More bullshit from Massive Shithead

[KatEnigma]

Did MaxoidSam ever get back to any of the people who volunteered to be beta testers?

He PM'd us with his email address, to be put on a list. *shrug* We'll see what happens after New Year's when they should be starting to test.

[J. M. Pescado]

It was nothing more than a cheap propaganda stunt, no doubt an attempt to subvert the peasantry in this rather anti-Maxis area. It is utter nonsense.

[Celestard]

I, for one, did not make a complaint because I was able to fix it myself with a registry cleaner and a no-cd patch. I can imagine many, many other people did the same. If a formal complaint is what they want, though, I just may have to do that.

The problem I have with this is, if this is how it's going to be, how can I give the Sims 2 games to my neices for Christmas and birthdays?  Should I give them a no-cd crack to go with it?  

[J. M. Pescado]

Why would you GIVE someone that? They can get it themselves! Just give them the money if you feel compelled to give things to people. It's less annoying.

[kutto]

You know the old saying: "If you give a man a fish..."

Why not teach them how to torrent?

[Doc Doofus]

I thought about making a Bittorrent hack for The Sims.  If your Sim has the cheap PC, he could choose the "Download SimComet 0.57" action, and then he could download all the other games (Sims Bustin' Out, that skiing game, whatever the others are...) for free.  It wouldn't just be a fun mod; it would also be a subversive educational tool.

The people trying to wriggle out of their responsibilities are never the ones you're facing, though. It's the employee who's stuck in the middle, between an irate customer now and an irate boss later.

What Neriana said, in spades.  I fully appreciate the therapeutic effects of screaming at innocent third parties, but it's much more therapeutic to scream at guilty parties.  Or to flip them the bird in other ways.

It seems to me that

1. If the purpose of their new copy-protection is to protect their software from copying...  And
2.  It ruins your game... And
3.  It doesn't even really protect the game from being copied...

That the solution is to stop giving EA money for the game. 

Now, I'm not recommending that.  No way, no sir.  That would be immoral.  Or it would be acting out in an immature manner just to punish a soulless corporation.  Such vengeance is not the province of mere mortals, but more properly belongs to God or Karma.  Perhaps EA execs will be reincarnated as outhouse corncorbs in their next life.  It's their karmic burden, and we should not worry our pretty little heads with the matter.

[Inge]

Perhaps EA execs will be reincarnated as outhouse corncorbs in their next life.

OMG that's given me the laugh of my week 

[lasciel]

I don't believe a damn word that comes out of that asshole's mouth.  Massive Shithead couldn't care less about the paying customers and is only posting what EA wants him to post. 

It would be more dishonest for him to pretend that threads on the BBS have any hope of changing the company's policy. If you don't believe the numbers he's posted, fine, but his advice about the best way to make your dissatisfaction known makes sense to me.

yeah, at least he's being honest in saying "that isn't working, if you really want your point across do it the intelligent way <here>".

[J. M. Pescado]

Realistically, the sheer volume of public stupidity is such that the only way to change the policy of large, faceless corporations with no individual accountability is to give them individual accountability. With rocket launchers.

[nil]

Realistically, the sheer volume of public stupidity is such that the only way to change the policy of large, faceless corporations with no individual accountability is to give them individual accountability. With rocket launchers.

This gives me some laughters today...  Thanks...
That's a great idea, in spades.

[maxon]

All you'll accomplish by throwing a shitfit in a store is to ruin someone's day. You might get your way, but I was always far less inclined to give irate or otherwise obnoxious customers what they wanted than people who were reasonable and civil, and who generally treated me like I was a human being and not a robot slave sent to thwart their whims. I didn't want the tantrum-throwers to be happy with what they got, I wanted them to stay away. Everyone I've worked with in retail has felt the same. We don't like being treated like crap any more than customers do.

As an ex-retail worker (having to deal with entertainment gizmos, games included) I agree with every word you said, neriana.

While I completely sympathise with what you are saying about the shittiness of working in a store and being put on the spot when this sort of thing happens, I disagree about the issue of making a scene in a shop.  I don't think it makes the customer look stupid when they have a legitmate reason to complain.  I think it is right that people complain - it puts other customers off and any shop manager worth his/her salt should want to avoid it.  I know I have walked out of shops when I've seen a complaint being badly handled.

