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Leaked memo details Verizon's $2 fee for paying your bill; autodraft or ACH the only way out (update: confirmed)
A couple of years back, AT&T offered select customers a $25 prepaid MasterCard to switch their billing over to autodraft. Soon, Verizon Wireless will be following Sprint's footsteps and charging you for every month that you aren't using that very system. Tactical differences aside, the leaked memo shown above details what has to be one of the most consumer-unfriendly policy changes since the carrier boosted its early termination fee for "advanced devices." Effective January 15th, any customer that opts to pay their wireless bill online or over the phone will be charged an extra $2 each month, and the only way to sidestep it is to sign up for AutoPay or to pay by electronic check, where there's no credit card fee passed on to the carrier. For those unaware, AutoPay automatically drafts the most recent amount from either a linked checking / savings account or a credit card on file, and while we can understand VZW's desire to better control when it's getting paid, charging customers to make it happen is just downright ludicrous. Here's a thought, Verizon: enforce stricter penalties on late payments, or just offer those that shift to AutoPay a small discount for going out of their way to make your life a little easier. Or, you know, for all those hours that your network has been down during the holidays. Update: Verizon has officially confirmed the change to its policies and the $2 surcharge you'll be hit with each month if you're not using autodraft or some other small subset of payment options. Head after the break for all the details straight from the horse's mouth. [Thanks, Alex]
Microsoft launches AnswerDesk online, brings tech support to your basement apartment
Love getting others to fix your computer, but hate the nuisance of putting on pants and leaving your house? Great news! Microsoft has launched an online version of its in-store AnswerDesk tech support, letting customers get the help they need from the comfort of their own busted computer. You can go online to get live chat-based help from a selection of techs 24/7. The service lets you shop for assistants, based on experience for troubleshooting help. The first taste is free -- if you need additional support with things like remote virus removal or system training, however, it'll cost you. The service requires a Windows Live ID and can be found at the source link below.
Apple's retail tech can notice shoppers when they arrive
Ever wonder how Apple employees know you need help or are there to pick up an order? Apple employees now have a way to track you in the store. On Black Friday, New York Times reporter Brian X. Chen took a closer look at a customer tracking system Apple has been using "for a few weeks." It's an interesting look at how Apple is using its own technology to improve and expedite the retail shopping experience. The system is powered by an internal application running on an employee's iPod touch. A customer walking into the store can use the Apple Store app to alert employees they have arrived to pick up their order. The customer's iOS device uses GPS to locate them and sends the alert when they enter the store. When an employee receives an alert, their iPod touch will display the location of the customer on a map of the store. A similar system was already being used for customers with product questions. Employees would be alerted when you asked for assistance using the iPad demo machines. The iPod-based system is meant to improve the shopping experience for customers. Says Apple employee Diego Aguirre, "We don't want to feel like we're hassling our customers to shop. We want them to feel at home." It also lets employees quickly help those customers who need assistance.
EVE dev video talks customer relations and server nodes
As part of a refocusing on developing EVE Online, CCP Games has recently taken us on a video tour of its art, features and core technology departments. This week it's the turn of the customer relations and Virtual Worlds departments as CCP Guard finds out what makes EVE tick. In his visit to the den of GMs, he finds that important stuck queue petitions are answered on average in 15 minutes, a response time much improved compared to a few years ago. Guard chats to several people from CCP's Virtual Worlds department, which is responsible for keeping all the EVE server clusters online and improving performance. CCP Hunter discusses what goes on during EVE's daily downtime and reveals that the once hour-long period has been reduced to only nine minutes per day. We also find out about recent hardware upgrades and the infamous "supernode" deployed for large-scale nullsec wars. Skip past the cut to watch the full video in HD.
CCP announces new Customer Relations details
A couple of days ago, CCP announced that an alarming number of team members had been laid off. Many EVE Online players were understandably concerned about what this might mean for the future of the game. CCP aims to put those concerns to rest with a new dev blog entry released today, which announces that CCP's Community Team has been merged with Customer Support in order to form a new Customer Relations department. The community team has also been relocated to CCP's Reykjavik offices "and will be working closely with every development team to ensure that players are kept up to date with what is coming to EVE." CCP is aiming to increase communication with players and in the coming weeks, the company intends to begin by bringing out a series of short videos which will focus on what's currently in development for EVE. For all the nitty-gritty details, head on over to the official post at EVE's site.
