As most of you know there have been a lot of postings around the internet about the guitar's from Rock Band not working correctly. My story of woe is intended to inform all of you about my customer service nightmare with EA.
Day 1 - Rock Band Launch
As I eagerly awoke Tuesday Morning 11/20/07 I called my local EB Games in which I had the XBOX360 version pre ordered but wanted to confirm one of the 16 year old kids didn't accidentally sell it to someone else. Once I received confirmation I got in my car anxiously speeding to pick it up. Upon Arrival I was excited about how large the box was and even though it barely fit in my back seat I raced home knowing I would have a long day of rocking out ahead of me.
Upon Opening the contents of my purchase and plugging it all in I regretfully found 2 issues with it.
1. My Guitar Strum Bar was inconsistent as I could not play anything correctly as it would sometimes not register or double register making it unplayable.
2. The Drum Kit’s Blue Pad would not recognize a hit.
Being quite frustrated I called EA Customer Service and here starts my nightmare………..
Day 2 – My Concerned Call to EA
On Wednesday 11/21/07 I placed a call into customer support telling them that I had two broken instruments in my package and I needed a warranty replacement. The Lady on the phone didn’t know how to enter two broken instruments into the system because the web portal only has room for one. However she took my information, entered it twice manually on the website using 2 different email address of mine. (I could have done this on my own had I known but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and let her continue) She asked if I wanted a rushed 2 day service and requested my CC number so that in case I didn’t return the defective products they would charge 100 dollars to my card for each instrument. I went along with this and after I gave all this information I was told before she could submit both orders she would need to talk to a supervisor and call me back.
Day 3 – Another Concerned Call to EA
On Thursday (Thanksgiving) 11/22/07 I called EA again after never hearing from the previous agent. The new rep I was able to speak with could find no documentation of my previous call except for a blank RMA # they had on file and my credit card authorizations. He apologized for the inconvenience and assured me he could assist me in doing this the right way.
We started over taking all the information again, and asking for my CC number a 2nd time. This time I was given tracking numbers for UPS and new RMA numbers to follow up with. He also politely gave me an incident case # and I was told both items would ship on Monday 11/26/07 and I should receive them Wednesday 11/28/07.
Day 10 – UPS in the Dark/EA even Darker
On Wednesday 11/28/07 (Yesterday) I check the tracking codes on the UPS website eagerly anticipating receiving my replacements so I can finally play my game. When I log into the site I see something that concerns me. EA submitted the billing info to UPS but never actually gave UPS the packages. Therefore my instruments wouldn’t be coming anytime soon.
I frantically called EA again and referred to my existing incident numbers. They told me that UPS was slow updating their site and be patient.
Not believing this I placed call #2 to EA shortly after and was told somehow the agent that took my order never printed the UPS Labels and cannot even find the drum replacement in the system, however he could find 2 more credit card authorizations.
Being a concerned customer service agent he told me he would call me back as his supervisor was on lunch. Needless to say I never received a call back.
This brings us up to current………………
Day 11 – Changing Tactic’s with EA (11/29/07)
So this morning I called EA once again. As soon as I got a rep on the phone I politely asked if I could record this phone call for tracking purposes. Being a little concerned she put me on hold. I was transferred to a supervisor immediately and when I asked if I could record the call again, I was sent up another level to the PR Department.
Finally I got someone from the Tier 3 department that told me I was not allowed to record this call however they would make sure they would record it, and asked why I needed a digital copy of the call.
I explained my previous situation and made a slight hint of some connections to an internet video game publication I may or may not work for, and expressed my concern for the lack of customer service.
This immediately prompted the rep to escalate the call yet again. Bear in mind I never told them I actually worked for anyone of importance but told them my story would be heard if this was not resolved.
After about 20 min of hold music I got someone who could help me. They said they have no canceled all my previous “attempts” at getting replacements and asked yet again for my CC number and address. I was given new tracking codes for UPS and was offered 2 free EA games of my choice and an extra guitar for my patience. After getting off the phone with them I felt content but still concerned that I still wouldn’t get my replacements.
20 min later I received another call from EA from the “Operations Manager” telling me he would personally take care of the situation and moments later I got my first email confirmation of any of these transactions. (Previous to this I never got anything via email from EA.
So there you have it. My long drawn out story hoping to just repair my rock band and get back to rocking. I was told I should receive the guitar and drum set on Saturday so now I wait….. In the mean time I have had several friends that called this week already have gotten the replacement guitars but one of them actually was shipped another broken one.
While I condone the efforts of EA’s replacement plan, this has been an absolute nightmare and I only hope it ends well.
Update 11/30/07 Thursday
Well it looks like my free games and free guitar shipped and are out for delivery today however my replacement guitar and drums have yet to have hit the UPS tracking site.
