Support giving preferential treatment to lvl10 Premium players

[Trix]

A guild mate of mine politely asked support to transfer his true oathbreaker accessories from his summoner to his soulfighter, he had planned on making a soulfighter since news of it was released and was just playing summoner to pass the time.

 

We all urged him to send in a support ticket because 2 other guild members had previously had items and accessories moved for them by support, one had all his accessories moved for him from his summoner to a forcemaster and even after being told it was a once off service when he asked a few day later to have his pet and gems moved they also moved those for him as well and the other had dragon pouches etc shifted from her summoner to a warlock.

 

After waiting 2 days to receive a reply he was told that they were sorry but moving items wasn't possible and closed the ticket. As a test a different guild member asked to have an oufit moved for her which was done immediately.

 

Now the only difference in all these cases is that the people who had items moved for them were lvl 10 Premium while our other guildmate who was denied and lied to was lvl 7 Premium.

 

We all know that sometimes you get different outcomes depending on which customer service staff you get so he tried again while explaining that other people in his guild had items moved for them so he would appreciate it if they could do the same for him as well and was told that the people that had items moved for them were given special treatment because of *merit*.

 

He has now cancelled his sub and stopped playing and 3 of our lvl 10 Premium members have made the decision to let our premium lapse and no longer buy nc coin if this is the way NCSOFT treats their customers.

 

This is extremely short sighted and bad business practice which will only alienate your customers and cost you money NCSOFT, if the answer is no for one person it should be no for everyone.

 

Either allow everyone one chance at having things moved for them or bring in the unsealing charms that other regions have to solve this issue of unfair treatment.

[WhoAmI1]

Is that why almost all their game's audience/playerbase all left them after 6 months. :D?

[Nilkemios]

Wow. Well, shouldn't be surprised at this point...as sad as it is, it makes sense...but seriously, flat out denying and pretending they can't do that for people is bullshit. I could get them prioritizing higher level premium members for support and stuff, but flat out lying and refusing help....

[Rokusan]

Wow this is kind of sad to hear. Actually nowadays I have noticed their support system has slowed down in regards to replying. Before they would answer like 2-3 hours after you submit a ticket but now you have to wait after an entire day before getting a response. Not sure if it's because of that which you said, preferential treatment to those who have spent more on the game, if they cut down on the support staff, or a bit of both.

 

If so, I can understand from

a business standpoint. The problem is when this kind of thing gets out such as what is happening now. Not going to do NCSOFT's rep any good.

[Grimoir]

I find it hard to believe to be honest.

[Cherish]

1 hour ago, Grimoir said:

I find it hard to believe to be honest.

mmmhh well as one of the players who received the preferential treatment I have contacted Support myself over this matter.  I asked how they could do something for me and not the friend mentioned here.  We are all in the same clan so when my friend changed his main from Summoner to Soul Fighter I suggested he contact support to have his items transferred.  When he received his first knock back from Support I was so disgusted I mailed them myself and asked why if they could do it for me and others I knew they couldn't do it for this guy.

 

ONLY difference between those of us that had something done within a few hours was the Premium Level.

 

I have to wonder about their business model because I have always been taught the Customer you have is worth a ton more to you than the ones you still have to try and get.  I would have thought a Customer who is still loyal to you after all these months isn't less valuable than the ones who spent a bit faster.  My reasoning is as a Premium 10 I don't have a lot more I want to buy in the game so my dollars dry up BUT the guy who is still slowly getting to Premium 10 are guaranteed dollars in the bank.

 

The reason this incidence is so sour to me is that when my friend first contacted support he was blatantly lied to and told it simply could not be done.  I then told my friend he was welcome to say that they had transferred items for me which he did and the tone of the Support response has now changed to ***it is done for some on MERIT*  My question to you is what is *MERIT* 3 Premium Level 10 ask and it is done immediately 1 Premium Level 7 asks and is told No.  ONLY difference between us all is PREMIUM LEVEL 10. 

[love4ndpeace]

You're supposed to level and farm it all over again when you start new class, you're not supposed to ask for equipment transfer. It doesn't work that way. Although I don't agree with NCSoft's preferential treatment, they have the right to choose who they want to help depending on who spent more (I don't really care)

 

What disgust me is you guys are helped by NCSoft and come crying in forum cause they refuse to help your friends. Remember, "they're not supposed to transfer your equips" "you're supposed to upgrade it all over again". so does "EVERYONE" else. If in any case you're entitled to it be thankful for it but it does not happen to everyone else.

Lastly, you guys have wasted support team's time helping you premium level 10 pigs with your menial problem rather than solving problems for those who actually needs help.

And before you say I'm salty about this, my premium level is 9 and I don't feel the need to get preferential treatment.

