Booted out of SL! (briefly)

I dont usually complain about customer service (since I am on the other end of the desk a lot of the time myself), but I thought this was a little rude.

Something happened with the credit card on my account where it could not be billed, so I get an email from LL with the problem mentioned and how I had seven days to figure it out.

After a bit of research I find that the card has a multi-thousand dollar limit and only 450 bucks showing, the VISA folks say "it's fine" and I relay that back to LL. Long story short it isn't fine and the charge keeps failing. I pay off the card in full and it still fails. I end up in a back and forth with customer suport at LL, all very cordial etc.

Then, late last night I am chucked out of SL at the stroke of midnight and can no longer log on or view the forums until I change the card.

So I change the card and here I am.

---

Am I alone in thinking this is pretty rude behaviour?

I mean I am working with the LL support person the whole time in a back and forth email exchange. Every email I get I respond almost immediately, usually within the hour and shuffle off to try another tactic to get the card to work. The support folks on the other hand, sometimes take a day or two to respond to my latest email, yet they just summarily chuck me off when the buzzer sounds??

Every customer suport system I have ever woked with (and most places I give my business to), pretty much would suspend something like that as long as there is a constructive "back and forth" going on. There is also a three day long weekend in the middle of this seven day period, limiting what is going to be possible.

It just seems to me that to go from
"working together to solve it"
to
"get lost until you pay up loser"

is kind of shocking and just not cricket at all.

I am going to assume that this is all automated and that is why it happened to you. You should just be happy they give you the 7 days to pay up, and not just take away all your land and money.

Hmm. More evidence of the customer service disconnect at work at Linden Lab. Like I've said in the past, I've never had need of Linden customer support, but I find myself troubled at the frequent re-telling of the same basic story with a few variations:

1. Linden Lab was very polite
2. Nothing got fixed

3. Linden Lab is still polite, but can't or won't fix my problem
3.a. Linden Lab no longer responds to my queries
3.b. Linden Lab has no information about previous support requests I have sent

4. My problem is unsolved
4.a. My problem is solved, but only because of an action I took
4.b. Linden Lab solved my problem but only after I duplicated support steps I had taken previously


Make no mistake, customer service is very hard. But it's the most important part of any business.

Possibly they are relying too much on automated methods due to the staff shortage.

My affront is almost completely healed by being able to rant about it anyway.

My credit card was stolen and yes I am one those rare birds only have one card. Same story 2 weeks or I get the boot but it takes 3 weeks to get a new card. I begged and pleaded with the Lindens to give me 3 weeks." Nope sorry no can do, it's a automated process".
Two weeks pass and I get booted untill I pay up routine. The following week I get my new card. I paid up, ditched my land, went down to the very basic account. That is not a automated process. That is my reply to piss poor customer service. The reward for being a good citizen, never causing trouble and trying to give some back to the system is when you need a little help "it's go to hell". I do not believe that any company that can write software for a 3D virutal world from scratch can not write a simple billing program that the customer service people can control. Just remember kids when it comes to SL your not a person your a credit card number.


Rox

Interesting to know this.

I guess automation is the root of it then, but I agree that it's certainly not necessary to do it that way.

There are not *that* many of us that some kind of monolithic Microsoft-esque program needs to be used. A "personal touch" can still be simulated if not actually given by picking out these few incidents and giving those people the benefit of the doubt.

In fact, I am already kind of "over it" and I don't believe in retaliation (or rash actions) mostly, but it sure doesn't make much sense as policy. I too am a really "good customer" from their persepctive and the type of person (they say), they are trying to market SL to, and yet one gets treated like this.

There is always the possibility that there are internal issues that we dont know about, but it seems like a clear "hole" in their service from the customer point of view.