Valve’s Steam & Customer Service: I am disapoint son (Part 1 of 3)

Millions of gamers around the world turn to Steam daily to get their fix of games. They are a clearly the leader when it comes to the digital distribution method of games sales and have introduced a lot of features which have been or are trying to be emulated by others. But as with any other empire in history, as one rises, another is falling in its wake. Is Valve’s Steam really that good and is it time to look elsewhere?

This article is going to be posted over a few pages to separate the subjects at hand.

Part 1, is our customer service issue with Steam.
Part 2, will look at some of the problems with Valve’s Steam platform
Part 3, will look at the alternatives to Steam

If you would like to know how to buy Games from Amazon if you live outside America check out this article

I don’t think anyone inherently has a problem with Steam, myself included. Valve has proven time and time again that they indeed give back to the community, and the community has stuck by Steam and Valve. But is that enough to keep every gamer or even majority of gamers on the Steam platform? Does that mean we shouldn’t question Steam’s EULA and practices? Capitalism is at work as we speak, once a popular money making idea is out, there are bound to be others that will follow in their footsteps, hoping to take a piece of that tasty money pie. Any marketing person will tell you that brand loyalty is a factor when buying decisions are made, but one of the other biggest reasons for buying a product or buying from a store is price. As more and more platforms and stores come online, more and more will begin using alternatives to Steam. Following up on our article regarding EA games Origin platform, Muslim Gamer decided to take a look at Steam’s platform, possible issues and show you what other options are out there for gamers.

This article came about as a follow up to our Origin EULA dissected article and from a recent incident this site had with Steam. The Muslim Gamer Steam Group is now up to around 900 members and growing. Every month we do a free game giveaway (this month its the Total War Pack ), which the site has always purchased through Steam. However recently we had an issue with our last purchase from Valve’s Steam which left a bitter taste in our mouths, as a result we have decided to move away from doing our giveaways through Valve’s platform. When we went searching for other gaming digital distribution stores and price comparison sites we thought we would share our findings with everyone and at the same time start a discussion about Valve’s Steam.

free steam games 1024x554 Valves Steam & Customer Service: I am disapoint son (Part 1 of 3)

The Steam Platform

Recently Company of Heroes went on sale on Steam, so we thought we would get a copy and gift it to one of our members on the forums, a thank you for being part of the community. As we were going through the process we made a mistake in the details we entered and the PayPal payment failed to go through. We started the process again, adding it to the cart and going through to the checkout, however the second time round, we forgot to click the radio button which puts the game into “Gift” status instead of our own games list. The PayPal purchase went through and straight after we made the purchase we realised our mistake. No problem we thought, just email Steam support and this will all be fixed in an instant…how wrong we were. Now rather then explaining each email and response we got from Steams support, we have included our email communication below so you can see exactly what was communicated with support and their response. We emailed several people at Valve explaining the situation after this and have received no response to date.

steam support1 416x350 Valves Steam & Customer Service: I am disapoint son (Part 1 of 3)

(Lack of) Steam Support 1

So in the initial email we have informed that we haven’t downloaded the game yet, that it was an accidental mistake and we have shown them our previous support for Steam. We never asked for a refund, we just wanted the status changed over to gift status so we can gift it to one of our members. The response is a catch 22, while yes they have will change it over, we will need to repurchase the game again “at the higher price” and they will refund the lower price back to us. As the cheaper price was offered on a daily deal and the response came back over 24 hours later, it was too late to really make it an equal offer as we pay more, get less back…

steam support2 560x308 Valves Steam & Customer Service: I am disapoint son (Part 1 of 3)

