blizzard-customer-support
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Reaching Blizzard support if you can't log in
Earlier this year, Blizzard launched a new Support Callback feature that allowed players with account issues to simply fill out a form and wait for a callback from support. This was a fantastic move in terms of getting rid of the need to spend hours on hold -- but it did have some players concerned and wondering how, exactly, one was supposed to contact support if one was locked out of their account and could not access the appropriate Battle.net page. Customer Support representative Araxom has written up a response to just that particular situation over on Reddit. If you cannot access your account, or log into Battle.net, there is a support page that will still allow you to live chat with customer service, set up a callback, or even submit a ticket, all without having to log in. Although callbacks and live chat may not be available every hour of every day, you can still submit a ticket with this method and get a response in a reasonable amount of time. And remember -- if you're worried about account security, picking up an Authenticator is always an excellent idea.
Blizzard Support Callback: Don't call us, we'll call you
Anyone who's had to wait on hold for customer support from Blizzard or anyone else knows, waiting on hold is one of the least fun ways to spend your time. You already have some kind of problem, and now instead of solving it you're sitting with the phone glued to your ear, listening to bad music and mentally counting the hours of your life lost to waiting on hold. (Everyone does that, right?) Fortunately for all of us, Blizzard has announced that instead of waiting on hold, you can now fill out a form online detailing the problem you're having and they'll give you a call. This means no more phone menus or explaining your problem to a support agent -- they'll have your account info and problem info at hand when they call, so you can dive right into troubleshooting your problem. The feature is available now between the hours of 1PM and 9PM EST (or 10AM and 6PM PST) -- off-hours, you'll just have to make a support ticket, like always, and wait it out. But in case your problem turns out to be an easy fix, the site will also suggest some support documents to help you out. To use the new system, just head to Battle.net's support page and select Get Help to see your contact options.
New Year's Eve server connectivity issues
If you were planning to ring in the New Year by leveling up or running some LFR, you may want to think again -- realm connectivity issues have abounded over the past hour, bringing numerous realms offline. Customer Support is looking into the problem and on the official forums the Blizzard reports that "some realms have recovered." For realms that haven't recovered -- or realms that are hopping online and off -- we don't have an official ETA, but keep your eyes on this post for further updates. For the official word from Blizzard, follow @BlizzardCS on Twitter or watch the forum thread on tonight's connectivity issues.
Tips for getting customer support live chat working smoothly
No one likes having to interrupt their game time to contact customer support, but doing an online chat with is at least slightly less painful than waiting on hold to talk on the phone. However, browser snafus can ruin the chat experience which makes your wait even longer. Fortunately, CS rep Araxom has some tips on avoiding chat trouble, which is commonly caused by pop-up blockers. So before you try to start a live chat, here's what you should do: Turn off any pop-up blocking addons you might have. If you're using Google Chrome, it usually blocks pop-ups by default. You can use another browser or check out Google's instructions for allowing pop-ups. Now you're ready to chat! Just head over to the North American or European Support Portal, answer a few questions about the problem you're having, and then select Live Chat. Good luck!
Blizzard's tips for dealing with a locked account
Having your account locked isn't an uncommon problem -- and it doesn't necessarily mean your account has been compromised. Because Blizzard is trying to stop hackers in their tracks, doing anything that makes it look like you aren't the one playing the game -- like logging in from an unusual location -- can trigger a lock. So what's a gamer to do when hit with a locked account? Fortunately for all of us, Blizzard CS representative Araxom has explained how to avoid locked account woes -- without even getting in touch with customer support. An easy fix? Change your password from your new computer or new location. This requires you to authenticate with Blizzard -- and answer your secret question -- so the servers are sure that you're actually you. Another helpful tidbit: have an authenticator (or authenticator app) attached to your account and SMS protect enabled. These helpful security features not only make it harder for your account to get stolen -- they can make it clear to Blizzard that your account is in your hands, even if you're logging on from a new computer. For more details and tips, check out Araxom's thread on Reddit. And if your account actually has been hacked, it's going to take a few more steps, but we'll walk you through it.
