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WotC - CUSTOMER NEGLIGENCE
- Thread starter Drawmack
- Start date
Flexor the Mighty!
18/100 Strength!
Lizard said:
Not the DMG.
Dahak
Explorer
Not the same problem, but when I initially bought the Monster Manual from WotC, it came in a box that was oversized, with no packing of any sort to keep it from shuffling around during shipping. As you might expect, the book was fairly beat up around the corners.
Around the same time I recieved SSS's Creature Collection 1 from White Wolf. White Wolf seriously packs their boxes, and it arrived in pristine condition. Even when I recieved my complimentary copies of Relics & Rituals, it was packed with the same kind of care.
As I have said many times, I wish White Wolf carried products from other companies as well; I would throw a lot more business their way.
Around the same time I recieved SSS's Creature Collection 1 from White Wolf. White Wolf seriously packs their boxes, and it arrived in pristine condition. Even when I recieved my complimentary copies of Relics & Rituals, it was packed with the same kind of care.
As I have said many times, I wish White Wolf carried products from other companies as well; I would throw a lot more business their way.
seankreynolds
Adventurer
And of course, saying "WotC can contact me on this thread if they ever feel like getting back to me" is a great way to get a response to your complaint. Are you really certain that people in WotC customer service read the ENworld boards?
Re online ordering - all my 3e hardbacks arrived swiftly & in perfect condition from Amazon.co.uk - admittedly I haven't been leaving them open on the gaming table with heavy weights on top! Been using them since ca October 2000 so they can't be too bad, though I don't know if they'll last as well as my legendary original-printing 1e Monster Manual & DMG...
I have noticed that obscurer/2e/softback stuff ordered from Amazon.com (eg The Scarlet Brotherhood, Slavers, Return to White Plume Mountain) tends to arrive somewhat beat-up, as well as taking many weeks to cross the pond, though.
I have noticed that obscurer/2e/softback stuff ordered from Amazon.com (eg The Scarlet Brotherhood, Slavers, Return to White Plume Mountain) tends to arrive somewhat beat-up, as well as taking many weeks to cross the pond, though.
First of all, this is probably not the best place to report something like this. However, it is maybe the right place to complain about WotC customer service, since other gamers should be aware that WotC does not always handle its customers very well.
I also want to say that I found most of the responses to the original post to be appalling. I applaud Morrus for stepping in and saying something. Someone makes a very legitimate (at least sounds legitimate) complaint, giving us the specific details about what happened, and several people start treating him like he is evil for doing nothing more tha daring to complain about WotC. Shame on you. He also never said that he waited 6 months to notify them of the problem. He said there was a problem that was easily remedied and then he discovered 6 months later that there was an entirely different, though possibly related, problem.
Now, I shall call down your wrath upon myself by saying that emailing Wizards customer service, in my experience, is a waste of time. I have emailed them 3 or 4 times now with questions and concerns and received a response each time. A week later. A canned response that did not at all address my concerns or questions.
In your case, I think you should call them, explain it to them and tell them you want a replacement. Be sure to tell them you are happy to send them your current copy for an exchange. If they will not do it, then you should come back here and tell us how terribly they treat their customers.
As a piece of advice, you are probably better off purchasing online from someone who makes an effort to deliver things in good shape. Amazon packs their books quite well. Most game shops do as well. Though, in this case, it might not have mattered.
I also want to say that I found most of the responses to the original post to be appalling. I applaud Morrus for stepping in and saying something. Someone makes a very legitimate (at least sounds legitimate) complaint, giving us the specific details about what happened, and several people start treating him like he is evil for doing nothing more tha daring to complain about WotC. Shame on you. He also never said that he waited 6 months to notify them of the problem. He said there was a problem that was easily remedied and then he discovered 6 months later that there was an entirely different, though possibly related, problem.
Now, I shall call down your wrath upon myself by saying that emailing Wizards customer service, in my experience, is a waste of time. I have emailed them 3 or 4 times now with questions and concerns and received a response each time. A week later. A canned response that did not at all address my concerns or questions.
In your case, I think you should call them, explain it to them and tell them you want a replacement. Be sure to tell them you are happy to send them your current copy for an exchange. If they will not do it, then you should come back here and tell us how terribly they treat their customers.
As a piece of advice, you are probably better off purchasing online from someone who makes an effort to deliver things in good shape. Amazon packs their books quite well. Most game shops do as well. Though, in this case, it might not have mattered.
WizarDru
Adventurer
Actually, that was Eric Noah who stepped in.
In truth, I've never had a hardback game book fall apart on me, but I have had the softcover of GURPS 3rd edition go to pieces...after five years of hard use. The D&D 3E books are all in pristine condition for me, and none the worse for wear, save for some food stains from reading while eating.
In all honesty, if WOTC were to replace his copy, I would consider an act of charity. The warranty on most electronics fades after 30-90 days, and they're much more prone to failure. While it's regrettable if it was a binding/printing mistake...well, six months is an awful long time to notice it. From WOTC's perspective, there's no way to tell if it was or wasn't that way when recieved. Razor marks on the book certainly aren't going to help the case.
Now, as to the ability of WOTC's customer service, I can't honestly say one way or the other.
In truth, I've never had a hardback game book fall apart on me, but I have had the softcover of GURPS 3rd edition go to pieces...after five years of hard use. The D&D 3E books are all in pristine condition for me, and none the worse for wear, save for some food stains from reading while eating.
In all honesty, if WOTC were to replace his copy, I would consider an act of charity. The warranty on most electronics fades after 30-90 days, and they're much more prone to failure. While it's regrettable if it was a binding/printing mistake...well, six months is an awful long time to notice it. From WOTC's perspective, there's no way to tell if it was or wasn't that way when recieved. Razor marks on the book certainly aren't going to help the case.
Now, as to the ability of WOTC's customer service, I can't honestly say one way or the other.
WizarDru
Adventurer
Yuan-Ti said:
Not at all. I'm not sure that they're obligated to replace it, given the circumstances, but they certainly shouldn't ignore him.
That said, for an organization as small as WOTC is, they may only have a limited staff to handle such things, and e-mail will always get short shrift to answering calls. Given the continual financial problems WOTC has had for the last two years, as well as WOTCs history, I would assume this to be the case. More often than not, folks attribute maliciousness to WOTC, when often enough it's just simple negliegence or plain ol' dumb thinking.
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