(Lack of) Steam Support 2

Yeah I know we just opened the flood gates to grammar Nazis but hey, we were editing the response several times before we sent it to Steam and left a few mistakes in there So anyway, we try again and try and clear up our intentions with steam support, maybe they didn’t understand what we wanted? Maybe this person wasn’t authorised to assist us, so just in case, we asked for an escalation. Well what do you know! There is no escalation. Any other business will allow you to at least try and speak with a higher up. Not with steam, who you get is who you get apparently. Not only that but they inform us that there are no refunds or exchanges, when in fact, if this was a retail store, I would be completely within my consumer rights to refund or exchange with no questions asked as the game had not been opened or installed. Apparently Steam only has to offer a “one time gesture” of a store credit. Sorry to say Steam, but that is not a gesture, that is a consumer’s right when the product has not been opened or used, you are entitled to a refund or exchange depending on the store. Would a retailer only offer a one time refund or exchange policy on an unopened, unused product?

steam support 3 304x350 Valves Steam & Customer Service: I am disapoint son (Part 1 of 3)

(Lack of) Steam Support 3

So in the end we agreed to disagree with Steam support and move on. Now to be clear, this is over a few dollars that we are talking about so all in all its not really a big deal, this is more about the principle of the matter than the money. Another way of looking at it is to say that if we were purchasing 6 games for a big competition and each game was $89.99 (Australian Steam prices are baaad)? Not only is Steam Support saying that there is no way they can\will transfer the game from our games library to gift status, there is also no way of escalating your issue and that our “one time gesture” is used up . Basically, if you have a problem and they don’t want to fix it, or if you get a support guy\girl that is having a bad day, then tough luck for you.

As we stated earlier, if this was a retail store I would have no problem what so ever in getting our refund or exchange and doing this multiple times, there are no “one time gestures” with retail. As the game is still in its original packaging and unopened, I could have taken it back and exchanged it for anything else I wanted. This is one of the dangers of a locked in platform such as Steam\Origin\X\Y\Z and why I personally still prefer to buy boxed games. I guess its a matter of weighing up convenience over freedom, some will prefer one over the other. With the freedom option, no one can ever take that game away from me and when I am done with it, I can gift it to my nephew so he can enjoy playing it too.

No such thing with a digital game. I am sure some of you are raging now

“But you cant get games that cheap anywhere else!!! Its your Own fault, you did the mistake” “Well they offered you a credit int he end”

Well actually you can get games cheaper elsewhere, there are sales at retailers all the time and there are at least 20 other online game digital distribution stores that you can buy from. I agree it was our “accidental” mistake in not picking gift, agreed, but we would point out that if we had not of sent multiple emails over several days, each time waiting for a response from steam, we wouldn’t have been offered the credit, if we took the first option we would of had to purchase higher priced game to get a credit back on an unopened unused game? Plus if it was somewhere else, they probably would have just said, sorry about the issue, here you go, its called customer service.

So now that we have our issue out of the way, Part 2 will look at what issues do other gamers have\had with Steam and some of the downsides of Steam’s EULA

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Written by GengisPosted in Games,Opinion,PC,Video Game DealsTags: digital distribution, online game, price comparison, steam, support, valveOctober 16, 201123 comments

Thulfiqaar

That last email they sent back is especially surprising!

“This has nothing to do with programming knowledge. This issue is on the accounting side.”
This is said as if to say, you dumb idiot no it’s not programming knowledge.

“It is not possible to switch the game from your account in to a gift.”
Not even a word of sympathy/empathy or an apology!

Horrible customer service!
Mushroom_bob

I really don’t see much of a problem here. You seem to be blowing this out of proportion. Digital distribution does not have the same rights as retail. Any distribution method will give the same response with regards to refunds. It is a problem with Digital Distribution EULA across the board. Xbox Live, PSN, Steam, Origin, D2D, Impulse.

Yes it is unfortunate that your mistake could not be resolved but I work in a similar role and system limitations for security or quality standard regulations prevent some very simple requests from being fulfilled. If there was a simple tag to switch a game from User owned to Gift it would be open to abuse. I also assume that the downloaded game is linked to your account for verification and that cannot be broken. Yes the customer support helper could have been less robotic and totalitarian about the situation, but it wasn’t that bad. In a situation where you are not happy with the service a simple concise response can be taken as rude and abrupt and unhelpful. I expect these customer service advisers get this same issue real and fraudulent day in day out and simple concise answers get threw the myriad of requests more efficiently.

