eTools Support... Let your voice be heard.

[Therigwin]

This is actually a good post from the wizard's board.

http://boards.wizards.com/rpg/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=133;t=000817

This individual dealt with Customer Support at Wizards. It gives some suggestions and hints at some bad relations between Fluid and Wizards.

It also gives directions on who to call or email with your eTools. The fact is that Wizards has not been getting the bug reports or problems and they may do nothing to help us because of this. So, for once I agree with one of the hostile ones, lets make some noise. I want a patch, I want official support!

 

[EricNoah]

*shakes head* it's funny what people hear.

I hear different things than this WotC customer service rep hears, apparently. I hear WotC changing their minds again and again over the years. I hear them not being sure what they want. I hear them backing off far enough that Fluid for a while has no one they can contact at WotC to get rules-related questions answered or clarified. I hear them asking Fluid to make them a program but I don't hear them contracting Fluid to then be responsible for providing telephone and e-mail tech support. I hear them not taking responsibility for the product they spent years "guiding."

Even this rep says WotC doesn't know who's in charge of this product. And that is the source of the problem. Not Fluid, not Customer Support, but whoever is really "in charge." From what I've heard, Customer Support didn't even know eTools was out for a while. That's not Fluid's fault -- they don't talk right to CS. There's a chain of command -- Fluid talks to the developer at WotC, the developer talks to CS. Or something along those lines. But if there's no one in charge and no one taking responsibility at WotC, then it's no wonder there's a breakdown in the lines of communication.

What irks me is the apparent blame game WotC is playing, or someone at WotC.

Anyway, the thread linked above does make a good point -- contact WotC tech support with your problems if you can't get a quick/useful answer here.

 

[Therigwin]

The response I got back from Wizards

It looks like the front end people really don't know.
Hoping that Fluids gets on there toes soon.


email below -
The Patch for Dungeons & Dragons E-Tools is currently being worked on. We do not have information on what it will contain nor when it will be ready for release. I am told that Fluid's message boards being down is a temporary problem. We don't have anything to do with that directly so I can't say for sure.
**********************************************************
Adam Conus
Wizards of the Coast - Game Support Asst. Manager
Website: http://www.wizards.com
Game Support E-Mail: custserv@wizards.com
Game Support Phone: 1-800-324-6496
Monday through Friday, 9 AM - 7 PM PST
Corporate Phone: (425) 226-6500
Please quote this e-mail in any reply.
***********************************************************

-----Original Message-----
From: Thomas W Keyes [mailto:therigwin@hotmail.com]
Sent: Monday, August 26, 2002 7:14 PM
To: Wizards Customer Service
Subject: Attention Adam Conus


Dear Adam:

This email is concerning eTools. I like the product, but I have found some bugs, problems, etc. I was sending them to Fluid, but it is beginning to appear that they are no longer with us??? (Message board down)


Now I don't care for the blame game. The fact that it took me 2 weeks to get eTools from an Official Wizards Store in the mall leads me to believe that Wizards and/or Fluid are not being entirely honest with us. (The first week they only had 4 CDs, the second week they got 6 CDs and I was able to get one from that batch)

So is there going to be any fixes soon? When can we expect them?

Attached is a Word Document with all the problems I have found, suggestions on how to fix or add usability. You can also find it on http://groups.msn.com/eTools

Thank you for your time,

Thomas W Keyes

___________
Therigwin
God is the Lord, of angels, and of men--and of elves. - J.R.R. Tolkien

 

[xabth]

So I'm the guy that talked to WOC CS. I was getting kinda tired of watching us all post in circles at the D&D board so I decided to spend the long distance dime and see what I could find out for myself.

To WOC's credit the two guys I spoke with (one from tech support, another from custumer service) were very cool and seemed willing to talk candidly about e-tools. I fully expect that any info I got from them had a pro-WOC spin on it, but no surprise there. They both seemed aware of the problems w/ e-tools and they both agreed with me that someone really ought to take a minute and tell the community what's going on. However, it's been 24 hours and still no sign of a WOC response on the D&D boards, though it did my heart good to see that Adam Conus responded to Therigwin. I emailed him and have yet to get anything back.

It's funny that Conus says he has no idea when the patch is due out while the rep I talked to said mid-sept. Guess we'll have to take that with a grain of salt.

It's a frustrating thing to be ignored by the powers that be. I want to believe that WOC cares enough about the role-playing community to respond to our concerns about e-tools, and I also want to believe that Fluid intends to support it's program. I lurked on the Fluid boards on a daily basis for about a month before they went down, and I was impressed at the timely responses from Scott and Eric to queeries made there. Still, it does little for my faith in either company to watch as nearly three weeks go by with no word from WOC OR Fluid other than second hand info. For the life of me I can't figure out why Scott hasn't taken the ten minutes it would take to post a message here at ENWorld saying something to the effect of, "Hey! We hear you! This is what's going on with our boards, This is an ETA of when they'll be back up, and This is where we currently stand w/r/t e-tools."

But maybe he has a good reason for not posting. I'm trying to give him the benifit of the doubt.

Not so with WOC, however. They are a much bigger company, e-tools is their responsibility, and I feel like they owe us some word on patch progress and future plans.

It's a mess, no doubt. People don't know who to be mad at, and they don't know how far their $30 e-tools investment is going to go in the future. What I DO know is that I'm going to keep bugging WOC untill they take some responsibility for e-tools and tell me what's going on. If I could find a number for Fluid I'd do the same with them.

I do find it odd that you'd have to contact WOC for tech support for a program for a program they didn't write. I wonder what response you'd get from them if you asked them a real tech question.

Anyway, just thought I'd drop by and add my two cents. Remember, the guy I talked to at WOC was a CS phone jockey (though again, he was a really nice and informative guy) and I have no idea how accurate his information was, especially anything to to with the relationship between Fluid and WOC. It was not my intention to start the rumer mill, but if these companies don't want us speculating then they should speak up for themselves and give us an update now and then. We've waited far too long for e-tools and it falls far short of the mark we'd hoped for, and this silence from the two companies involved is pretty frustrating.

 

[EricNoah]

Very cool of you to stop by and clear the air, thanks.

In my experience it is very rare for a big publisher to ask a small software developer to create software AND provide telephone or e-mail tech support for potentially tens of thousands of customers. I think it's typically the publisher's responsibility to do that (as is duplication, packaging, distribution, setting the price, deciding on the scope and features of the product, deciding on AND paying for the development of additional features and/or upgrades and/or add-on products, etc.).

It is frustrating that Fluid and WotC CS don't have better lines of communication. Here's hoping someone closer to the top takes an interest.

 

[xabth]

That makes sense I suppose. I know nothing about the world of software and marketing and who does what where.

But so if WOC is now in charge of tech support does that mean that they're in charge of the patch? Where does Fluid's involvment end? From everything I've read it sounds like Fluid wants to support the product. How does that all work?

 

[smetzger]

That makes sense I suppose. I know nothing about the world of software and marketing and who does what where.

But so if WOC is now in charge of tech support does that mean that they're in charge of the patch? Where does Fluid's involvment end? From everything I've read it sounds like Fluid wants to support the product. How does that all work?

It all depends on the contract between WOTC and Fluid. Fluid may not even be required to deliver a patch. It sounds like someone at WOTC needs to do some investigating within the company and talk to Fluid.