Valve gets an "F" from the BBB

So....I didn't read this article: http://www.cinemablend.com/games/Valve-Knows-Its-Customer-Service-Unacceptable-Trying-Improve-70660.html

But I watched a video reporting on it.

But appatently...Valve has an "F" for customer service on the BBB. So the other day when so many PC gamers were making fun of that Sony sensationalized report of the guy who's credit card was charged $600 and saying "Is this for the gamers?"........I ask them if they remember these things when they say them.

Like the guy said in the video....digital download has nearly completely taken over....and Steam is the 800lb gorilla in that arena.....so you'd think with all the money they are making and being at the very forefront of this medium....they'd have....some sort of reliable customer service.

Now I've had 2 issues with their customer service....and yeah, it's sucks.

But some guy at Valve says they plan to work on it this year.

So: Valve = by PC gamers.....for PC gamers?

Most Steam complaints are silly ones about refund, when Steam has rules in place against refunds post-release - something all Steam users already agreed to but still constantly complain about.

All ready a thread made of this I think in PC section.

Greenlight and Early Access have tarnished steam.

@ribstaylor1: This should be in System Wars. So I posted a thread on it.

@mr_huggles_dog: Considering Steam is PC only and the article is referring to their steam support being horrible. Yes it does. It's why there is all ready a thread there.

I fail to see how you grasp the concept of System Wars.

And fail to see how something like "Sony won't give back $600 to dumbass" is posted here....yet this is a no-go.

Amazing damage control.

That happens when you give a near monopoly to a company. They can do whatever they want.

Because Sony has more then a single platform that sells games. That's why there shit belongs here, but would again be more appropriate to put into the playstation or vita section of the forum depending on what platform the issue started on.

Praise Lord GabeN and his glorious Steam.

Can I get a mod in here to say if this is System Wars worthy or not?

It doesn't matter. I just wanted to point out a thread on this very subject all ready existed. I have no real objection to it being here just that it's kind of redundant.

@ribstaylor1: 2 different forums mate.

Given the vast number of stupid complaints they get 24/7, I don't think this is a particularly useful evaluation of their support services.

@ribstaylor1: Our boards exist basically independent of each other. A thread can exist in one or more boards if the topic is relevant to the board. This is a very relevant topic for System Wars.

Same forum different section.. Or have the way forums work changed over the lat 15 years I've been using them without my realization? Answers no.

See the post above yours, friend.

@Wasdie: Fine it's worthy. I'll back off and except it. Though no wonder there's so much overlap, and redundant threads with that kind of mindset.

It's worth noting that the BBB site suffers a very significant statistics bias - self-selection bias. It means that only people who encounter negative support will voice out, while people who resolve their issues will stay silent.

I read a few random complaints on the BBB site. I even came across one complaint that's complaining about not being able to access online play of a host of Valve games after receiving a VAC ban in one of those games.

That is a good point.

That complaint seems to be just for the sake of "getting back at Valve".

Well why would they try harder than the absolute minimum? The money's pouring in, and they don't have to care until it slows right down (which it may not do)...

I don't use Origin much but from what I hear it's gotten a lot better.

Theres always a chance that if a company like Valve doesn't take customer support seriously....they could find themselves in the passenger seat and with their hands not on the wheel.

@mr_huggles_dog: Perhaps, but who's going to abandon their Steam library at this late date?

Maybe not abandon it....but if ppl start buying more and more from other places.

It doesn't even have to be one company that grabs the reign.

It could be more ppl buying from Origin and Amazon and other places as a combined progression.

@mr_huggles_dog: I'm pretty sure EA is a lot lot lot worse than any other video game company on the market right now when it comes to customer service.

I still remember amusing stories of some EA customer service rep simply replying a string of keyboard-slammed gibberish (literally, not metaphorically, something like "asdfsadfdsfdsfsadf"), before closing the ticket. Most of their customer service is outsourced to countries like India, manned by very generic customer service firms that may not know anything about video games or EA's products.

ADD: An oldie but a goodie:

Both F's, strangely though, Sony is accredited with BBB they've gotten a A+.

@mr_huggles_dog:

I never , ever , had any problems with any Valve game before let alone with Steam as service.

F ? whatever ...

The biggest issue with Steam, and potentially any DD service, is that the law of digital ownership is still surprisingly not set in stone. If you buy a game, the rights with this 'product' should be that of the service agreement upon purchase. It amazes me that companies can legally update their service agreements in such a manner.

@Snugenz: An accredited company has a lot more control over the complaints - e.g. filter out the trolls. They will also be able to target the complaints that actually go onto BBB directly, instead of targeting all complaints generally. It basically allows them to give special treatment to complainers in order to get a good rating.

It's effectively BBB's way of trying to get companies to pay up. I'm glad that Microsoft and Valve are not buying their bullshit. To be fair, no gamer or business would give the tiniest fart about BBB rating in the video game industry.