Wings Over Atreia: The anti-rant
Admit it: Whether it is born of a desire to vindicate yourself using the opinions of another or because you just sharpened your claws and are eager to rip said opinions to shreds, sometimes you just love to read a juicy rant. Love them or leave them, we all have opinions and tend toward sharing them, from superstitions to sports to Aion. What make rants so delectably special are the passion and power behind them. Unfortunately, this is not a rant. In fact, this week's Wings Over Atreia is going to be an anti-rant. No, that does not mean I will rant against rants because I am opposed to them (that would still be a rant, not to mention they can be cathartic at times); rather, this will be the opposite of a rant. Yes folks, I am going to do something radical! Trolls, cover your eyes: I am going to give a compliment. And not just any compliment -- I am going to give praise to NCsoft's customer service! *gasp* What confluence of events in Aion brought me to this? Take a peek past the cut to see for yourself.
Fighting the EverQuest hacking wildfire
While hacking and botting may not be a source of frustration to you in your daily MMO, to the denizens of EverQuest, it is a real and ever-present headache. In what is already not the easiest MMO on the planet, players are experiencing an onslaught of hackers who go out of their way to ruin the fun for everyone. In a three-part series, Ten Ton Hammer exposes the systematic problem of rampant hacking in the game, especially on the new progression servers. While guilds are doing their part to crack down on hackers in their midst, it doesn't seem to be enough to stem the flow, especially as with a much smaller team in place these days. Ultimately, fighting this problem does not seem to be SOE's current priority. EQ Producer Thom Terazzas addressed the issue of hacking by saying, "The expansion is something that we're really focused on right now. That has gotten, I would say, 80 percent of the focus here. So doing anything that dramatically combats the hacking is something that we would really like to do, but it is not something we've been able to do." Terazzas followed that up by talking with the Customer Service team and promised that the hackings will receive higher priority once the expansion crunch is over. In the meantime, he urged players to file reports with CS if hacking was observed.
'BioWare Ireland' opens as 400-person customer service center ... in Ireland
Following up its tax incentive-fueled studio opening in Austin, Texas, EA this morning revealed the opening of a new customer service center in business friendly Galway, Ireland. When fully staffed, "BioWare Ireland" will task approximately 400 employees with making this year's big BioWare release go as smoothly as possible, employing customer service agents primarily. Star Wars: The Old Republic is set to launch December 20 in North America, and December 22 in Europe, so the service center is opening just in time for business. During a speech at the grand opening, BioWare co-head Ray Muzyka called out to potential employees across all parts of Europe to join BioWare's Ireland team. "We've got a solid base of people here already in Galway ... we're looking for more. From Ireland ... from the rest of Europe to support our German and French customers ... from all over the world. We want you to join us here at BioWare Ireland." Muzyka was no doubt trying to fill out the studio's current staff of 200, which is expected to double at full capacity. BioWare's Galway service center marks the first installation the company will operate outside of North America.
Trion extends RIFT half-birthday bonuses because of Hurricane Irene
"Trion, you should extend the birthday celebrations due to Irene," one East Coast player wrote on the forums. "They did," came the next reply. The many, many half-birthday bonuses that came with RIFT's kooky in-game party were set to end tomorrow, September 1st, but are now being extended until September 6th so that players affected by last weekend's hurricane can enjoy it as well. Subscribers are still expected to receive their in-game gifts tomorrow that include bonus potions and a reusable birthday cake. James Nichols delivered the happy news: "We know many of you have been weathering out the storm on the east coast -– so we're keeping the subscriber bonuses turned on an extra week. You now have until September 6th to enjoy all the bonuses to XP, Guild XP, Favor, Prestige, Planarite, and dungeon & raid currencies. Have fun!"
