers more from the items presented than the situation that caused the issue in the first place. Recent incidents not being uncommon.
The issue is not the principal of rewarding, gifting or compensating but that you do not ask your customers regarding the implications. That this is not done is chronically absurd as often it costs DB a substantial amount of time and therefore money correcting the situation. The associated bad-will takes time to dissipate, revenues reduce and your customer base atrophies.
Had you consulted me on the most recent gift of 500 cronitons for the Anniversary Event Notes I would have responded as follows. "Players will have the chance to use the cronitons on the Galaxy phase of the event or work on some of the new crew members for the whole event. This involves each player making a strategic decision as to what best suits them. The quantity is not too much that the second phase becomes a grind nor a huge boost to crew levels. This is a good idea. I do not foresee any issues and think most people will be happy. Thanks DB in advance."
By the way, Thanks for the 500 cronitons, they are appreciated.
More often than not, there are side effects to the rewards, gifts or compensation presented by you. Examples include sorrytons, crew, event tokens, and so on. In some cases the customer base suffers more from the items presented than the situation that caused the issue in the first place. Recent incidents not being uncommon.
The issue is not the principal of rewarding, gifting or compensating but that you do not ask your customers regarding the implications. That this is not done is chronically absurd as often it costs DB a substantial amount of time and therefore money correcting the situation. The associated bad-will takes time to dissipate, revenues reduce and your customer base atrophies.
Had you consulted me on the most recent gift of 500 cronitons for the Anniversary Event Notes I would have responded as follows. "Players will have the chance to use the cronitons on the Galaxy phase of the event or work on some of the new crew members for the whole event. This involves each player making a strategic decision as to what best suits them. The quantity is not too much that the second phase becomes a grind nor a huge boost to crew levels. This is a good idea. I do not foresee any issues and think most people will be happy. Thanks DB in advance."
By the way, Thanks for the 500 cronitons, they are appreciated.
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Comments
Proud Former Officer of The Gluten Empire
Retired 12-14-20. So long, and thanks for all the cat pics!
Give the tone of your response I am not sure if your question is serious but I'll answer it.
Hundreds of thousands of companies consult customers on free items, loss leaders etc. and other issues. But you must know this so I don't know what you are driving at? There is a whole industry devoted to asking customers what they think. There are University degrees teaching students how assess customers' requirements and feedback.
From time to time I would be happy to receive a bone, and not a millstone.
To answer your first question. The reason is that I have 2 accounts. I've had them both for nearly 2 years and before I retired in my career in software development I have variously been a computer programmer, software project manager, systems analyst, change manager and so on.
Comment moderated. ˜Shan
I was with you in your first response in this thread. You lost me with this one.
However, if I do that and then there IS one Mariachi Q in the community rewards, at least I have the exact same issue as I had with Mirror Picard.
I am sure there are lots of players who do or have done jobs which would give them such an insight. Unfortunately, it would not really be practical for Disruptor Beam to consult each and every one of them before making each decision..
A question... wasn't there a Q's choice reward back then that featured a legendary behold? I was just starting, so I don't remember so well, but I think that was the event I got my first Legendary ever, and it was in a behold that for me was Khan, Judge Q and Lt Cmdr Dax. Guess who won... After so many lifetimes, I just had to lead with my heart.
You are right. It wouldn't be practical which is why I didn't suggest that. 1) They can raise a forum post, run it for 60 min or whatever and close it. 2) They can maintain a list of customers in the same way that they have a beta test list and consult them. 3) they can message all users that are active, or that have had accounts for over x months, or every 1000th customer and so on. There are many ways to create a subset of their customer base.
It was not a legendary behold but was a special curated pack like the 3/3 setup we see where the options were more limited. Players got several single pulls and then a 10x pull on that pack.
Proud Former Officer of The Gluten Empire
Retired 12-14-20. So long, and thanks for all the cat pics!
Pretty much everything you said here is wrong and comes off petty. Your are upset that you get free stuff? You expect DB to consult you? That is some ego you have there my friend. You being a programmer does not give you any special insight.
There is no situation where the customer base of this game `suffered more` from the compensation than the original issue. For example, name the 'suffering` that happened with giving everybody the free Picard. If you think about it, there was none. The people upset and complaining about the Picard issue came accross as spoiled and petty-'your gift is not good enough! Let me complain like a spoiled kid on Christmas`
The key to success of any business is knowing their customers wants. And to understand the impact of their actions to the happiness of said customers with said business and their products.
I'm not going to advocate, hey consult me cause I know best, but I will say that DB does need to do some focus groups and such with their user base. I don't think the random surveys go far enough. The betas gave DB a crap ton of useful and useless info, some of which they listened to, some of which they disregarded to varying degrees of impact.
Interestingly enough the sheer number of industry and former industry players would make a focus group fascinating if nothing else.
So even if you think the OP is being a pompous **tsk tsk**, responding that DB shouldn't consult with the userbase on directional decisions is even more asinine.
I am not upset that I get free stuff. I am upset when everyone gets free stuff that negatively affects gameplay. I am upset when everyone gets free stuff but that for some people it is not fair because they didn't effectively get the same thing.
"You expect DB to consult you?", No, and I have not said that they specifically should. I expect DB to consult their customers. Any insight that I can provide may or may not be useful. This is true of all players. DB does not comprehensively play the game. Their customers do.
If everyone can take the following from all my posts.
DB's customers know more about playing the game than DB does. Given that ask their advice.
Regards,
Belle
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
Being a computer programmer I suggest you grab a six pack.
Make some popcorn 🍿 to go with the six pack and we can make an event out of it... probably will be more entertaining than grinding more items in the third galaxy in a row...
Indeed.
"Depends when and where sometimes". Absolutely. Crons toward the end of a galaxy event might not be fair because some people might think they are done and not know about the gift / reward / compensation and miss the last minute push.
Popcorn, six pack and grinding. Make your own joke here folks.
Squadron Leader - [TFA] Bateson’s Bulldogs
They've done far worse. I remember 6 tickets for a shortened expedition event that was nightmarish and arguably cost me my Mirror Bevs. They often seem to throw chrons in the ring before a galaxy I've noticed, it seems to be a gift designed to make people more inclined to play. Once the event is underway, though, these things need very careful consideration.
Check out our website to find out more:
https://wiki.tenforwardloungers.com/
It would be extremely disappointing to have one of the rewards be something that the players who actually spent money couldn’t use. Hopefully it will be something like a legendary citation instead
This used to exist. There were about a dozen of us on the Players Council and we talked to Becca and Nod almost daily (via Line) until the council came to an abrupt end.
They can avoid all of that just by giving a citation instead of a crew. I’m not sure why it is so hard for some forum posters to understand why that’s the fairest way to do it? Instead they feel the need to slam/attack other players on the forum? It really makes no sense to me.
It would be nice to see DB evolve and learn from their missteps rather than forever repeat them.
Proud Former Officer of The Gluten Empire
Retired 12-14-20. So long, and thanks for all the cat pics!
I benefited from Free Picard. I'm quite happy. However, the frustration of other players was justified (if perhaps extreme in a few cases) for that situation. Players had an expectation of 4 free Picards if they played well in the month-long events. They had a clear and distinct reason to know that no more free ones would be given. Thus many players paid in some form for a final Picard. Thus the frustration.
Now another free Quark is a completely different story. In that case torch and pitchfork anger really would be preposterous.