How about something for our troubles?

[PunishersDaddy]

I'm feeling a little bit burned. Like I paid a premium to be a field tester for quality control. It occurs to me that everyone who's had to tollerate a replacement of faulty guitars or drums ought to get a little something something from EA/MTV/Harmonix. We ought to be compensated for not just simply returning the entire package to the store for a refund-- which we have a legal right to do. How's about some coupons for some downloadable songs? Or maybe kickback some SWAG...

[PMac]

yeah, i personally believe that all the people with faulty parts already should be given like a 1 - 2 year extended warranty. I think its insane that within hours of playing the parts break. We as customers need some show of good will that proves to us the hardware has been fixed and we wont be experiencing the same problem within several days. A 60 day warranty is a joke, especially with all the problems we have been experiencing already. Who's to say the problems wont be continuing anywhere down the road? if the products werent tested enough to realize that they cant stand the wear of a few hours/days, how can we be promised they will hold up for 5 - 6 months? Because personally I still play guitar hero 1, with no problems, and i plan to be playing rock band a few years down the road also... if my instruments hold that is.

[SoberScott]

i my **** isnt shipped tomorrow I am returning everything to Gamestop. I will sell my replacement drums they are shipping to me on EBAY to make the money back they cahrge me if I need to. Or I will go to EA a nd beat them with them. Either or.

[PunishersDaddy]

Yeah, it kinda sux. I got the package the day before Thanksgiving so all the kids in my family could play along the next day. The strum on the Strat broke that night. So I ended up being the only one to experience how much more fun the new guitar really was. BTW, I REALLY liked the Strat ALOT.

[Redempshin]

If you haven't gotten your items in a reasonable amount of time, hit up the warranty center via phone and ask for a manager, ask the manager what they CAN (not going to) do to help make this better as you're a fan of EA Games and would like to continue supporting them in the future.

You might get a coupon code for some EA Game related themes, maybe a coupon for the EA Store for downloadable or physical games, they may even throw you a bone of one of the games they produce/develop.

You probably won't get any song DLC coupons since that's linked to Harmonix/MTV Games & Microsoft. I don't think EA is seeing much, if any residuals on DLC for Rock Band.

Remember, you're not entitled to anything but the product you paid for, or a full refund if you so choose. Treat anyone you speak on the phone to with respect. You're frustrated, trust me, they're far more frustrated. Remember, the person on the phone didn't design/manufacture a poorly designed kick pedal or guitar strummer. (btw, who did the design/manufacturing? They're the ones that should be getting the hate mail).

Regarding returning your package. Gamestop might have an issue with a return, but if you say, "I'd rather not have to file a dispute with my credit card company. . ." They'll get real flexible real quick, especially because they'll be able to sell those instruments (working) separately as used items for more then the set.

I really hope EA doesn't take a loss on all these returns/warranty replacements, it would discourage them from future projects and probably reduce their flexibility in assisting you with your returns. I'm sure there's some frustration over getting involved in this project, but they needed something, can't let Activision be the only one with a music game on the market. (I wonder what Sierra/VU have up their sleeves).

[SoberScott]

I really hope EA doesn't take a loss on all these returns/warranty replacements, it would discourage them from future projects and probably reduce their flexibility in assisting you with your returns. I'm sure there's some frustration over getting involved in this project, but they needed something, can't let Activision be the only one with a music game on the market. (I wonder what Sierra/VU have up their sleeves).


I hope they do take a loss and never try this again.

[wickedbadz]

If I don't get my replacement stuff by monday I'm gonna be pissed....we need to organize a mass dumping of our broken items on ea's lawns all around the states on one day.....

[Kyle11268o]

Brilliant point, Scott. Let's make sure we completely ruin every company involved in this, so they can never again afford to make a game we might enjoy. Sounds like a great solution.

[SoberScott]

No just EA. I hate them.