I don't know about the States, but here in the UK not providing a refund for goods that are defective is against the law.  That particular law was framed for precisely the reason that shops routinely had 'policies' which meant they wouldn't 'allow' refunds for defective goods.  In the UK, this is simply now not allowed and the protection of the consumer was placed highest up the pecking order in a series of legislative acts starting with the 1974 Consumer Protection Act (which kinda does what it says on the can).  I have noticed recently, I have to say, that some retailers are trying to put back policies where they don't refund for goods which are defective and sometimes dissatisfied customers do have to get stroppy in the shop to get what is, rightfully, their refund.  Often shop assistants will go on saying the customer can't have a refund because 'it's not their policy to issue them' but when a customer really gets stroppy and the shop manager is called, s/he usually backs down immediately.  This is because he or she is well aware, where the assistant might not be, that legally they don't have a leg to stand on.  They usually make some comment like 'in this special case, we'll refund your money' but it's a face-saving device.

If you are working in retail and paid a low wage, you shouldn't have to face the type of situation where you have to face a really irate customer - without support at least - that's really your Boss's job and it's a shame when bosses don't do their jobs properly.  But I'd defend the right of people to go to the place where they bought the goods and make a complaint, very publically if need be, and I think it's right that they are entitled to expect a refund.

[dizzy]

Defrauding a customer of their rightful refund is very much frowned upon here, and AFAIK can land that particular store owner with lots of trouble from several agencies, non-profit organizations, the AG's office (depending on the laws in your state), not to mention consumer watchdog journalists who typically do at least one spot per week on TV. If you encounter a store that stonewalls your requests for refunds, you really should politely leave and seek support from one of these many groups.

It's your hard-earned money. You should get your money's worth out of it.

[TaWanda]

There is a big difference between making a complaint and making a scene.  Getting overly loud, using profanity, or getting physical are not acceptable ways of voicing a complaint, and it does make the customer look like an idiot, like this http://www.sendspace.com/file/fb5374.

[morriganrant]

There is a big difference between making a complaint and making a scene.  Getting overly loud, using profanity, or getting physical are not acceptable ways of voicing a complaint, and it does make the customer look like an idiot, like this http://www.sendspace.com/file/fb5374.

Such as an experience I recently had while working at gamestop. Two groups come in who had both purchased xboxes and games within the past week. They apparently live together. One man and one of the woman was very verbally abusive to myself and another employee because it was the second time they'd come back with xboxs that didn't work. ...dumb fucks had cds that were scratched to hell and back but were threatening myself and the other employee with physical violence for selling them yet another "broken" xbox and they wanted their money back. Which neither of us could do. Would not listen to our chorus of coming back when the manager was there so I ended up testing both of their consoles in the store and pulled out several games at random to test. They worked just fine. Sometimes the customer is an idiot. Other times though it is the company, I grit my teeth everytime someone brings in a brand new game or a system to trade in, we give about 1/3 of what we sell it for, that's good business but we are still fleecing them on a lot of things. I think we give like 20 bucks for an xbox, they could sell it in the newspaper for more, nearly 100$ less then the sell price when it's a wii. I always try to be a good sells clerk, I warn against invasive piracy protection, graphics card problems with certain games, quality of the game play in general and I'm always sure to sell the best copy of whatever used game they are buying or showing them the disk if it's a little shitty looking to make sure that they really want to pay for that and yet, I still get yelled at and complained to at least 3x a week about company policy that I have nothing to do with and can not change.

[MutantBunny]

I understand some customers can be a pib and big idiots. I also understnad that it's 'corporate policy' to remove power from the clreks and tell the clerks they can do nothing for the unhappy customer. This is the way they control the returns. It is to their advantage to have it this way. it is also WRONG.

If I'm the unhappy customer and I have access to the clerk only, they are gonna hear how unhappy I am, regardless. If they don't listen, I'm gonna say it again and again getting louder and louder as I go until they DO listen. If they get abusive with me, say something completely senseless, insulting or whatewver, I'm gonna cuss.

It does no good?? My ass! If I go away nice and complacent, the way you clerks want me to act, the corp. wins. SO you clerks lose if I throw a fit? So what? it's your job. ANd if only the manager can help us then that manager needs to be onsite all the time any customers are.

You don't want to be hassled?? I didn't want to spend my hard earned cash on crap either--we're in the same boat. YOU, the clerk, work for the corp. It's YOUR responsiblity to report exactly how unhappy the customer is with the shitty product and the shitty return policies. If I'm nice and complacent you forget me quick and say nothing. A clerk, when no manager is around, is my only 'voice' back at the dirty crooked corporations. It shouldn't be on me to keep up with a managers schedule.

