Customer Service Number is no longer toll free

[Deleted]

I don't know if many people know but the Customer support number has changed recently and its no longer toll free.
So, you will now be charged for being on hold.

http://www.swtor.com/support/form

[Argroth]

I don't know if many people know but the Customer support number has changed recently and its no longer toll free.
So, you will now be charged for being on hold.

http://www.swtor.com/support/form

All right, yet another thing to push away F2P people.

They don't get support in game or on forums, only get cut and paste emails telling them to call and now they get screwed even when they call!

Thanks Bioware for treating your players like shit and never even solving problems for the few problems you know about.

[Kelimbror]

False:

1-855-GO-SWTOR(1-855-467-9867)

Unless this number has been disconnected.

[catcommando]

If you call the 855 number, there's a recorded message that directs you to the link above. They didn't even bother announcing the 312 number. You stay Klassy, BW/EA.

[Kelimbror]

If you call the 855 number, there's a recorded message that directs you to the link above. They didn't even bother announcing the 312 number. You stay Klassy, BW/EA.

Wow.

...wtf.

[Valeron]

They really must have a bare bones staff working on this game now. Heck, I'm betting they still will outsource that customer service call anyway. So you get to pay to be transferred to someone who you can't understand. EA/Bioware is shameless in their penny pinching.

[Leadsop]

Except for anyone who uses a cell phone to call them.

Which is everyone. I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone playing anything on a high-speed internet connection is using anything but a cell phone to make any calls nowadays.

You guys love to bitch, don't you?

[Organoth]

Except for anyone who uses a cell phone to call them.

Which is everyone. I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone playing anything on a high-speed internet connection is using anything but a cell phone to make any calls nowadays.

Pretty much this.

Only people calling from a land line are people still living at home with their parents. I've never had a land line phone in my name, ever. Hell on some certain cell phone plans dialing a normal land line is actually free while dialing an 800 number will still use up your minutes.

Edit: I need to go find something else legit to post on.....999 and counting.

[Argroth]

Except for anyone who uses a cell phone to call them.

Which is everyone. I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone playing anything on a high-speed internet connection is using anything but a cell phone to make any calls nowadays.

You guys love to bitch, don't you?

Dosn't mean it's not a shitty thing to do.

I don't get people like you. "It dosn't directly affect me at this time so who cares if its a shitty stupid service."

It's a greedy asshole move wether it affects you or not. Bioware seems to be big on those these days. How long until it does turn into something you care about? Would it make you feel good if some jerk was like "So what if you got screwed", would that jerk help anything? Cause thats what you and so many people do.

You got a problem? Who cares.

I mean why would anyone want better service anyways right?

[Edge-]

Except for anyone who uses a cell phone to call them.

Which is everyone. I find it extremely hard to believe that anyone playing anything on a high-speed internet connection is using anything but a cell phone to make any calls nowadays.

You guys love to bitch, don't you?

Not all cell phone plans have unlimited voice chat. I have a whopping total of 500 minutes to land lines. To other mobile phones? This normally poses no problem for me as I spend no more than a few hours a month chatting with people on land lines. However if I had to sit through a few 1-2 hours holds a month in addition to my normal usage, that would begin appear on my bill.

Also, the whole, "everyone has smartphones with unlimited calling" argument is bunk. While smartphone proliferation is pretty widespread, there are still good chunks of people who either have no cell phone, basic cell phones, or plans like mine which don't include unlimited calling to land lines.

Sorry, but they are only MMO developer/publisher I could find (that had a support line, Nexon doesn't for example, and you do not want to be compared to their support...) that didn't have a toll free number to call for support. Even down to a number of the smaller budget MMO's. If they have a support line, it's toll free. I'd be eager to find some other exceptions. This is yet another area where BioWare/EA are proving themselves to be underdelivering compared to their competition.

[Profyrion]

Good businesses have toll free customer service numbers. An 800 number (even several lines) should be an almost negligible cost for a healthy company.

Given how poor SWTOR's customer service has always been, I can't see how this is anything but yet another indicator that things are moving in a very unfortunate direction for the game.

[Organoth]

Not all cell phone plans have unlimited voice chat. I have a whopping total of 500 minutes to land lines. To other mobile phones? This normally poses no problem for me as I spend no more than a few hours a month chatting with people on land lines. However if I had to sit through a few 1-2 hours holds a month in addition to my normal usage, that would begin appear on my bill.

Also, the whole, "everyone has smartphones with unlimited calling" argument is bunk. While smartphone proliferation is pretty widespread, there are still good chunks of people who either have no cell phone, basic cell phones, or plans like mine which don't include unlimited calling to land lines.

