twan69666
13th October 2007, 01:07
Hey Everybody,
Not much for news, but a great read about the problems with what do you do when DRM media goes wrong.
Full version here http://www.achieve360points.com/articles/my-experience-with-18004myxbox/
I thought I was one of the lucky ones. Out of the five of us who waited 26 hours in line for an Xbox 360 at launch, I was one of the two who hadn’t had any problems with my system. I played the thing to death, too, so I was surprised that mine was one of the survivors. Maybe it was karma, since I was an EXTREMELY loyal customer and have spent over 3 grand on my Xbox 360 over the past 2 years. Unfortunately, when I did run into a problem, a problem having to do with restrictive DRM’s on all Xbox Live content (a design defect that led to three dead Xbox 360’s in six months), I discovered that a rigid customer service system was my only way out. Well, I thought so anyway.
This is an article that I have been very reluctant to write. Despite all the troubles I’ve gone through (over 48 hours trying to resolve a simple issue), I’m still an Xbox 360 man at heart. I just want things to be made right, but Microsoft has made this very, VERY difficult for me.
I am a good customer. A very good customer. Videogaming is my weakness (at least my wife says so.) I buy everything new, I don’t trade my games in or sell them on eBay, and I have enough disposable income to support my habit. Here’s the breakdown:
Amount spent on Xbox 360 Premium: $399.99
Amount spent on Xbox 360 retail games (22): $1319.78
Amount spent on accessories for Xbox 360*: $801.25
Amount of XBL points purchased: 48,000 ($599.76)
Total spent on Xbox 360 related products: $3120.78
*3 Wireless Controllers ($49.99), 2 Plug and Play kits ($19.99), 4 Battery packs ($11.99), 4 Faceplates ($14.99), 2 Years of Xbox Live ($49.99), 1 Xbox Live Vision Camera ($39.99), 1 Wireless Headset ($59.99), 1 Steering Wheel ($149.99), 1 Dead or Alive Arcade Stick ($69.99), 1 64MB Memory Unit ($49.99), and 1 Messenger pad ($34.99)
My (Sob) Story
I bought Xbox 360 #1 on launch day, 2005, from Best Buy with a 2 year product replacement plan. I did not have a single problem for well over a year, but then it died in March of 2007. I returned my first Xbox 360 to Best Buy and later realized that none of the content purchased online would work for any profile other than my primary Speaker Ender profile. No one other than myself (I had 3 other profiles online including my wife’s) could use any of the Xbox Live content that was purchased on Xbox #1. I called 1-800-4MY-XBOX and found out that because the Xbox 360’s DRM, XBL content only works either A) for anyone on the console it was originally purchased on, or B) on any other console, but only while the purchasing profile is connected to Xbox Live. Unfortunately, there was no way to transfer ownership to a new profile, but they had a workaround devised. They provide me with codes to refund all the points I had spent (25,600 points, or $300+ worth), which I was then able to redeem on a silver account and re-download all of the content—thus tying it to the new console and anyone playing on it.
Three months later, on July 2nd, Xbox 360 #2 died and I called 1-800-4MY-XBOX, to see if I could avoid a repeat of this ordeal with the points. They assured me that since that time, they had developed a method of transferring ownership of XBL content to a new console, but only if they exchanged it themselves — Best Buy was not an option this time, or all my content would be forever broken again. So, I sent my Xbox 360 back, and a month later, on August 2nd, I received a replacement. When I test the XBL games, I discover that none of them work and call Microsoft again. After a lengthy (11+ hours!) of deleting every bit of XBL content, and re-downloading it again from my download history (which records every demo, video, XBLA game, etc. that has been downloaded, so I had 500+ items to sort through), I discover that the problem was partially fixed. Everything that I had purchased on Xbox 360 #2 now worked, but everything that I had purchased on Xbox 360 #1 still didn’t work. I call back and explain the situation, and the agent tells me that he will escalate the Service Request, and that I will receive those points again, so that I can re-download everything again. It’s somewhat of an arduous process, especially since I spent a month without an Xbox 360 in hopes of avoiding this, but I am more concerned about the $300+ worth of XBL content that does not work properly because I was victim of TWO defective Xbox 360’s.