Federal consumer law says I have the right to return ANYTHING as long as it hasn't been abused and I have my receipt. The corps HATE us, the customers,to know this.

You might be nicer to the next loud mouth and make sure you report the complaint backa t the manager as often as it takes to make a dent in the bad policies..You clerk-whiners need to get a clue and see that us loud mouths are protecting your rights here too.

[morriganrant]

Go back and complain to a manager, you know, someone who can actually do something for you. Clerks can't do a damn thing, the manager can take back things we can't, mark down things we can't and in general do things we can't. All the cursing, yelling and such like is doing nothing for you and you would be asked or it would be demanded that you leave. I don't want people to just accept the answer and go away, I want them to accept that I have no power to help them and come back when there will be someone there who can. Actually, the clerk does not report in anyway to the corp, the manager has weekly to monthly meetings however. Clerks have a set of instructions that they have to follow and for the rest they just do their best. Have a problem with the policy or an issue, take it up with someone who actually has an iota of power to change it, not the part time help that is easy to replace and often is.

We can't take back pc games for any reason other then the disk is borked, then you are just getting a new copy. It's already been covered why, people install and they don't need the disk anymore. I've encouraged people to buy things at wal-mart if they were unsure because of walmarts more relaxed return policy. I think we already covered somewhere about piracy being a good consumer choice. Even I working at the game store will pirate a game before I buy it. Gamestop does have a good policy on used games though, bring it back for any reason within 7 days, no questions asked. 30 days on a system, have a problem, bring it back. You drop the damn thing or try to mod it, no we can't take it back, you move your xbox360 with a game inside and destroy your newly bought game, no we can't replace it. My manager can give the okay to replace said copy, but the peon certainly cannot.

On another note, I have never had a manager ask me how the previous day went nor give me the time of day when trying to report on a situation the day before. It's the manager one way or the other that you have to talk to to get anything done, including sending the message that you want to send.

In all honesty, I will go far out of my way to help a pleasant customer who has given me no reason to dislike them. Doing my best to look for what they want, take care of what they want, find some other solution or leave a message for my manager that someone is coming in from the day before because of something we could not help them with at the time. With a nasty customer I will do no such thing. I will do my best to placate them enough or tell them straight out to leave but I'm certainly not going to go out of my way for someone who can not treat me as a human being that only works there with no power. I'm only looking forward to seeing them out the door and to hopefully forget about the whole thing.

[neriana]

It does no good?? My ass! If I go away nice and complacent, the way you clerks want me to act, the corp. wins. SO you clerks lose if I throw a fit? So what? it's your job. ANd if only the manager can help us then that manager needs to be onsite all the time any customers are.

It's always wonderfully obvious when someone hasn't worked as a store clerk.

In what way does it hurt the corporation when you treat a clerk like crap? Do you honestly think they CARE? Clerks make no dent in bad policies. Even managers aren't listened to. All you're doing when you're making a scene is ruining someone's day and making them feel like garbage. Oh, and making yourself look like a giant idiot. Good on you.

Call customer service, and if you don't like a store, don't go there. That's the only way things are going to change. Behaving like a spoiled brat and throwing a temper tantrum will get you less than nothing.

By the way, we were allowed and even encouraged to throw irate customers out of the store. It's not a clerk's job to deal with violent people, and if someone yelled, the response was to say, "I will call the police if you do not leave now." Our response to anyone who cursed at us was "leave the store and don't come back, we don't want your business". That was store policy. A clerk's safety is more important than your wallet.

[J. M. Pescado]

I would like to point out that companies based in countries with mandatory rocket launcher ownership also have the highest customer service ratings in the world. What does this tell us?

[notovny]

Federal consumer law says I have the right to return ANYTHING as long as it hasn't been abused and I have my receipt. The corps HATE us, the customers,to know this.

I'm curious: Which Federal Law states this?

[Invisigoth]

It does no good?? My ass! If I go away nice and complacent, the way you clerks want me to act, the corp. wins. SO you clerks lose if I throw a fit? So what? it's your job. ANd if only the manager can help us then that manager needs to be onsite all the time any customers are.