Before people comment, try having a look through the actual complaints: http://www.bbb.org/alaskaoregonwesternwashington/business-reviews/computer-software-publishers-and-developers/valve-corporation-in-bellevue-wa-27030704/customer-reviews

You've got a bunch of stolen credit card issues ("I got charged by Steam and I've never used it!"), compounded by the victims not realising that they use an email support system. Then you've got situations where Valve did help but the customers were sick of waiting for responses (fair enough).

Then you get fun ones like:

----------------------

Complaint: I bought a game with my card and had it on my account for amost 2 weeks. then they took the game off my account saying an error happened with my credit transaction but yet the payment already cleared last week and they are keeping my money and refuse to return any emails or messages.

Desired Settlement: Either i want my game back with an apology or i want the company to pay me back double the cost of the game(15$ for the game) and an apology.

Business Response: Initial Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2014/11/05) */ Hello, This customer received a gift from another user. The other user then revoked payment for the game. The game was then removed. We are unable to provide this customer with what they are requesting. They will need to resolve the game removal with the user that revoked the gift..

------------------------------

...But hey, they all count as negative splotches against Valve's reputation on the BBB.

This exactly. They even try to not give refunds to people in Europe where it is illegal to not give refunds for software that doesn't work as advertised. I've seen many cases where it takes 2-3 tickets and an eventual I'll take you to court. With the quick reply of we will now refund you.

To answer your question, yes. I remember say "is this for gamers?" I don't see any hermits on this board saying PC is by gamers for gamers. That's what cows say about Sony.

@Planeforger: Oh wow, that one is almost as bad as the VAC ban one.

It's growing faster than they can manage it - so now they're in the "keep the revenue coming in until we work out the details" phase...

This seems kind of meaningless

Seriously, who gives a **** about the BBB? Do you think Valve gives a ****? BBB is irrelevant. Every company should strive for better customer service though.

Maybe steam support sucks balls i don't know because my 10.5 year old steam account has never had a problem and i have never had the need to use it despite having 600 games on it....

One things for sure short of refunds there are rarely any problems (tiny percentage vs amount of users i mean) ,the servers are rock solid and secure,it looks like Fort Knox in comparison to the nonsense suffered by Live and PSN over the years,that's why there is not as big of a fuss over it.

Saying all that though from what i do hear they do really need to sort their customer support out,its the only real black cloud hanging over their heads.

Never had an issue with VALVe's CS. I've been a member for 10+ years and have over 200 games. Are people running to the BBB because they want refunds for games they don't like?

the BBB needs to be shutdown its outdated and useless in the digital online social media bad service would get out

we don't need BBB anymore its just useless

More like they want refunds for games that don't work. The large amount of varying hardware and software on PC can cause unexpected issues.

If only they listed system requirements in the Store Page then this issue would be entirely avoidable.

Oh wait.

As it should. Valve CS is ass. But the fact that you're trying to connect this to a way to bash PC is hillarious.

I've seen worse.

And I'm only having some fun.

Yes, because system requirements are always accurate and PC games never launch in buggy/broken states.

Oh wait.

Most non-early access games don't have serious issues on launch (assuming they aren't from shit companies). And those early access games have a disclaimer stating they are in an early, incomplete stage.

You are basically blaming VALVe for people unable to do research and be smart consumers. Steam has reviews, community discussion and everything a savvy consumer needs to make a smart purchasing decision.

We're not talking about muppets buying games that won't run on their geriatric machines. We're talking about games that flat out don't work. Saints Row 2 springs to mind.

Hm, never had to contact their customer service. Then again I never had to contact a console manufacturer either, guess I've always been lucky.

I had my very first issue with Steam the other day. Tried to buy Hotline Miami 2 and it wouldn't download, just kept saying "purchase pending", but I was able to purchase it the next day, no issue.

lol dude, people don't check every board, when I visit GS I'm only visiting this board. The mindset you have on this not only makes very little sense, but would be damn near impossible to manage. Beyond that, the type of discussion you're going to have will vary greatly depending on the board.

If a topic is relevant to the board in question, then it belongs. Simple as that.

@mr_huggles_dog: Seeing how shitty their return policy is, then yeah. It's not that surprising

I'm not talking about early access titles. Many PC games launch broken or busted for a good amount of people. The game can work completely fine for one person, but it could be totally busted for someone else. That has always been one of the major flaws with PC gaming. Developers can't examine all the varying possibilities with both hardware and software. Of course, some games just launch straight up broken on PC. That happens far more then console releases.

I wasn't blaming Valve for anything. I was just pointing out that people use Steam support to complain about broken games, not because they disliked them.

I had a cousin and his Steam account got hacked, and charges made against it. Last I heard Valve still hasn't resolved it.

But, you know, Valve cares about the gamers, that's why they're working hard on their license free Linux based OS so they don't have to pay MS to have Windows licensed on their Steambox, better that I guess instead of resolving issues like this.

Anyhow, at least Valve acknowledges they have a problem, that's a start. Better that then them acting like nothing is wrong.