I receive a callback, to fix an error that had been made in the Service Request, and am told that I will receive a call back in 5 to 7 days with my refunded points.
What follows, however, proves that being the perfect customer merely meant that I had the most to lose throughout the 1-800-4MY-XBOX customer service process. In over two months, I have NEVER received a callback regarding this issue. I have spoken to customer service agents from all three tiers of the customer service department. I have discovered that the notes attached to my Service Request instruct customer service agents to blow me off whenever I call. I have been put on hold for over an hour and then hung up on, only to call back and ask to be transferred to the same agent and then be hung up on again. I have spent over 24 hours on the phone with customer service. I had my THIRD Xbox 360 die (that’s right, SR#DDDDDD9324 has outlived Xbox 360 #3). And most recently, I was told that since August was when I initially called, Microsoft no longer offers refunds for Xbox Live content that no longer works after a console is repaired, and that I am basically out $319.87.
During this all, I have come to a few conclusions. First, 1-800-4MY-XBOX has some serious problems when it comes to following through on promises they make to their customers. Second, Microsoft’s DRM’s are quite restrictive and can lead to customers having hundreds of dollars worth of content broken along with their Xbox 360. And finally, that Microsoft’s customer service infrastructure lacks any sort of flexibility for unusual or extraordinary situations. The classic binder with a series of "say this if customer says this" (rinse and repeat) is a script to be followed, and a process to be adhered to. When those scripts and processes fail to resolve a situation, there is nothing further to be done. Without the binder, it is like they can't form conguative sentences anymore and have no communication skills to speak of.
Below is a list of every call between myself and 1-800-4MY-XBOX over the last seven months. I have tried to make it as concise as possible, and changed all the SR#’s to make them easier to follow (and harder for anyone to call in and pretend that they are me!).
My Experiences with 1-800-4MY-XBOX
March 20th, 2007
Xbox 360 #1 died. I take advantage of my Best Buy product replacement plan and exchanged my Xbox 360. I wasn’t able to swap out my HDD, but I was able to salvage a few saves on a memory card at my buddy’s house.
March 27th, 2007
My wife informs me that she can no longer play Lumines Live! or use the downloadable Oblivion content. I test every item that I have ever downloaded and then call 1-800-4MY-XBOX to inform them that 25,600 points ($319.87) worth of content purchased by my primary gamertag (Speaker Ender) no longer works for any of the other profiles in my house. We begin SR#AAAAAA1464, and after a couple hours on the phone troubleshooting, I fax over a copy of my Best Buy receipt to prove that I had, in fact, exchanged it there.
March 28th, 2007
I call back to check on the status of SR#AAAAAA1464 and am told that I will be called within 3 to 5 days with codes to refund all 25,600 points and re-download my content.
March 30th, 2007
Three days later, I receive a call from Microsoft customer support to inform me that the points will be issued in 3 to 5 days. He asks if I would prefer them emailed, and I tell him that I would.
April 2nd, 2007
I receive an email with codes for all 25,600 points. It takes me 5 hours to download everything again under a new silver account, but it all works when I’m done. I have to hand it to Microsoft, they really came through with some quality customer service there, and I was quite impressed.
July 2nd, 2007
Exactly 91 days after my second Xbox 360 arrived, things fall into place and it dies. Three lousy months! It’s kind of a busy week with work, I don’t get to call for a few days.
July 5th, 2007
Since I had been told previously that the whole reason my XBL content did not work was because I had exchanged it at Best Buy rather than through Microsoft support, so I decide to call 1-800-4MY-XBOX this time. I call and SR#BBBBBB3078 is born.
July 10th, 2007
I receive my prepaid box in the mail, package up Xbox 360 #2, and drop it back off at UPS on the same day.