The only time that I've ever worked in retail was for my college book store (I got a great discount on my books so I did it for two weeks at the beginning of each term). I never had to deal with irate customers there, probably because at such a small college everyone knows each other which makes people a bit more compassionate toward the staff. I have, however, worked extensively in food service. One time I was waiting on a couple and the man got really mad because we no longer sold onion rings. I told him that I LOVE onion rings and that I was equally disappointed to see them removed from the menu, but that it was a corporate decision and I had no say whatsoever. He didn't like this response and apparently felt that if he complained to me that I would tell someone who could do something about it. I gave him a card with the contact info for the regional manager and several other higher ups who would have the authority to change the onion ring thing, and I got my manager (who also had no influence over corporate decisions, but he gets paid a lot more than me so he gets to listen to people complain). My manager told the man that he would tell the higher ups, but that the man should also contact them since a personal customer complaint would have more of an impact. The man continued to freak out, yell, and generally make a scene for awhile before he finally left.

The only thing that his poor behavior accomplished was to influence my manager and me to tell the rest of the staff about it. We all enjoyed a good laugh at expense. In a corporate environment the people at an individual store usually have no power whatsoever. The only way to change basically anything about an individual store is to deal with the people who make the actual decisions. For example, at every restaurant that I've worked at even the music is specifically selected by the corporation. You couldn't even get the manager to change something as simple as that without corporate intervention. How can you expect that being rude to a store clerk will make her decide that you are such a special snowflake that she should go against corporate policy just for you?

[J. M. Pescado]

I'm telling you, the answer to this is mandatory rocket launcher ownership.

[squish]

SO you clerks lose if I throw a fit? So what? it's your job.

No, it's not the store clerk's job to be the person having shit thrown at. That's what managers are paid for.

Have a problem that the manager is not there? Don't take that out on the store clerk, they don't know what the Hell the manager's schedule is and why would it be their fault if the manager isn't there anyway? Not sure how other stores work, but at mine, my manager worked for ten days, and then had four off. So what now, managers aren't allowed to go home or have lunch breaks? Reminds me of the time I worked on a supermarket checkout and was abused for closing my register. So sorry that I'm having lunch now, or God forbid GOING HOME after spending the last ten hours here.

Half the time, I don't think managers know their own schedules either. But again, have a problem with that? COMPLAIN TO CORPORATE or try calling the store and leave your name and number for someone to call you back, or fill in a complaints form.

The person on the desk has the least rights when it comes to company change. What makes you even think, one little bit, that yelling at them is going to make them say "oh sorry, let me call Mr Big CEO and we'll get that fixed straight away"? 

It's always wonderfully obvious when someone hasn't worked as a store clerk.

Word to that.

[Zazazu]

On another note, I have never had a manager ask me how the previous day went nor give me the time of day when trying to report on a situation the day before.

That's ridiculous, a sign of a bad manager, and most likely incredibly common. A manager should always be up on what's going on in their store/department.

Anyways, lack of power for the peons is not exclusive to retail. Heh, I'm kind of in the middle of the totem pole now in an educational instutition, and I have the same issues. Especially the irate, self-entitled jerk-offs who have unreasonable requests. Usually the ones who are reasonable I can work with, even if it involves doing something that I technically don't have the authority to do. But then I've always kind of pushed the envelope there...even when I worked in retail. A smart manager lets you bend the rules for customer satisfaction, especially if you have high sales numbers.

[dizzy]

That's ridiculous, a sign of a bad manager, and most likely incredibly common. A manager should always be up on what's going on in their store/department.

Managers typically get a salary and work about 80 hours a week in my experience, so I wouldn't think that's a bad sign. A bad sign would be if the employees suddenly get unexpected bonuses or "broken" merchandise mysteriously disappears or something like that.

[Kyna]

Definitely not limited to retail.  I worked for Centrelink (the Australian government organisation that administers welfare payments) for 10 years.  Every decision we made had to be in accord with the legislation.  Nobody within the organisation - not even the most senior manager in our head office in Canberra - had the ability to change the legislation we were required to follow.

In Centrelink the staff don't just get verbal abuse.  We also had things thrown at us, like chairs and computer monitors.  As if throwing a computer monitor at a low level staff member in a regional office in a quiet town will make the politicians all get together in Canberra and change the legislation.

Having spent time on both sides of the Centrelink counter, I can fully understand why some of our customers were frustrated.  People see the customer service officer or the store clerk as being the organisation that they work for, or in my case, the legislation we were required to follow.  They are frustrated with the faceless organisation or the legislation and since it's difficult to take out one's frustrations on a faceless organisation or legislation, they take it out on the person attempting to explain what's going on.