[Redempshin]

I hope they do take a loss and never try this again.
It depends who's fault it is.
It is unfortunate, to say the least, that replacing items has had not only such a delay, but such a large amount of misinformation and half truths.
But, who designed the guitars (Harmonix was sure bragging about how bad ass they were in every video) who designed the pedal for the kick drum?
Who was in charge of testing these things, that usually falls on the publisher (MTV Games), which is also owned by MTV who owns *bum bum bum* Harmonix.
We don't know if EA went to Harmonix/MTV and said, "Uhm guys, these guitars have a problem, they kinda suck, what do you wanna do." and MTV replied, "Screw it, send 'em out, we're replace them as people realize they're broken."
We just don't know, we probably won't ever have the full story until someone who works at Harmonix or EA quits and 12 months later when his NDA expires he says, "Here's what really went wrong." I doubt we'll see the honest *postmortems* that some game developers do, not with so much money on the line and pressure from up top. Keep in mind MTV is part of Viacom (which is related to, but now a different company than CBS), Viacom owns MTV, BET, CMT, Comedy Central, SpikeTV, Nickelodeon, Paramount & Dreamworks Movie studios, and so much more. Hold the spite in check and remember that it's because large companies are willing to invest large amounts of money into things like Rock Band & Guitar Heroes that we get such great games. You couldn't have a shareware version of Rock Band, at least, not a legal one, and it pale in comparison.

[3Dave]

C'mon, people... in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal. Why don't you go complain to the victims of Katrina, who still don't have a home after more than a year and lost all of their belongings. See what they think about you having to wait a week for your $170 dollar GAME to work correctly. How about this? Go compain to all of the people who lost EVERYTHING in the fires in California, or the people who have lost their entire family in the to the typhoon in the Philippines.

You want something for your troubles for a f*cking game? Take the thing back and use the $170 to buy yourself a set of glasses so that you can see further than your own nose.

Don't take what I'm saying the wrong way, as I don't know you as a person, and we could very well get along if we were to meet face to face. My point is that there are much bigger problems in the world than your videogame not working, and people who could use "something for their troubles" much more than you.

[PunishersDaddy]

Wow, 3Dave! Didn't buy the game yourself, huh?

[3Dave]

Wow, 3Dave! Didn't buy the game yourself, huh?

Actually I bought the game, like everyone else on here, and like most of them I have a set of drums that doesn't work and a busted strum bar on my guitar.

[PunishersDaddy]

I see. Looks like I jumped on you hastily. Sorry.

[Jinsoku Man]

Regarding returning your package. Gamestop might have an issue with a return, but if you say, "I'd rather not have to file a dispute with my credit card company. . ." They'll get real flexible real quick, especially because they'll be able to sell those instruments (working) separately as used items for more then the set.


That won't do you any good. Any opened games after 7 days does not get a refund or exchange of any other product, you deal with the manufacturer.

Which in this case, uh, would be the nice people here on this website, apparently. Saying the magic "file a dispute" won't do jack diddley since it's not GameStop's fault. You will be pretty much just given a million sorries until you walk out of the store. There is nothing they can do. ESPECIALLY for frikkin' Rockband.

Besides, we all opened our box and there was that bright red/pink piece of paper that said NOT to take it back...

[Redempshin]

Random holier then thou statements about how you could always have it worse in life.

I don't think anyone is saying their life is ruined.
I don't think anyone has declared that they've been mortally wounded by the actions of EA, Harmonix, or MTV.

It's the same reason that if a waiter totally messes up your order, she gets you free desert. You probably weren't going to eat desert anyway, and they had extra slices of cheese cake in the fridge. No one's ever said, "You know what, you should be happy you have a New York Strip steak to eat at all, people in Louisiana don't have anything at all." There is a certain expectation of product and service when you purchase something. If that expectation isn't met and steps aren't made to fix their failing, you'll take your business elsewhere.

Get off your high horse and go feed starving children in Ethiopia.

I do think people are unhappy, angry, frustrated, that they paid a lot of money ($170 is a lot of money to most everyone) for not only an experimental game concept that might just suck, but one that included known defective hardware. People have a right to share their anger and frustration. Some people would also like some sort of compensation for their time and money.

I made all my warranty support calls with my cell phone, but had they been a land line, I'd have a much higher phone bill this month. I had to put up my debit credit card for validation for shipping a guitar out to me. This caused them to lock up $100 of REAL money for 3 days (where I was told there would be zero charge, they just needed to make sure it was real). I've spent over 5 hours dealing with warranty reps & managers just to find out that my guitar hasn't shipped. That's time and money that I've had to give up because SOMEONE didn't do their job.