August 1st, 2007
Xbox 360 #3 arrives. (On a side note, they included a 1 month Xbox Live card with the refurbished Xbox 360. I can’t be TOO excited about this since I went a month without being able to use my Xbox Live Gold membership, so I am really just getting reimbursed for the month of service where I was out of commission.)
August 2nd, 2007
The first thing I do when I get my new (to me) Xbox 360 is unplug the Ethernet cable and test my arcade games — they don’t work. I call into 1-800-4MY-XBOX again, I am told to delete a game and re-download it and see if it works. It works on Alien Hominid and so I hang up and proceed to do that for all 49 games I have at that point—deleting, re-downloading ONLY BY GOING THROUGH MY DOWNLOAD HISTORY and testing each one. This process takes me 11 hours. I narrow it down to the fact that this solution fixed every bit of XBLA content purchased on Xbox 360 #2, but all the content purchased on Xbox 360 #1 still does not work.
August 3rd, 2007
I call 1-800-4MY-XBOX and am told that I will be refunded for those points and that I should be called with 5 to 7 days. SR#CCCCCC4022 is started.
August 5th, 2007
I receive a call back and am told that SR#CCCCCC4022 was set up incorrectly, "didn’t do jack ****," a phrase which he repeats multiple times as he sets up the new SR#DDDDDD9324. Yeah, real professional — this was the one agent (except for the lady who hung up on me 2 months later) who I felt was truly unprofessional and quite frankly, insulting. I was told again that I would be called with 5 to 7 days with codes for the points to repurchase my items AGAIN. I am definitely not looking forward to spending another 11 hours doing this, but I am more concerned about getting my content to work properly.
August 13th, 2007
I did not receive the promised call back, so I call 1-800-4MY-XBOX. I confirm that I deleted and re-downloaded each item, and I am told that it had been sent to Microsoft and that I would receive a call when they had looked at it. I ask for an ETA, and since he cannot give me one, I am escalated to a Tier 2 representative who tells me that I should be called by the end of the week.
Not much for news, but a great read about the problems with what do you do when DRM media goes wrong.
Full version here http://www.achieve360points.com/articles/my-experience-with-18004myxbox/
I thought I was one of the lucky ones. Out of the five of us who waited 26 hours in line for an Xbox 360 at launch, I was one of the two who hadn’t had any problems with my system. I played the thing to death, too, so I was surprised that mine was one of the survivors. Maybe it was karma, since I was an EXTREMELY loyal customer and have spent over 3 grand on my Xbox 360 over the past 2 years. Unfortunately, when I did run into a problem, a problem having to do with restrictive DRM’s on all Xbox Live content (a design defect that led to three dead Xbox 360’s in six months), I discovered that a rigid customer service system was my only way out. Well, I thought so anyway.
This is an article that I have been very reluctant to write. Despite all the troubles I’ve gone through (over 48 hours trying to resolve a simple issue), I’m still an Xbox 360 man at heart. I just want things to be made right, but Microsoft has made this very, VERY difficult for me.