Sorry, but they are only MMO developer/publisher I could find (that had a support line, Nexon doesn't for example, and you do not want to be compared to their support...) that didn't have a toll free number to call for support. Even down to a number of the smaller budget MMO's. If they have a support line, it's toll free. I'd be eager to find some other exceptions. This is yet another area where BioWare/EA are proving themselves to be underdelivering compared to their competition.

You are missing the point that is being made. You do NOT get free calls to a toll-free number if you are calling from a cell phone. Being an 800 number only affect people with land lines and they are quickly becoming the minority customer. Less then 2/3rd of the US even has a landline phone as of 2011 and that number is even smaller for the gamer demographic of young adults. That number continues to drop every year.

Also, who in the world is calling Bioware support that often that their minutes even matter? I have never had to call customer support for any game I have ever played. People are complaining about this for no other reason then they want to complain about something. Being bad about your account security and getting your account compromised is about the only reason why you would ever need to call their support line. If that happens why should Bioware have to pay for your phone call?

[RoninaThorstone]

Nexon doesn't for example, and you do not want to be compared to their support...)

Once we reported a bug in vindictus and got an email 8 months later about it.

My wife was like, "I... What?"

[Orlong]

All right, yet another thing to push away F2P people.

They don't get support in game or on forums, only get cut and paste emails telling them to call and now they get screwed even when they call!

Thanks Bioware for treating your players like shit and never even solving problems for the few problems you know about.

What do you expect for a free game. They arent running a charity. They have to make money somwhere

[RoninaThorstone]

What do you expect for a free game. They arent running a charity. They have to make money somwhere

Normally you make money by selling short cuts, convenience, and cosmetic items.

Not attempting to extract credit card information with "advanced interrogation" techniques.

[Argroth]

Also, who in the world is calling Bioware support that often that their minutes even matter? I have never had to call customer support for any game I have ever played. People are complaining about this for no other reason then they want to complain about something. Being bad about your account security and getting your account compromised is about the only reason why you would ever need to call their support line. If that happens why should Bioware have to pay for your phone call?

Swtor/Bioware has ALWAYS had a lot of issues that need customer support. There are damn bugs in the game from beta that are still present a year after release.

Add this to the FACT that the only way a F2P/preferred player will get any attention with issues is to call them (emails give cut and paste "call us" responses") then you got a lot of people who need to contact them.

And from experience You have to wait for at least an hour to talk to a human, nevermind actually someone who can help you.

Many people are getting bugs with email vvalidation, even more are getting bugged cartel items, there are a lot of reasons people need to call. Just because you are ignorant to a lot of flaws in this game dosn't man that people don't need to call or the only reason why people would need to call is because comprimised accounts.

Its amazing how you know nothing.

[Edge-]

Once we reported a bug in vindictus and got an email 8 months later about it.

My wife was like, "I... What?"

I'm still waiting on them to restore the gear to my characters from when my account got breached... 11 months ago. And I still believe the breach was due to their fault, as that was the only account that got accessed and they promptly implemented the secondary pin-code system afterwards.

What do you expect for a free game. They arent running a charity. They have to make money somwhere

So why do they keep advertising it as F2P then?

[Argroth]

What do you expect for a free game. They arent running a charity. They have to make money somwhere

They make lots of money from lots of places, cartel items, subscribers, it's bioware they also have a shitload of other resources.

Being assholes to potential customers is not gonna win them any more money. If my account got glitched and I had to stay on hold for hours paying the charges all the while, it's much better for me to move on elsewhere and remember the bad service Bioware gave me.

Bioware comes out with another game, I remember how they treated me like crap and immediately rethink my interest.

It's like Bioware is actively trying to screw new and potential customers, with thier heavily restricted "free to play" game and the worst service I can remember.

[RoninaThorstone]

they promptly implemented the secondary pin-code system afterwards.

Speaking of that, its a total bitch to get that fixed. And you need to have it fixed if you haven't logged on in a long time.

[Leadsop]

...even more are getting bugged cartel items...

Totally an in-game issue, and if people are calling in and waiting on hold for an hour to fix a damn lightsaber crystal then I don't feel anything except the urge to laugh at them about it. If people are flooding call centers to fix bugged Cartel items, that's why people are having to wait forever for account info.

What Cartel items are bugged, by the way? I've spent WAY too much real money and opened WAY too many packs, and can't say I've ever seen or heard a single real player (i.e., a person who actually plays the game and is in General chat or my guild) complaining about something being bugged, nor have I ever received or experienced a single one myself.