[Squirrelzzzzz]

I don't find it hard to believe at all. I've known friends to be rejected for making the same request but then see a premium rank 10 member get all his stuff transferred from one class to another. Guess it also helped he was a streamer.

 

Preferential treatment based on how much money you've spent on a game shouldn't and won't sit well with the player base.

[Brand X]

Someone quit for what almost everyone else has to do?  Oh no!  :o  Level like the rest of us.  Asked, was turned down, yes it sucks, but guess what it's not always a matter of premium level.  I asked at Level 8 if they would transfer an outfit, they said couldn't be done.  :p

[Kitah]

I am a rank 10 premium member. They have moved things for me, but they have also denied doing stuff for me while allowing others to have things sent as-well. I honestly think it depends on which GM you get. Some are very understanding and helpful, others aren't. Wording it in a specific way tends to help, I've noticed they misunderstand as-well so opening a new ticket on the same subject usually pushes them to do something.

I've had transferred in -game costume from my female character to my male character. (I used a gender swap on one character and thought some of the specific outfits would switch gender... I should've read further into it).  They refused to transfer my Siren and Pirate Emblems which I have masses of and no use for (I've sinced sold them to the Merchant) 

They should be able to assist anyone, I think pushing them and getting the right people at the other end is the most challenging thing about it. 

[Katsapliakos]

If they did move items then they shoudnt have in the first place,i actually dont believe they did it in the first place,i doubt in any mmo they transfer items from 1 toon to another,couse u just wanted them to do it.

 

Some days ago,i send a ticket couse i made a big mistake,it was rly late in the morning and next day noon,not even half day later support answered me and problem was solved.That was rly rly fast and no i am not premium at all.

[StrykersGaming]

The problem I see coming out of this is they set a precedence in transferring gear to player's alt now their main. If this is something they do for level 10 Premium members, then it should be listed as one of the perks for that level. Being silent on it or saying they cannot do it when in fact they have is tantamount to a lie and major public relationship problem. Acting to the contrary by stating they'll never do it again regardless of the premium level will exacerbate the situation and cost them income. They need to state that this is available to level 10 only and once per account or something along those lines. Otherwise, they shoot themselves in the foot. Right now, this is developing into a customer service nightmare. If this ball starts rolling down hill they won't be able to stop it.

[Laneera]

Premium 10 people in my clan have gotten things done by support that others at lower level did not get even when asked. It's been going on for a while and I feel it's utterly despicable. Especially considering the sick amounts of money you have to spend to get to 10: I'm at rank 6 now. I was rank 6 last week too, and I have spent 80 euros on the game in the past week. I'm still at 80k out of 100k "XP" to get to the next level. NCSoft is basically saying "we don't care about you unless you spend hundreds of dollars/euros." Not that all their other support so far seems to send other messages. They're pretty quiet on the forums too...

[Kitah]

4 minutes ago, DamnedYankee said:

The problem I see coming out of this is they set a precedence in transferring gear to player's alt now their main. If this is something they do for level 10 Premium members, then it should be listed as one of the perks for that level. Being silent on it or saying they cannot do it when in fact they have is tantamount to a lie and major public relationship problem. Acting to the contrary by stating they'll never do it again regardless of the premium level will exacerbate the situation and cost them income. They need to state that this is available to level 10 only and once per account or something along those lines. Otherwise, they shoot themselves in the foot. Right now, this is developing into a customer service nightmare. If this ball starts rolling down hill they won't be able to stop it.

I don't think it is a rank thing, I've seen many other people, even a few non-premium members get this type of treatment from the support, I think it just comes down to who you actually get at the other end and if they are strict on guidelines. It'll also depend if you keep pushing for assistance or just leave iat their half-baked macro answer that they chose from a dropdown menu. I find it extremely disappointing that they are not assisting everyone who would like to move their items from one character to another, since there is currently no in-game system in place to do such a thing yourselves (this would fix so many issues!) Hopefully we can get a response in one way, and allowing this to be available for everyone who contacts support. 

[Cherish]

The big part of the problem here is that the game is being pushed out so fast that the majority of us really can't afford to properly gear up more than one character.  If like in other areas the game had been released over a much longer period then we wouldn't have this issue at all.  I also believe NCsoft is working on putting an item in the cash shop that will allow you to transfer your accessories etc to other characters on your account.  IF that process was already in the game then there would be no issue as my friend would simply have purchased it and been happy.

 

The issue is that this guy is contacting support knowing it has been done for others and not being done for him.  It is not listed in the list of items that are given to Premium Level 10 players so therefore it should be available to all. 

 

To all the negative and sometimes borderline nasty responders I am angry this has happened to my friend but I am also very unhappy the service is NOT OFFERED TO ALL PLAYERS.  If it can be done for one it can be done for all.

