DDi Concern: Support - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

DDi Concern: Support

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
epochgames
Jun 13, 2008 5:44:43 So, I was minding my own (and others') business this morning, typing away on the forums and suddenly they went down. I thought about this for a few minutes, ran a few tests to verify it was on the server side of things, and then the problems started.

I worked tech for years. I've seen problems fix before they started. I've seen the awesome paging capabilities of some servers. I've seen the admins ignore server pages, because there's some faulty code that causes the alarm even when there isn't one. I've seen entire clusters catch on fire. I could go one, but let's just say I've seen some of the best and some of the worst.

So, when this happened, I thought--hmmm....who is watching all this? How? What if something broke and no one notices it? Hey, in a perfect world, right? So, I thought I might drop a line to someone real quick just to say "Hey, we need a new hamster." Then, I began to wonder....how?

Well, the forums were of absolutely no use. There were down completely. No notice of scheduled updates or maintenance via the rest of the WotC site. So, contact us. This leads to:

http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/contact

[Q]Get in Touch!

Want to reach the staff? You’ve come to the right place. Here’s all the information you’ll need if you want to write us an article, pitch an adventure, or just want to give us a piece of your mind.
Writing for Dragon and Dungeon

The first thing you’ll want to do if you want to write for the new digital version of the magazines is check out our Writer’s Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions. When you’re ready to send us a pitch, drop us a line at [email]submissions@wizards.com[/email].
Questions, Comments, and Feedback

We value your input, and we want to hear it. Whether you have a comment about the website, the magazine format, or, heck, your favorite character, you can reach us at [email]dndinsider@wizards.com[/email]. Also, check out our message boards. We read them on a regular basis, and that’s often a good way to get our feedback, as well as that of your gaming peers.[/Q]

Hmmm....not exactly what I'm looking for there. So, between Help and the site map, I came across this:

http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/info/default.aspx

Hey, the Help section that leads to is the same thing for standard customer service issues. Aren't they only open during relatively *normal* business hours. Yup, but it's the only option I can find.

First, the app to submit an email is so terribly inept, I can't even begin to describe it. Well, I did a little bit in the email I sent to them. The options are severely lacking, so if you don't have one of the specific handful of items they have listed to address, you're going to have to put around and even fudge a bit. Then, when it's supposed to give you an option to continue with the email, only one out of four different variations of my selections actually gave me that option. There was of course another version to send the email, again with limited options, requesting up to three days to wait for a response.

Now, I am not saying that WotC has a poor technical support team by any stretch of the imagination. I am sure, like most others there, they are very skilled and capable, but run into the same corporate brick walls and constraints most of the rest of us do.

What I am saying is: what is up with such a poor interface for customer service issues? And, what kind of support can we expect once DDi is released?

I don't know about MtGO, whether they have these kinds of issues or not, or if a different infrastructure has been put in place. And, I know these types of things happen from time to time; it's the nature of the beast. I'm not even concerned about the particular technical issue this morning. Obviously, it's already been addressed. And, I know that a lot of companies don't have 24/7 support. I play WoW, and when I have a problem there, it's either sit and wait for updates via the login server, or check out the forums. So, I'm not necessarily even thinking that WotC is going to supply us with 24/7 support for DDi.

In anticipation of their answers here, I would like to make three requests.

Please, when the new tools go to launch have an active and ready team available round the clock, especially if these things don't go to Beta first. Keep it for a few weeks, then ditch when everything is stable.

And, please, for goodness sakes light a fire under someone to fix the customer service app, or tell me/us where to address those concerns specifically.

Finally, as an added courtesy, add some back line of communication, even if it's only a temporary email address or IM handles where someone can be reached to avoid the initial panicky feeling when something is "broken."
#2
Kentinal
Jun 13, 2008 6:12:52 Odds are site went down for daily maintenance, just status page not linked to now. The boards go down everyday.
#3
Webster
Jun 13, 2008 6:29:06 http://wizards.custhelp.com

And yes, we have a daily down time.
#4
epochgames
Jun 13, 2008 7:03:15
http://wizards.custhelp.com

And yes, we have a daily down time.

That link is the one I used to search the KB and send in a report. I'm not sure if you were offering it, because you thought I had missed it, or because you were trying to point me to some relevant information. Could you please clarify?

Is there a place where downtime is posted, because this:

http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1388&p_created=1210723849&p_sid=R_jYxa6j&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MTksMTkmcF9wcm9kcz0wJnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PXNlcnZlcg**&p_li=&p_topview=1

says:
Website Operational Updates
Message

What are the planned and known service outages?
Answer

Current scheduled maintanence:

None scheduled at this time.

#5
epochgames
Jun 13, 2008 7:21:03 Well, I did actually get a relatively quick response, which I didn't expect at such an hour, so it sat in my mail for a little while.