British Airways testing iPads to enhance customer service
Airlines are embracing iPads in a big way. Just yesterday, we featured a story about another airline -- Delta -- that is replacing the bulky flight bags that cockpit crews carry around with lightweight iPads packed with information. Now British Airways has announced a trial program in which 100 cabin crew members are using iPads to streamline and enhance customer service. The iPads are chock-full of information about the passengers on a particular flight, and the information is updated just prior to departure when a list of boarded passengers is uploaded to the device. This replaces the traditional printed seating chart, and also adds information about Executive Club status and special meal requests. Paper handbooks and timetables are also being replaced by the iPads, which are loaded with digital facsimiles of safety manuals and schedules for the flight crews. Should a passenger on a British Airways flight have an issue or complaint before takeoff, the incident can be logged and shared immediately with ground-based customer support personnel for resolution en route. British Airways says that the iPads are already receiving "great feedback" from both crew and customers. The airline hopes to roll out more devices to all senior cabin crew within the next few months.
Survey: Apple's lead in tech support satisfaction is slipping
According to a survey [PDF] of over 4,000 customers, satisfaction with Apple's phone-based support is slipping, while other computer manufacturers like HP are gaining. Apple is still the undisputed leader with 58% of Apple customers saying they were "Very Satisfied" with their experience. Though higher than the 53% rate for HP and 47% for Dell, Apple's satisfaction rating has dropped 15 points since last year. It appears as if the automated part of the tech support process has people stymied. According to the survey, only 24 percent of Apple customers are "Very Satisfied" with automated support calls. In this category, Apple trails both Dell and HP whose customers are 30% and 46% satisfied with the experience, respectively. [Via TechCrunch]
Verizon swaps misbehaving Fascinates with phones that'll make you flip
If you're among the unfortunate handful of Verizon users whose Samsung Fascinate consistently fails to receive inbound calls after the latest update, we've got good news: Big Red is replacing these unruly handsets free of charge (and without contract extension). Now keep in mind, an in-store Verizon representative must confirm that your phone cannot properly receive calls, because telephone support agents obviously can't verify this one. Once you jump through a few hoops, however, the company will toss you a Certified Like-New Replacement of a Droid Charge, Droid Incredible 2, or Droid X2 as compensation for your plight. Sure it's used, but so is your Fascinate, so chin up -- this time, there's reason to be glad your smartphone doesn't work. [Thanks, Geremy]
Dell quietly pulls the Streak to perform an update, might bring it back next month?
What Dell can give, it can taketh away. That's the story with the Streak, which has quietly vanished from retail as well as the outfit's online storefront. We first got wind of this when a tipster wrote in to say he had spoken to a company employee, who said the 5-inch Android tablet / phone had been discontinued. When we reached out to Dell's PR team to see what's up, we got the pat "Dell does not comment on rumors, speculation, or unannounced products." So then we called customer service, pretending to order one, and that's when things got interesting. The rep told us the Streak hasn't, in fact, been end-of-life'd; it's just been pulled from shelves while it receives an update. The gentleman couldn't say how severe the issue is, though he insists it has zilch to do with Android. Whatever it is, Dell isn't even accepting orders for the 5-inch Streak at the moment. If all goes according to plan, though, we're told it should go back on sale in early August. [Thanks, Venkata]
Sprint text messaging down, subscribers' thumbs left feeling unfulfilled (updated: back up)
Having issues sending text messages today from your Sprint-enabled device? You're most certainly not alone. We've received a number of complaints from users indicating they can't TXT, while the company's own @sprintcare Twitter account is firing on all cylinders, tossing out replies like "our network team is aware and are working to get txts back up and running as fast as we can." Until that comes to pass you're stuck in a dark, painful world bereft of any and all means of external communication -- other than calls, emails, letters, smoke signals... Update: Looks like we're good to go again, folks. Get your SMS on. Update 2: Sprint sent us an official statement on the matter, which we've included after the break. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Community Detective Issue #24: Need for Speed World
Thus far, Community Detective has stayed on the straight and narrow course of fantasy MMORPGs during its brief existence. Sure, I've taken the occasional detour into sci-fi, superhero, and quasi-historical territory, but the majority of the column's first 23 issues were -- like the genre itself -- largely concerned with sorcerers, scantily-clad he-men, and sword-related violence. This week I'd like to break out of that mold for a bit and examine a title based in the real world (or more accurately, Electronic Arts' approximation of the real world). To borrow a quote from dear old '80s cinema: I feel the need, the Need for Speed World.