I am a good customer. A very good customer. Videogaming is my weakness (at least my wife says so.) I buy everything new, I don’t trade my games in or sell them on eBay, and I have enough disposable income to support my habit. Here’s the breakdown:
Amount spent on Xbox 360 Premium: $399.99
Amount spent on Xbox 360 retail games (22): $1319.78
Amount spent on accessories for Xbox 360*: $801.25
Amount of XBL points purchased: 48,000 ($599.76)
Total spent on Xbox 360 related products: $3120.78
*3 Wireless Controllers ($49.99), 2 Plug and Play kits ($19.99), 4 Battery packs ($11.99), 4 Faceplates ($14.99), 2 Years of Xbox Live ($49.99), 1 Xbox Live Vision Camera ($39.99), 1 Wireless Headset ($59.99), 1 Steering Wheel ($149.99), 1 Dead or Alive Arcade Stick ($69.99), 1 64MB Memory Unit ($49.99), and 1 Messenger pad ($34.99)
My (Sob) Story
I bought Xbox 360 #1 on launch day, 2005, from Best Buy with a 2 year product replacement plan. I did not have a single problem for well over a year, but then it died in March of 2007. I returned my first Xbox 360 to Best Buy and later realized that none of the content purchased online would work for any profile other than my primary Speaker Ender profile. No one other than myself (I had 3 other profiles online including my wife’s) could use any of the Xbox Live content that was purchased on Xbox #1. I called 1-800-4MY-XBOX and found out that because the Xbox 360’s DRM, XBL content only works either A) for anyone on the console it was originally purchased on, or B) on any other console, but only while the purchasing profile is connected to Xbox Live. Unfortunately, there was no way to transfer ownership to a new profile, but they had a workaround devised. They provide me with codes to refund all the points I had spent (25,600 points, or $300+ worth), which I was then able to redeem on a silver account and re-download all of the content—thus tying it to the new console and anyone playing on it.
Three months later, on July 2nd, Xbox 360 #2 died and I called 1-800-4MY-XBOX, to see if I could avoid a repeat of this ordeal with the points. They assured me that since that time, they had developed a method of transferring ownership of XBL content to a new console, but only if they exchanged it themselves — Best Buy was not an option this time, or all my content would be forever broken again. So, I sent my Xbox 360 back, and a month later, on August 2nd, I received a replacement. When I test the XBL games, I discover that none of them work and call Microsoft again. After a lengthy (11+ hours!) of deleting every bit of XBL content, and re-downloading it again from my download history (which records every demo, video, XBLA game, etc. that has been downloaded, so I had 500+ items to sort through), I discover that the problem was partially fixed. Everything that I had purchased on Xbox 360 #2 now worked, but everything that I had purchased on Xbox 360 #1 still didn’t work. I call back and explain the situation, and the agent tells me that he will escalate the Service Request, and that I will receive those points again, so that I can re-download everything again. It’s somewhat of an arduous process, especially since I spent a month without an Xbox 360 in hopes of avoiding this, but I am more concerned about the $300+ worth of XBL content that does not work properly because I was victim of TWO defective Xbox 360’s.
I receive a callback, to fix an error that had been made in the Service Request, and am told that I will receive a call back in 5 to 7 days with my refunded points.
What follows, however, proves that being the perfect customer merely meant that I had the most to lose throughout the 1-800-4MY-XBOX customer service process. In over two months, I have NEVER received a callback regarding this issue. I have spoken to customer service agents from all three tiers of the customer service department. I have discovered that the notes attached to my Service Request instruct customer service agents to blow me off whenever I call. I have been put on hold for over an hour and then hung up on, only to call back and ask to be transferred to the same agent and then be hung up on again. I have spent over 24 hours on the phone with customer service. I had my THIRD Xbox 360 die (that’s right, SR#DDDDDD9324 has outlived Xbox 360 #3). And most recently, I was told that since August was when I initially called, Microsoft no longer offers refunds for Xbox Live content that no longer works after a console is repaired, and that I am basically out $319.87.
During this all, I have come to a few conclusions. First, 1-800-4MY-XBOX has some serious problems when it comes to following through on promises they make to their customers. Second, Microsoft’s DRM’s are quite restrictive and can lead to customers having hundreds of dollars worth of content broken along with their Xbox 360. And finally, that Microsoft’s customer service infrastructure lacks any sort of flexibility for unusual or extraordinary situations. The classic binder with a series of "say this if customer says this" (rinse and repeat) is a script to be followed, and a process to be adhered to. When those scripts and processes fail to resolve a situation, there is nothing further to be done. Without the binder, it is like they can't form conguative sentences anymore and have no communication skills to speak of.
Below is a list of every call between myself and 1-800-4MY-XBOX over the last seven months. I have tried to make it as concise as possible, and changed all the SR#’s to make them easier to follow (and harder for anyone to call in and pretend that they are me!).