Blizzard introduces live Web Chat support
Blizzard Customer Support has rolled out a new feature to better assist customers with issues. The new live Web Chat feature allows players to chat directly with a Customer Service Representative, bypassing the long wait times sometimes associated with phone calls. But don't think that this is a replacement for the ticket and phone system altogether. The live Web Chat is only available for issues that can be resolved in that format -- specific issues may require a ticket or a phone call to address. Using the new system is easy enough; simply visit the Contact Blizzard Support page, select the game you need assistance with, and then choose from a variety of dropdown menus to pick the selections that best address your particular issue. You'll see three buttons at the bottom of the screen, one for submitting a ticket, one for contacting by phone, and one for live Web Chat. Please note that web chat and phone support availability still varies based on hours of operation, as well as the type of issue you need addressed. Honestly, I'm wondering why this type of support system wasn't put into place years ago. With the Web Chat feature, players can bypass sitting on the phone and listening to hold music, and just chat with a representative to get their issues addressed. And with the new filtering system for issues, it makes it a lot easier to figure out what I should be doing if I have a problem. Hey, don't get me wrong, I do love Blizzard, but if I don't have to sit in a phone queue, I'm generally all the happier for it. You can read more about the new live Web Chat feature on the official site.
Blizzard Customer Support live Q&A recap
Yesterday, between 5pm and 6pm Pacific, Blizzard's Customer Support Team took part in a live Q&A, using some new software to answer players' questions in real time. In attendance were CS Forum Representative Vrakthris, WoW Game Support Manager Marcus Maczynski, SC2 Game Support Manager Angelo Concepcion, D3 Game Support Manager Andreas Unger, Senior CS Information Specialist Charles Areson, and CS Social Media Manager Antonio Achucarro. With players asking the questions, there was fairly high traffic for the team to deal with, Zarhym told us they received over 1,500 questions in under an hour! Not all of them could be answered, but we've been busy pulling out the key questions and responses for your delectation. Comment From legracen Are there any plans to update/change the in-game ticketing system for World of Warcraft so that the wait times for tickets can be reduced? Marcus Maczynski: Hello Legracen! We're constantly evaluating how we receive CS requests from players. Right-Click-to-Report and self-service options (such as Item Restoration) are both examples of this building in this efficiency. Updating the in-game interface to prompt players for exactly the information we need to service their requests is definitely something we want to do.
Love is in the Air customer support policy
Blizzard has posted a guide to what customer service and support can and cannot do for players during Love is in the Air, the WoW in-game holiday that runs between Feb. 5 through 20. As with most in-game events like this, players will be getting exclusive items, quests, tokens, prizes, and chances on really rare items like mounts from daily bosses. These events are designed to be rare and happen only once a year, and Blizzard stresses (again, by design) that these titles, achievements, and other event goodies need to be acquired during the holiday. Legitimate claims of items lost with logs will be restored as normal, but Blizzard wanted to make sure people knew in advance that item purchases and achievement-related issues during this limited-time event will most likely not be able to be addressed. Putting out notices like this is definitely a nice move by the community team. Many people have complained in the past of not knowing when a new event was starting in game or that their schedules did not permit them to complete all of the necessary holiday achievements and get all of the accompanying items. For many of those, the bright line rule is that "Blizzard wants these things to be rare," so they are rare by design. Remember: Get your holiday stuff done ASAP. This is your early notice that things will most likely not be given to you if you miss the event. The full blue post, after the break.
Blizzard opens EU customer service Twitter account
A few months ago, Blizzard opened a Twitter account for its U.S. customer support team. Though it seems to mostly be used to retweet accolades for support staff and keep followers abreast of ticket queue times, there are also helpful links to hot CS topics and support-related announcements mixed in there. Now, players in Europe can take advantage of the same service with the Blizzard EU CS Twitter account. Between the official Warcraft Twitter account and the new Game Guide/community site, it's good to see Blizzard finally embracing social networking and web 2.0.