Day 1 - Rock Band Launch
As I eagerly awoke Tuesday Morning 11/20/07 I called my local EB Games in which I had the XBOX360 version pre ordered but wanted to confirm one of the 16 year old kids didn't accidentally sell it to someone else. Once I received confirmation I got in my car anxiously speeding to pick it up. Upon Arrival I was excited about how large the box was and even though it barely fit in my back seat I raced home knowing I would have a long day of rocking out ahead of me.
Upon Opening the contents of my purchase and plugging it all in I regretfully found 2 issues with it.
1. My Guitar Strum Bar was inconsistent as I could not play anything correctly as it would sometimes not register or double register making it unplayable.
2. The Drum Kit’s Blue Pad would not recognize a hit.
Being quite frustrated I called EA Customer Service and here starts my nightmare………..
Day 2 – My Concerned Call to EA
On Wednesday 11/21/07 I placed a call into customer support telling them that I had two broken instruments in my package and I needed a warranty replacement. The Lady on the phone didn’t know how to enter two broken instruments into the system because the web portal only has room for one. However she took my information, entered it twice manually on the website using 2 different email address of mine. (I could have done this on my own had I known but I gave her the benefit of the doubt and let her continue) She asked if I wanted a rushed 2 day service and requested my CC number so that in case I didn’t return the defective products they would charge 100 dollars to my card for each instrument. I went along with this and after I gave all this information I was told before she could submit both orders she would need to talk to a supervisor and call me back.
Day 3 – Another Concerned Call to EA
On Thursday (Thanksgiving) 11/22/07 I called EA again after never hearing from the previous agent. The new rep I was able to speak with could find no documentation of my previous call except for a blank RMA # they had on file and my credit card authorizations. He apologized for the inconvenience and assured me he could assist me in doing this the right way.
We started over taking all the information again, and asking for my CC number a 2nd time. This time I was given tracking numbers for UPS and new RMA numbers to follow up with. He also politely gave me an incident case # and I was told both items would ship on Monday 11/26/07 and I should receive them Wednesday 11/28/07.
Day 10 – UPS in the Dark/EA even Darker
On Wednesday 11/28/07 (Yesterday) I check the tracking codes on the UPS website eagerly anticipating receiving my replacements so I can finally play my game. When I log into the site I see something that concerns me. EA submitted the billing info to UPS but never actually gave UPS the packages. Therefore my instruments wouldn’t be coming anytime soon.
I frantically called EA again and referred to my existing incident numbers. They told me that UPS was slow updating their site and be patient.
Not believing this I placed call #2 to EA shortly after and was told somehow the agent that took my order never printed the UPS Labels and cannot even find the drum replacement in the system, however he could find 2 more credit card authorizations.
Being a concerned customer service agent he told me he would call me back as his supervisor was on lunch. Needless to say I never received a call back.
This brings us up to current………………
Day 11 – Changing Tactic’s with EA (11/29/07)
So this morning I called EA once again. As soon as I got a rep on the phone I politely asked if I could record this phone call for tracking purposes. Being a little concerned she put me on hold. I was transferred to a supervisor immediately and when I asked if I could record the call again, I was sent up another level to the PR Department.
Finally I got someone from the Tier 3 department that told me I was not allowed to record this call however they would make sure they would record it, and asked why I needed a digital copy of the call.
I explained my previous situation and made a slight hint of some connections to an internet video game publication I may or may not work for, and expressed my concern for the lack of customer service.
This immediately prompted the rep to escalate the call yet again. Bear in mind I never told them I actually worked for anyone of importance but told them my story would be heard if this was not resolved.
After about 20 min of hold music I got someone who could help me. They said they have no canceled all my previous “attempts” at getting replacements and asked yet again for my CC number and address. I was given new tracking codes for UPS and was offered 2 free EA games of my choice and an extra guitar for my patience. After getting off the phone with them I felt content but still concerned that I still wouldn’t get my replacements.
20 min later I received another call from EA from the “Operations Manager” telling me he would personally take care of the situation and moments later I got my first email confirmation of any of these transactions. (Previous to this I never got anything via email from EA.
So there you have it. My long drawn out story hoping to just repair my rock band and get back to rocking. I was told I should receive the guitar and drum set on Saturday so now I wait….. In the mean time I have had several friends that called this week already have gotten the replacement guitars but one of them actually was shipped another broken one.
While I condone the efforts of EA’s replacement plan, this has been an absolute nightmare and I only hope it ends well.
Update 11/30/07 Thursday
Well it looks like my free games and free guitar shipped and are out for delivery today however my replacement guitar and drums have yet to have hit the UPS tracking site.