No matter what the customer thinks, they are not always right.
- Thulfiqaar
  
  From a customer service point of view their approach is wrong and bad. I speak from experience, as I deal with customers on a daily basis for my work and have been ever since I started working. In fact I used to work as a supervisor and had to monitor for call quality in a call center. The things we always looked out for is that the agent should always show empathy and always apologise where appropriate. Even if it isn’t his mistake.
  
  As I have mentioned in my comment below, If you look at the last response from Steam: “This has nothing to do with programming knowledge. This issue is on the accounting side.”
  This is said as if to say, “you dumb idiot, no it’s not programming knowledge.” This is an insult to the customer whether it is true or not, you should never insult the customer.
  
  And note this sentence:
  “It is not possible to switch the game from your account in to a gift.”
  Not even a word of sympathy/empathy or an apology! They could have instead said “we are ‘sorry’ but unfortunately we cannot do this.”
  
  And it is important to note that what Gengis meant is not literally, but
  rather to say that they are a very powerful and successful company, yet
  they cannot do something as simple as this. It is irrelevant whether other companies can or cannot do it, the fact is that they are not able to do it and that equates to poor customer service. And just because they cannot do it now doesn’t mean that they cannot implement it in the future.
  
  And in regards to digital distribution being different from retail, that is exactly what the article is trying to tell you. Second they ARE able to take it from his steam account and credit the money back, as they did decide to do that. The fact that they said it’s a one time gesture means that it is poor customer service. No matter how the game is distributed.
  
  This is not about whether the customer is right or not, it’s about customer service. Saying that other Digital Distribution companies don’t have that either, doesn’t change the fact that it is a problem and that it is poor service.
  
  In regards to your following sentences:
  - ” Any distribution method will give the same response with regards to refunds.”
  He is not asking for a refund, he wants to give the game to someone else rather than having to keep the game.
  
  - “It is a problem with Digital Distribution EULA across the board. Xbox Live, PSN, Steam, Origin, D2D, Impulse.”
  I’m glad you said it yourself: “It’s a problem”, because that is exactly what it is. A problem.
- http://www.muslimgamer.com Muslim Gamer
  
  Hi Mushroom, thanks for the comment. I guess thats where we see things a little differently. I don’t see how a digital distribution store is different from a retail store. In fact legally, unless you can show me otherwise, it would be governed by the same laws as retail which is why they have disclaimers in their EULA stating that clauses may bot apply in some states in the US and EU countries.
  
  I am not sure how we are blowing it out of proportion. We would just like others to know about what can happen and over the 3 parts of this article, show others the finer details of Steams EULA and the alternatives. We broke down Origin recently, its only fair we take a closer look at Steam
  
  You mention that the downloaded linked to our account game cant be broken for verification. Thats why we never downloaded the game, never opened it, and obviously never played it. We sent the email straight after purchasing it. Thats like being at the cash register in the store and saying
  
  “Sorry I just realised that this is for the PS3, I was actually hoping to get the Xbox360 version, can I swap this please?
  
  The shop owner looks at you and says
  
  “Sorry, accounting problem, cant fix it”
Thulfiqaar

Wow, you seem to be a very nice and understanding person, with excellent manners. (Sarcasm alert!)
http://twitter.com/Azrael_Deschain Azrael

The “consumer rights” you speak of are not actually guaranteed by any type of law. Every retailer has the right to deny refunds/exchanges as they see fit. Complaining about your rights as a consumer in this situation is just silly.

As a person who has worked in customer service for the past 14 years, I can honestly say there are a lot of instances where, regardless of how much you bitch and moan, a customer service rep will not be able to bend to your demands. YOU made the mistake when you failed to process your payment properly the first time. YOU made the mistake when you failed to notice that you did not select to purchase the game as a gift. And YOU made the mistake when you didn’t bother to check the confirmation page before finalizing the purchase.