[DomiSotto]

And that is why ALL hongmoon accessories for ALL players need to be account bound, PERIOD.  How is it fair to the rest of us who have to re-farm the EXACTLY SAME ITEMS for EACH ALT that some people got their accessories transferred by the CS when asked nicely?

[Abysmal]

@OP: So why are you so surprised that NCW gives preferential treatment to paid users? Every company does that!

For example: I've had texts and data overusage charges reverted by my cell company, credit card interests on late payment waived, instant approval on Amazon CC upon applying, instant approval of credit limit increases (all from different companies). All because I have excellent credit rating. You can even get discounts on local farmers markets if you shop there often enough. I don't see you complaining about those companies...

[Cherish]

5 minutes ago, Abysmal said:

@OP: So why are you so surprised that NCW gives preferential treatment to paid users? Every company does that!

For example: I've had texts and data overusage charges reverted by my cell company, credit card interests on late payment waived, instant approval on Amazon CC upon applying, instant approval of credit limit increases (all from different companies). All because I have excellent credit rating. You can even get discounts on local farmers markets if you shop there often enough. I don't see you complaining about those companies...

So what you are saying is that a Level 7 Premium user doesn't have a good credit rating?  I would have thought his purchases over time would have shown him to be a very good customer :D

 

All F2P players are also potential customers and the customer you already have is much more value to you than the ones you have to chase.

[Boops]

They shouldn't have honored that request in the first place, regardless of premium rank.  It's not fair because it's not mentioned anywhere.  Not only to non-rank 10 players but also to other rank 10 players.  I'm rank 10 and have been for a long , but I had no idea support would do something like this.  So meantime I already farmed my ass off for my SF alt to get her up to speed on gear and then I see this? -_-

[Boops]

1 minute ago, DomiSotto said:

Exactly. It's the randomness of it that is unfair. If they want to charge specific price for CS moving accessories between alts, or if it requires a specific level of membership to get that service, it should be documented and posted as a membership perk. People negotiating shadow deals is not right.

This.  Either all or none OR if you want it to be an exclusive perk, LIST IT SOMEWHERE! -_-

[DomiSotto]

4 minutes ago, Boops said:

They shouldn't have honored that request in the first place, regardless of premium rank.  It's not fair because it's not mentioned anywhere.  Not only to non-rank 10 players but also to other rank 10 players.  I'm rank 10 and have been for a long , but I had no idea support would do something like this.  So meantime I already farmed my ass off for my SF alt to get her up to speed on gear and then I see this? -_-

Exactly. It's the randomness of it that is unfair. If they want to charge specific price for CS moving accessories between alts, or if it requires a specific level of membership to get that service, it should be documented and posted as a membership perk. People negotiating shadow deals is not right.

[LadyGamerluv]

Holy crap! This is shockingly bad. 

[DomiSotto]

No, it's not. We are all playing this game, and if the rules are set that we do not know about, well, that should be brought to light, so each of us can make an informed decision when we require a service.

 

I've paid subscription to SWTOR for 2 years, buying 6 months packs every time, and it never occurred to me to go and ask for preferential treatment because what I was getting for it was more than generous.

 

In BnS, there is zero incentive to pay a sub, or so I thought from what sub offers.

 

But if buying 1 year sub and advancing yourself to Stage 10 membership gets you everything you ask on a double, if that's the rule of the game... I want to know that rule.

 

However, if it involves haggling, wheeling and dealing, going behind other people's backs... well, I am a nice person so when I am told 'no, we can't do that, Ma'am', I say 'oh, well, didn't hurt to ask, have a nice day....' so I won't do it.

 

I hope moderators weigh in, and we will get clarifications about this scandalous behavior by CS.

[hattori]

What a load of crap.....u cant tranfser equ. Sure i can make a post on forum too... saying that when u ask very kindly for a legenday wep. GM gnna give u one...I think OP just want to flood support with transfer equ tickets

[DomiSotto]

I also wanted to add:

 

On the public, official stream, we have asked the NC Soft reps openly:

 

Will there be Shared Storage?

Will there be Account-bound anything, including Accessories.

 

And the official response was NO, it is too hard to code it. When you make an alt, you assume a full burden of gearing and decking it out.

 

What we see here, is that apparently this is not the case, and the Customer Service has ways to easily do a transfer of character-bound items to an alt. So doing so on a game-wide basis should be technically pretty darn easy (not that I have ever doubted it).

 

But we are neither getting it as a limited paid service to flip a main, nor we are getting it as the Cadillac version when everyone has access to it, nor as a revenue generating move to have subs above whatever level of membership getting access to it...

 

All and all, it is a service that is in demand, but most of us are neither getting it nor are aware of a reliable way to secure it.