My Experiences with 1-800-4MY-XBOX
March 20th, 2007
Xbox 360 #1 died. I take advantage of my Best Buy product replacement plan and exchanged my Xbox 360. I wasn’t able to swap out my HDD, but I was able to salvage a few saves on a memory card at my buddy’s house.
March 27th, 2007
My wife informs me that she can no longer play Lumines Live! or use the downloadable Oblivion content. I test every item that I have ever downloaded and then call 1-800-4MY-XBOX to inform them that 25,600 points ($319.87) worth of content purchased by my primary gamertag (Speaker Ender) no longer works for any of the other profiles in my house. We begin SR#AAAAAA1464, and after a couple hours on the phone troubleshooting, I fax over a copy of my Best Buy receipt to prove that I had, in fact, exchanged it there.
March 28th, 2007
I call back to check on the status of SR#AAAAAA1464 and am told that I will be called within 3 to 5 days with codes to refund all 25,600 points and re-download my content.
March 30th, 2007
Three days later, I receive a call from Microsoft customer support to inform me that the points will be issued in 3 to 5 days. He asks if I would prefer them emailed, and I tell him that I would.
April 2nd, 2007
I receive an email with codes for all 25,600 points. It takes me 5 hours to download everything again under a new silver account, but it all works when I’m done. I have to hand it to Microsoft, they really came through with some quality customer service there, and I was quite impressed.
July 2nd, 2007
Exactly 91 days after my second Xbox 360 arrived, things fall into place and it dies. Three lousy months! It’s kind of a busy week with work, I don’t get to call for a few days.
July 5th, 2007
Since I had been told previously that the whole reason my XBL content did not work was because I had exchanged it at Best Buy rather than through Microsoft support, so I decide to call 1-800-4MY-XBOX this time. I call and SR#BBBBBB3078 is born.
July 10th, 2007
I receive my prepaid box in the mail, package up Xbox 360 #2, and drop it back off at UPS on the same day.
August 1st, 2007
Xbox 360 #3 arrives. (On a side note, they included a 1 month Xbox Live card with the refurbished Xbox 360. I can’t be TOO excited about this since I went a month without being able to use my Xbox Live Gold membership, so I am really just getting reimbursed for the month of service where I was out of commission.)
August 2nd, 2007
The first thing I do when I get my new (to me) Xbox 360 is unplug the Ethernet cable and test my arcade games — they don’t work. I call into 1-800-4MY-XBOX again, I am told to delete a game and re-download it and see if it works. It works on Alien Hominid and so I hang up and proceed to do that for all 49 games I have at that point—deleting, re-downloading ONLY BY GOING THROUGH MY DOWNLOAD HISTORY and testing each one. This process takes me 11 hours. I narrow it down to the fact that this solution fixed every bit of XBLA content purchased on Xbox 360 #2, but all the content purchased on Xbox 360 #1 still does not work.
August 3rd, 2007
I call 1-800-4MY-XBOX and am told that I will be refunded for those points and that I should be called with 5 to 7 days. SR#CCCCCC4022 is started.
August 5th, 2007
I receive a call back and am told that SR#CCCCCC4022 was set up incorrectly, "didn’t do jack ****," a phrase which he repeats multiple times as he sets up the new SR#DDDDDD9324. Yeah, real professional — this was the one agent (except for the lady who hung up on me 2 months later) who I felt was truly unprofessional and quite frankly, insulting. I was told again that I would be called with 5 to 7 days with codes for the points to repurchase my items AGAIN. I am definitely not looking forward to spending another 11 hours doing this, but I am more concerned about getting my content to work properly.
August 13th, 2007
I did not receive the promised call back, so I call 1-800-4MY-XBOX. I confirm that I deleted and re-downloaded each item, and I am told that it had been sent to Microsoft and that I would receive a call when they had looked at it. I ask for an ETA, and since he cannot give me one, I am escalated to a Tier 2 representative who tells me that I should be called by the end of the week.