An excerpt from an email response from Muddpuppy

Gleemax.com generally goes down for daily scheduled maintenance at about 2:00 AM PST. It generally lasts for about an hour, very frequently less.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 epochgames Jun 13, 2008 5:44:43	So, I was minding my own (and others') business this morning, typing away on the forums and suddenly they went down. I thought about this for a few minutes, ran a few tests to verify it was on the server side of things, and then the problems started. I worked tech for years. I've seen problems fix before they started. I've seen the awesome paging capabilities of some servers. I've seen the admins ignore server pages, because there's some faulty code that causes the alarm even when there isn't one. I've seen entire clusters catch on fire. I could go one, but let's just say I've seen some of the best and some of the worst. So, when this happened, I thought--hmmm....who is watching all this? How? What if something broke and no one notices it? Hey, in a perfect world, right? So, I thought I might drop a line to someone real quick just to say "Hey, we need a new hamster." Then, I began to wonder....how? Well, the forums were of absolutely no use. There were down completely. No notice of scheduled updates or maintenance via the rest of the WotC site. So, contact us. This leads to: http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/contact [Q]Get in Touch! Want to reach the staff? You’ve come to the right place. Here’s all the information you’ll need if you want to write us an article, pitch an adventure, or just want to give us a piece of your mind. Writing for Dragon and Dungeon The first thing you’ll want to do if you want to write for the new digital version of the magazines is check out our Writer’s Guidelines and our Terms and Conditions. When you’re ready to send us a pitch, drop us a line at [email]submissions@wizards.com[/email]. Questions, Comments, and Feedback We value your input, and we want to hear it. Whether you have a comment about the website, the magazine format, or, heck, your favorite character, you can reach us at [email]dndinsider@wizards.com[/email]. Also, check out our message boards. We read them on a regular basis, and that’s often a good way to get our feedback, as well as that of your gaming peers.[/Q] Hmmm....not exactly what I'm looking for there. So, between Help and the site map, I came across this: http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/info/default.aspx Hey, the Help section that leads to is the same thing for standard customer service issues. Aren't they only open during relatively normal business hours. Yup, but it's the only option I can find. First, the app to submit an email is so terribly inept, I can't even begin to describe it. Well, I did a little bit in the email I sent to them. The options are severely lacking, so if you don't have one of the specific handful of items they have listed to address, you're going to have to put around and even fudge a bit. Then, when it's supposed to give you an option to continue with the email, only one out of four different variations of my selections actually gave me that option. There was of course another version to send the email, again with limited options, requesting up to three days to wait for a response. Now, I am not saying that WotC has a poor technical support team by any stretch of the imagination. I am sure, like most others there, they are very skilled and capable, but run into the same corporate brick walls and constraints most of the rest of us do. What I am saying is: what is up with such a poor interface for customer service issues? And, what kind of support can we expect once DDi is released? I don't know about MtGO, whether they have these kinds of issues or not, or if a different infrastructure has been put in place. And, I know these types of things happen from time to time; it's the nature of the beast. I'm not even concerned about the particular technical issue this morning. Obviously, it's already been addressed. And, I know that a lot of companies don't have 24/7 support. I play WoW, and when I have a problem there, it's either sit and wait for updates via the login server, or check out the forums. So, I'm not necessarily even thinking that WotC is going to supply us with 24/7 support for DDi. In anticipation of their answers here, I would like to make three requests. Please, when the new tools go to launch have an active and ready team available round the clock, especially if these things don't go to Beta first. Keep it for a few weeks, then ditch when everything is stable. And, please, for goodness sakes light a fire under someone to fix the customer service app, or tell me/us where to address those concerns specifically. Finally, as an added courtesy, add some back line of communication, even if it's only a temporary email address or IM handles where someone can be reached to avoid the initial panicky feeling when something is "broken."
#2 Kentinal Jun 13, 2008 6:12:52	Odds are site went down for daily maintenance, just status page not linked to now. The boards go down everyday.
#3 Webster Jun 13, 2008 6:29:06	http://wizards.custhelp.com And yes, we have a daily down time.
#4 epochgames Jun 13, 2008 7:03:15	http://wizards.custhelp.com And yes, we have a daily down time. That link is the one I used to search the KB and send in a report. I'm not sure if you were offering it, because you thought I had missed it, or because you were trying to point me to some relevant information. Could you please clarify? Is there a place where downtime is posted, because this: http://wizards.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/wizards.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=1388&p_created=1210723849&p_sid=R_jYxa6j&p_accessibility=0&p_redirect=&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPTEmcF9zb3J0X2J5PSZwX2dyaWRzb3J0PSZwX3Jvd19jbnQ9MTksMTkmcF9wcm9kcz0wJnBfY2F0cz0mcF9wdj0mcF9jdj0mcF9zZWFyY2hfdHlwZT1hbnN3ZXJzLnNlYXJjaF9ubCZwX3BhZ2U9MSZwX3NlYXJjaF90ZXh0PXNlcnZlcg**&p_li=&p_topview=1 says: Website Operational Updates Message What are the planned and known service outages? Answer Current scheduled maintanence: None scheduled at this time.
#5 epochgames Jun 13, 2008 7:21:03	Well, I did actually get a relatively quick response, which I didn't expect at such an hour, so it sat in my mail for a little while. An excerpt from an email response from Muddpuppy Gleemax.com generally goes down for daily scheduled maintenance at about 2:00 AM PST. It generally lasts for about an hour, very frequently less.