A little goodwill goes a long way. Hypothetically speaking, I would never purchase a Madden game on my own, I just don't play sports games often enough. Shipping one to me would cost EA less than $5. $1 for the material used to create the game and box and $4 to ship it to me. They lost zero of their production money because I wasn't going to buy the game anyhow. BUT because they spent the time to do this and did so to apologize has cemented that I would buy future EA Games like BioShock and Battlefield 2 Modern Combat and probably additional PC games.

[gsu_paintballer]

C'mon, people... in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal. Why don't you go complain to the victims of Katrina, who still don't have a home after more than a year and lost all of their belongings. See what they think about you having to wait a week for your $170 dollar GAME to work correctly. How about this? Go compain to all of the people who lost EVERYTHING in the fires in California, or the people who have lost their entire family in the to the typhoon in the Philippines.

You want something for your troubles for a f*cking game? Take the thing back and use the $170 to buy yourself a set of glasses so that you can see further than your own nose.

Don't take what I'm saying the wrong way, as I don't know you as a person, and we could very well get along if we were to meet face to face. My point is that there are much bigger problems in the world than your videogame not working, and people who could use "something for their troubles" much more than you.

You are ******ed. (wow at me not being able to call someone mentally challenged on this forum)

Do you not realize how f***ing stupid you sound when you compare a national disaster to a video game?

[Redempshin]

That won't do you any good. Any opened games after 7 days does not get a refund or exchange of any other product, you deal with the manufacturer.

Which in this case, uh, would be the nice people here on this website, apparently. Saying the magic "file a dispute" won't do jack diddley since it's not GameStop's fault. You will be pretty much just given a million sorries until you walk out of the store. There is nothing they can do. ESPECIALLY for frikkin' Rockband.

Besides, we all opened our box and there was that bright red/pink piece of paper that said NOT to take it back...
I have to assume you've never filed a dispute with your credit card company. It's one of the big benefits of having one (compared to the downsides of having one).
Most credit card companies give you 30 days+ to file disputes. If you contact BofA or WaMu or whomever issued your credit card (check debit cards are a wee bit different) and say, "I purchased a defective product on this day for this amount and the vendor/retailer won't replace it/refund it." Your credit card company will send you a form to fill out, they'll also contact the retailer to confirm this. Assuming it doesn't appear to be fraud and you don't have a history of disputes, you usually get your money back (sometimes you're instructed to send the item to the retailer). Depending on the amount, some credit card companies will automatically side with you and credit back your money. The fine print on the wall behind the cash register at Gamestop doesn't void your agreement with your card issuer. Gamestop doesn't want this and will work to avoid it.

As far as the pink sheet of paper, it doesn't mater, a large amount of what you purchase these days come with those. It's designed as a cost saving method of the publisher, manufacturer, whatever. Buy any sort of "build it yourself" item from Walmart, it has one of those. It's not a legally binding and Walmart could care if you return the item. If you say it's defective, they take it back, ship it to the manufacturer in some strip mall in New Jersey and get credited back the money for the item. The manufacturer would rather Fed Ex overnight you 3 missing screws then loose the $50 that Walmart paid them.

[3Dave]

You are ******ed. (wow at me not being able to call someone mentally challenged on this forum)

Do you not realize how f***ing stupid you sound when you compare a national disaster to a video game?

That was exactly my point (which you did a fine job of missing) you can't compare the two, so stop whining about this small issue when there are much larger problems.


If that expectation isn't met and steps aren't made to fix their failing, you'll take your business elsewhere.

Bingo. Take your business elsewhere. Take the game back and go buy something else with the money. Don't ask for something for your troubles.

Everyone feels like they're entitled to compensation. You're not. If you don't like what you got, take it back. That will show the company in their bottom line. If the company offers it on their own (as with the cheescake) that's one thing, but to expect it is another.

As I said, I've got two broken instruments in my house, that I requested replacements for over a week ago. I'm bummed that I can't play, but I don't expect EA or Harmonix to give me free things to make up for it. I could take the game back, but I'd rather be able to play the game, even if it means waiting for the stuff to show up. I made phone calls too, but nobody forced me to, and I sure don't expect to be paid back for those. It was my choice, rather than returning the product.

