Olsen arrived this morning just as I was about to leave for work. I didn't have a chance to post about it today, and it took me a few hours to get it up and running again.
No explanation, really, but they just sent me a completely new box. Maybe my old one was permanently toasted or maybe Syed couldn't get information fast enough and just went down to his local Futureshop and bought one and had it couriered to me. Who knows.
At any rate, because it needed to re-detect my PC, and because there have been upgrades to Windows Connect and to Windows Media Player (I play all my music by streaming it over my wireless network from my PC to my X360) I needed to get the latest version of Media Player and jump through a bunch of annoying hoops in order to get it all up and running again, but now it's up, and Cmdr Greedo is back online.
For you suckers who thought you were going to catch up on me, I went and quickly nabbed 15 Achievements playing Frogger... just to make sure I could log a few points to get back on the charts.
Anyone who just took advantage of my little lull to edge past me better watch their ass. I got SC:DA and Vegas still in the plastic, I'm about one third of the way into Gears, Project 8 is screaming my name, and I have Viva Pinata waiting to go. Spideman 3 comes out tomorrow, and Guitar Hero is only one shopping trip away.
Prediction: 1200 Achievement point gain for the month of May.
On the whole, while the delay and the complete info blackout was unacceptable, once the matter was raised the problem was solved within 48 hours.
Thanks to Jessie, Michelle, Dave, Mark, Syed and Max the bot who made what could have been an even more frustrating experience bearable by being polite, courteous, cheerful and always genuinely concerned. Maybe Microsoft learned something about the value of keeping their employees motivated and invested in their job from working with game developers.
I wonder how this whole mess would have turned out if I had not told them who I was once things turned bad. I hope that a simple expression of serious unhappiness at the situation if they mishandle it would get anyone the same treatment. I hope so. I sure as shit hope that someone who has my game sitting in the plastic on their shelf doesn't have to wait to play it.
In the end, I will say I am fairly satisfied with the process because the service I recieved from the people at the call center outweighed the frustration and hassle of the delay.
Wow, what a hassle. Glad it worked out in the end.
If you are after some easy points, many of the retro title are as easy as frogger, or easier, to nab 150+ points on. Pac man, Ms P, Digdug, Galaga, Time Pilot, to name a few.
Posted by: kim | May 04, 2007 at 02:49 AM
Ive had alot of problems with computers and gaming systems over the years, and I can assure you the treatment you received was not because of your status in the gaming world. Every time I have a problem thats more serious than a simple tech support type thing I now immediately ask them to escalate it. Ussually the lower level customer service people just read out whatever the 'troubleshooting' section on the website says, but the supervisors can actually get shit done.
So feel no guilt for letting them know your job title and such... while it may have impressed them and made them happier to help you, they still followed the same protocal they would have with anyone unsatisfied with their customer service.
Posted by: Jacob Karsemeyer | May 07, 2007 at 12:40 PM