Considering the fact that you do not work for Valve, it is impossible for you comment on the process of switching a game from owned status to gift status. As the customer service rep stated, it is not a programming issue but an accounting issue, which is not something that can be resolved in the way you are asking. If Steam is set up so that all purchases have to be made through the store front (which is most likely the case here) they can’t offer you a different price than what is listed without offering it to everyone. Given Steam’s account structure, it is most likely set up to where all Steam support reps are locked out from certain portions of your account, such as the ability to authorize purchases or add games. As he stated, he can remove the game and credit you back, but you will have to purchase the game again at the listed price. Seeing how it was your fault at three different points of the purchase interaction, it should be on you to pay for the mistake.
- http://www.muslimgamer.com Muslim Gamer
  
  Hi Azrael, Thanks for the comment. I am not sure which country you are from, but here in Australia you can go to any retailer you like and you will get an exchange for a game that is unopened and in most cases, you will get a full refund.
  
  Steam may not provide that and we have now learned that. The article is here to server as a warning to others and let them know what awaits when that day comes and you make a mistake, because sooner or later, everyone will make a mistake Lets just hope yours is a few dollars too.
  - Dr. McKay
    
    I don’t think you understand that digital games are not the same as physically packaged games. Despite the best DRM or management programs, there are still ways to get around the system. There’s no way to prove that you never opened or played the game. Honestly, you were lucky that you were even offered the refund. I’ve purchased many games from Steam, and many gifts, and not once made a mistake.
    - Thulfiqaar
      
      Yes they can find out if you ever played the game. And since you have apparently used Steam before you should know that they also have the ability to record how long you have played certain games…..
      
      I still am using Steam because I have had only good service with them so far, and they have good deals, but that doesn’t mean that they are perfect. Stop being defending Steam as if they are infallible. The customer service that the first agent showed him was horrid. Professionally speaking he should have never spoken like that.
      
      The only reason they eventually offered him a refund (which he didn’t take) was because he has this website.
      - Dr. McKay
        
        I never said Steam was perfect. Obviously you didn’t read my comment, as I said that there are ways around everything. The Custom Executable Generation thing isn’t real security. It’s trivial to download the game, take out the DRM, and run it without Steam open.
        
        Thulfiqaar
        
        if he wanted to do that he could have easily used torrents or newsgroups to download the game instead. That way he never would have had to buy the game in the first place.
        Second, he submitted a ticket LITERALLY right after he bought the game. That means he didn’t even have the time to download the game. So if they look at the time of transaction payment and then look at the time that he filed the ticket they would know how this is like 1 minute apart. He really did make a mistake. Let’s be realistic here mate, Do you really think he would have downloaded it from steam and risked getting his account banned by cracking it and running it without steam? When he can take a much safer and easier path by downloading it from sites like piratebay? You and I both know what the answer to my question is.Always give the customer the benefit of the doubt is a basic rule in customer service. Treating your customers like potential pirates when they are buying your games fair and square is the wrong way to go about running a business. In this case however THERE IS NO DOUBT. And the game only cost £3 mate. It’s not about the money it’s about the principle.
        
        Here is one question I have for you: “Why are you defending Steam?”
    - http://www.muslimgamer.com Muslim Gamer
      
      While I understand what you are saying, I actually think its the opposite in regards to the “knowing if you played a Game”. That is pretty much what DRM is. They know when you played a gaem, whether it has been downloaded and whether it was activated. Steam is basically exactly that, it knows more about your gaming habits then you do
Subtle-knife

unfortunatly the limits for the sales are set automatically and controlled by the publisher of the games. You would need to talk to them, not steam, if you wanted to get the game for 4.99 or whatever. the people at steam cant control any of that
- http://www.muslimgamer.com Muslim Gamer
  
  Hi Subtle, In some scenarios I would agree but in this case I believe Steam is responsible. If you buy something from Kmart, you dont go to the manufacturer, you go back to Kmart to request the issue be fixed, they then go back to the manufacturer.
http://support.steampowered.com BurtonJ

We appreciate your feedback on Steam and our Support system. Constructive feedback, positive and negative, is extremely valuable and is what allows us to improve our products and services.