Scott Hartsman: 'Happy customers stick around longer'
"Here's the overall philosophy behind all this: Happy customers stick around longer," Scott Hartsman said in an interview with Gamefront. "That's what we think. That's the beginning and end of it." It may seem like common sense, but for Hartsman and the team at Trion Worlds, it's a lesson they feel is easy to forget. He cites this as the driving force behind one of the game's major upcoming changes: the ability to transfer characters between servers for free. Trion hopes that the character transfers will help friends connect without the obstacle of separate servers getting in their way. Hartsman said that the tech behind the transfer is impressive -- not to mention "instantaneous" from a customer standpoint. Hartsman says that the team places a premium on talking frankly and frequently with players. If Trion doesn't always come across as perfect, he hopes that the company makes up for it with communication and sincerity: "We don't want to hide behind a big wall, and we don't want everything to come through a formal mouthpiece. I'd rather have us all out conversing with people and occasionally making a mistake here or there on the assumption that because we are talking to people more means that overall, things are going to be better." The lengthy interview covers a wide range of pressing topics, from the "bumpy" River of Souls event to the LFG system and the free trial program.
Community Detective Issue #23: Perpetuum
Welcome to the Perpetuum edition of Community Detective. Avatar Creations' mech-based sandbox MMORPG launched back in November, and despite being relatively new to the market, it has already had time to release a free expansion and a 15-day free trial as well as build itself a small but dedicated fanbase. I spent the last couple of weeks tooling around the game's tutorials and early mission content as well as observing Perpetuum's community and customer service offerings. Due to the size of the community and the bare-bones approach to customer service, this week's issue of Community Detective departs from my standard data-centric format in favor of some general impressions. Join me after the cut to see what's happening on the planet Nia.
Is it possible? AT&T drops lower in customer satisfaction survey
It's a bit of a surprise. AT&T has dropped below Sprint in consumer ratings, at least according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, as reported by the Associated Press. Both T-Mobile and AT&T are ranked at the bottom, which makes you wonder about the wisdom of the announced sale of T-Mobile to AT&T. Think of the fun customers will have as the two worst companies on the list merge accounting systems and networks. Consumer Reports also ranks AT&T the worst of the cellular carriers. Sprint and Verizon both get a score of 72 in the survey, which was done by polling 8,000 households in the first quarter of the year. AT&T is at the bottom with a score of 66, down 3 points from last year. T-Mobile scores a 70, also down 3 from a year ago. At first glance I would have thought there would be some improvement in the AT&T score. We've been reporting on problems for years, and AT&T says it has spent millions in upgrades and says it has been trying to fill in the coverage gaps. What's your experience? Is AT&T getting better or worse, and if you made the jump to Verizon, are you happier?
The Daily Grind: What's the best service you've received from a GM?
There are players for whom the GMs of a given game are nothing but antagonists, killjoys who want to ban people for shouting just a few obscene slurs in a public chat channel. For many other players, they're a silent presence, something you're sure is there but never make any use of. And sometimes, they're the only people who can help you fix a serious problem with your character, a bug that crept in somewhere along the line. There are games where you virtually never see a GM in person, such as World of Warcraft, and then there are games such as Final Fantasy XI where the GMs have a very different image among players. But today, we're not going to talk about times when GMs randomly teleported you to jail and fed you to a dragon for amusement. We're talking about the best incidents you've had, the times where you've called for help and received it without a problem. So what's the best service you've received from a GM in the game? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
Community Detective Issue #22: Allods Online [Updated]
My first few minutes with Allods Online were one part awesome and two parts aggravation. There was intrigue in the form of my research into player-crewed airships, and there was annoyance at the forced installation of Pando Media Booster, a third-party app that supposedly improves download speeds but is really little more than bloatware. Once I had the game patched and running (and the offending program removed), it was time to get down to brass tacks. Community Detective has largely been concerned with traditional subscription-based MMOs to this point (detours into the lands of Global Agenda and Runes of Magic notwithstanding), so I'm branching out a bit this week to the realm of free-to-play. Despite its cash-shop missteps and death-penalty brouhahas, Allods has a certain allure, and I figured it was time to answer a few burning questions. In no particular order: What the heck is an allod, what kind of community can you expect in one of the larger F2P games, and what sort of customer service is on offer from gPotato?