[Senkoy]

I also hope we get some kind of compensation, as minor as it is, for our trouble. A free song would be nice.

[560sdl]

Do you not realize how f***ing stupid you sound when you compare a national disaster to a video game?

The better question is: Have you spent more time and money on a video game than helping out when there has been a national disaster?

And he was right. People are acting like this is a national disaster. It clearly is not. If it costs them $30-40 for shipping to replace the defective parts, how much profit is left to throw bones around. For me, eventually getting it right is enough.

Put it this way. Are you going to send them a little more money when this turns out to be just a little more fun that you expected?

[ilikecheetos]

not true about the returning of the game. this isnt in the same category as a game title. this is hardware as well. YOu can most certainly return it to the store. dont return it and then get another one though, as you most likely wont get a better one, and they might not even let you since the paper is there telling you about warranties. im talking about returning it and getting your money back. that has/ and will work. i know of a couple people who have already done that. im close to doing it myself, but im trying to give them a shot, and they are still failing at it.


as for the wildfire issue. that is somewhat if not, way off subject. esp bringing it to a game forum. to each their own i suppose.

[Kellwolf9E]

If it were an isolated incident, I'd say what they have in place is just fine. Unfortunately, it seems to be a tad bit more than "isolated." Now, I've worked customer service, and the job is actually more about RETAINING customers than anything else. That's something EA doesn't seem to be doing very well with in this situation. Most people (myself included) are wondering if their replacement product is gonna hold up. Others are wondering when the stuff they have that works fine is gonna break. I've got a great working Strat, but how long is that going to last? I'm already getting my drums replaced. Am I going to lost the Strat before I get new drums? Is that kick pedal gonna crack in half as soon as I start playing those new drums? The consumer confidence for this game has gone RIGHT out the window, and that's not a good sign. Customer service now needs to shift into service RECOVERY mode. Microsoft did this when they announced the new extended warranty to cover the red ring of death. I tell ya, I sleep easier at night knowing that if I DO get one of those, the system will be outdated by the time the warranty has run out. Can't say the same for Rock Band. What if I get my replacement drums, and the break on day 61? If EA/Harmonix/MTV or whoever has the power would come out and say "Okay, we know we screwed up, and to attempt to make things better, we'll extend the warranty for XX amount of time for the following issues...." I'm not even looking for a total warranty, just an extension on known issues like the bass pedal, poorly triggering drum pads and the strum bar. Anything else still falls under the 60 day warranty. I think that's TOTALLY fair, and I'd be happy with that.

[AVC808]

if you guys sift through some of today's posts, you'll find some people did get something for their troubles...a free EA title of their choice.

[SuperTr00p3r]

C'mon, people... in the grand scheme of things, this isn't a big deal. Why don't you go complain to the victims of Katrina, who still don't have a home after more than a year and lost all of their belongings. See what they think about you having to wait a week for your $170 dollar GAME to work correctly. How about this? Go compain to all of the people who lost EVERYTHING in the fires in California, or the people who have lost their entire family in the to the typhoon in the Philippines.

Ok, first of all, this is a TECHNICAL FORUM about ROCK BAND....not a disaster relief forum for Katrina! What do you expect to read on here? Second, I don't know how old you are, but I'm going to play it safe and assume that you too, as a lot of us, have jobs and have spent OUR hard earned money on a product that we want to work. Now, let me be one to say that they are sending me a free game, but I did not ask for it. If you can tell me that if this was a car that you bought and was having the same problems, that you would just say "oh well, there are homeless mothers of thirteen that live in third world countries that don't even have cars" and just let it go....then I'll call you a liar. I know this game costs a lot less than a car, but if you buy something that you want and spend a lot of your hard earned money, then why is it so bad to complain a little and get something for your inconvenience? People on this forum are JUST VENTING....we all have bigger problems in our lives, but that is the point of a FORUM.

I guess I'm going to start a topic now that is titled (in honor of 3Dave)....
"The OFFICIAL my rock band is broken, but it's pales in comparison to the real problems in my life......personal advice forum"

[SuperTr00p3r]

Here ya go....

http://community.rockband.com/vbforum/showthread.php?t=12380