I am sorry that we were not able to resolve this issue to your satisfaction. Unfortunately, we do not currently have the tools to convert regular purchases to gifts, which is why Rudy suggested that you go ahead and purchase a gift and we would refund the accidental purchase. Your feedback has been passed on to our developers and they are working on improving our tools in hopes of preventing issues like this in the future.

If you would like to have the purchase in question refunded back to Paypal, please respond to your support ticket and we will be happy to process that.

Cheers!
-Burton
- http://www.muslimgamer.com Muslim Gamer
  
  Hi BurtonJ,
  Firstly thanks for taking the time to respond directly to us, much appreciated, as most other companies would probably just choose to ignore the situation and leave it at that.
  
  While we do appreciate the extra effort, it is unfortunate though that only after several emails to your support team were sent, after we have had to advertise the fact that nothing could be done on our site and social media outlets and after we have decided to no longer offer our monthly free games have we been offered the complete refund. It would have been a better scenario for us and for steam had Rudy not have had the attitude of “There is no one superior to me at steam support and I will not forward your request to speak to someone else”. Had the request been met or more understanding been shown at the time, this would be a non issue.
  
  As a result, my questionfear is that if one of our members had the same issue and they did not have the benefit of a website and social media to let others know of their experience, I would have to assume that they would not have received the offer for refund and would be stuck with a game in their library that they did not want.
  
  Hopefully it is something that Steam can implement in the future to enable simple mistakes like this to be rectified without having to jump through the hoops like we had to.
  
  Thanks again for taking the time to reply and for the offer of the refund.
- Mike
  
  BurtonJ,
  
  Why not offering to refund both the game and the full-price gift (that makes two refund) instead?
  
  M
Mike

Hello,

Surprisingly enough, I just had a similar problem with the same pack you are reffering to. I was unable to purchase the pack on time because of their new browser security feature. Even though I am a good steam customer, they refused to offer any kind of help and did not even check my account.

I was expecting a very good service but then I realized that while Steam can be very friendly in appearance, their support is quite mean and money-hungry. It’s surprising to see that they priorize rigidity over customer satisfaction. Not that they already make millions anyways!

This has been very eye-opening for me and I don’t expect to add one more game to my “At least 75 purchased games” account. Instead, I’ll add them to my new Gamersgate account.

I feel that I have been a fanboy of a company that doesn’t deserve it.

Thanks,
M
- http://www.muslimgamer.com Muslim Gamer
  
  Hi M. I think everyone is a fan of Steam until they have a problem and realise that Steam Valve is actually no different than any other gaming company. They are great at taking your money but as soon as you have a problem and require support, they show you the door and say take it or leave it. This site and by the looks of your comment, you too, have chosen to leave it. I have around 150 games on Steam and have not purchased any games since then either. There are enough and CHEAPER alternatives out there to not need steam
  - http://twitter.com/Jr2nd John or Jr2nd / KATT
    
    everyone? i’ve never been and never will be a fan of steam and they’re draconian views on 2nd hand games and with the REALLY bad customer support who promote people to break they’re own rules
    - http://www.muslimgamer.com Muslim Gamer
      
      I guess I should have said most These days there are a lot of people who say they hate DRM on one side, then they buy all their games from Steam on the other. I am not sure if they just refuse to accept that Steam is DRM or they just dont realise? Keep an eye on Amazon as they are really starting to push DRM free games lately which is great
Guest

Steam support is riduculously bad. No phone support. E-mail requests are ignored for days on end. My particular problem could be solved with a mouse click, but instead I am going days on end without access to the game I purchased.
- http://www.muslimgamer.com Muslim Gamer
  
  Valves Steam support is worse than bad. Though I see it as a blessing. Ever since this incident, I have purchase a handful of games. I now buy from Amazon, Gamersgate and others where I have actually purchased a lot of games cheaper than Steam. Plus they actually have support that get back to you quickly

Valve’s Steam & Customer Service: I am disapoint son (Part 1 of 3)

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