Is SE really this shady?

[Cendres]

I guess you don't read many threads on good experiences with support.

Why would you? If someone hasn't had a problem with the customer service they will go on their merry way. The only time you are going to have post positive things in the forum is if the customer service went above and beyond. However right now they can barely manage to be competent. Hopefully that will change.

[Dhex]

Honestly, SE has always been pretty bad with customer service - even back in 2007!

Flash backs to being 16 and having to go to a public notary to have a formal letter proving ownership, filing a complaint form - both notarized and my identity verified and mailed to
prove that I was the owner of my FFXI account - simply because my father's name and information was on the account's registered credit card - just to get my hacked account back.

They continued charging throughout that hacked period (3 weeks) and refused to cancel the subscription over the phone - I came very close to abandoning the company entirely once everything was set straight simply as a matter of principle, but I was a die-hard fanboy at that point.

Square Enix makes lovable and memorable characters - and fun games, but they absolutely do not know how to handle customer service or account management. Will it improve? Probably not - but at least you don't need to deal with PlayOnline services anymore! (Talk about a nightmare)

[NeuroParalytic]

non japanese players are second class citizens to SE. That said, they are a busy company as well. If your a fan of the series just tough it out. If your not a fan just take it elsewhere. Things should improve as they tackle one thing at a time.

[Nuit]

SE is not shady. They just have an incompetence level that's off the charts. And I'm not talking about Yoshida and the rest of the devs, they made a great game. But the rest of the corporate entity is just terrible overall.

[Tupsi]

non japanese players are second class citizens to SE.

I hope you're Japanese or you wouldn't be playing an MMORPG clearly designed to capture a particular western audience called FFXIV A Realm Reborn.

[FinagleABagel]

This place is a cesspool of concern trolling....

Look, they banned a bunch of RMTers, removed billions of gil from the market, and they will likely continue to do so. Not much you can do to change that.

[Orophin]

I don't think shady is quite the right word. I don't think they're intentionally doing anything wrong. They're just not handling situations in the most efficient way. And as for their customer service, it's pretty atrocious just reading other people's testimonials. I think their NA/EU customer support are really limited in what they can do and that's why it seems like nothing apart from minor account issues can be resolved quickly, as it all has to get forwarded to the Japan office.

[M4Fade]

Square Enix makes lovable and memorable characters - and fun games, but they absolutely do not know how to handle customer service or account management. Will it improve? Probably not - but at least you don't need to deal with PlayOnline services anymore! (Talk about a nightmare)

I think this says it all, really.

They do some things right, but SE has never really gotten down customer service and account management. This is their legacy back from the good ol' FFXI days.

[CrystalRainbow]

Troll on: SE is resolving the RMT issue by making it so no one plays the game.

[WVUTrip]

I do not think SE is shady as much as they are understaffed and incompetent. Also, I know I will get flamed for this but Japanese people are extremely proud and arrogant and think they know better then most. They are especially this way towards Americans and Europeans. Now if that plays a role in their poor customer service, I have no idea but it could.

All in all I think they are just woefully understaffed for this game. They were not expecting this many people to play and did not have the staff to support it. Also, SE has been struggling financially lately so this could be a cause for the understaffed reps.