Lesson Learned...the Hard Way

I had originally intended to write this blog with the title 'How Rockstar Managed to Lose a Loyal Customer," but I decided after some careful deliberation that ultimately, the context of this blog wouldn't exactly justify an entire company boycott. Some of you may disagree after reading onward, so feel free to - as always - share your opinions in the comments section.

Rockstar Games has always been a company staple in my household since I was a lad of eight years old playing Grand Theft Auto III for the first time. I recall spending hours racing my father in Midnight Club, watching my mother and father take turns with Manhunt and watching my mother throw stink bombs at people in Bully. We're all fans of Rockstar's products, but not so much to the point that we're blind to the occasional downfall or two.

With that in mind, you can imagine the critical amount of 'butt-hurt' I've experienced when dealing with perhaps the worst customer support experience of my twenty-one years. Yes, this blog goes somewhat hand-in-hand with my tongue-in-cheek contribution in regard to customer support representatives, but only by way of irony and coincidence. It's a rare occasion that I have to contact Rockstar Games' support team - I believe that this is my fourth communication in the past six years - and I am making a point of making it my last.

I should preface this by saying that I gave into laziness and the American way of desiring instant gratification. I had some extra money around that I didn't need for anything else specifically at the time and I certainly didn't feel like grinding away on Rooftop Rumble to afford a second garage, the new clothes and the new vehicles. I caved and bought a Shark card. *waits patiently for thrown tomatoes and boos from the audience.*

About a week ago, I opened up a ticket on the support page of the website to report a lost Pegassi Zentorno; some hooligan was running around blowing up personal vehicles with an empty bank account to avoid paying other players' insurance premiums. I was indeed a victim. Upon calling Mors Mutual Insurance and paying the $9000 replacement cost, my Pegassi Zentorno/Lamborghini Sesto Elemento/God knows what else was lost in the clouds. I couldn't find it at the garage, I couldn't find it at the insurance company and I couldn't find it at the impound lot. The mechanic was as useless as ever. A few days after contacting Rockstar, I was refunded the cost of the $725,000 super car.

However, that wasn't the last of my problems. After purchasing my additional 10-car garage, I decided that I didn't really need too much extra space and was sick of my character living where there was so much chaos. I moved him from his high-end apartment on Alta Street to the 6-car apartment down on Bay City Avenue nearest the docks and the helipad. However, despite having enough space for all of my vehicles, my Dinka Jester didn't transfer over to the 10-car garage in Murietta Heights or the 6-car garage on Bay City Avenue; ironically, everything else did.

Now, I like to think that I did what any normal person would do: I looked up the symptoms of this bug/glitch on the Internet. I discovered a forum post that detailed that it's a known issue when moving into a smaller garage that you'll lose access to some of your vehicles if you don't have enough room to accommodate them. I didn't think that was the case considering that I'd just purchased a 10-car garage that my other vehicles automatically went to without trouble, all except the Dinka Jester. The forum post detailed that the only workaround at the time is to move back into a 10-car apartment and your 'lost' vehicle(s) will reappear in the same exact spots they were previously.

So, to save money, I moved into the cheapest 10-car apartment available and lo and behold, the Dinka Jester sat in its original spot. I immediately hopped into it and drove it down to the garage on Murietta Heights and then moved back into the Bay City Avenue apartment that I originally wanted. However, even with the 'trade values' for the apartments, I was still down $175,000 for the whole ordeal. So I decided to contact Rockstar Games once more and inform them of my second issue.

After days of waiting, I finally got a response asking me confirm some information and provide any relevant photographic evidence. So, I opened up my character's transaction log with Maze Bank, took a shot of it from my iPhone and sent it over to the support ticket I'd opened up. Two days later - today - I got a response informing me:

"It is not possible to refund you the money since you have it [the Dinka Jester] back.

Best Regards,

[Employee Name Removed]
Rockstar Games Technical Support"

I'd nearly choked on my cigarette as I read the e-mail I received on my phone. I immediately penned a response addressing this horrible information I'd received. I essentially said in response, "So you mean to tell me that despite the fact that I had to waste money just to get my car back, I can't be refunded the money I wasted, money purchased with real world currency? So I should have basically just let the vehicle remain lost then? I provided you with photographic evidence of the unnecessary transaction and I can't be refunded it? I'm sorry but that is absolutely ridiculous."

...and I don't care who you are, but that is in fact, without a doubt, one hundred percent ridiculous.

I didn't plan on waiting another millennium for a response, so I picked up the phone and gave Rockstar's support team a call. I spoke with a gentleman who reviewed the ticket and very politely informed me that despite the trouble I'd gone through, they cannot refund the currency as there's essentially no evidence of it on their end. Apparently on their end, they can access information that determines anything you've lost since your last log; for instance, character progress, vehicles, etc. can all be witnessed on their end and they can compare what you have now to what you had say, a few days ago. Properties themselves, cannot, despite the fact that I did take a photograph of the transaction to prove I did waste money on "Properties and Utilities."

He basically told me exactly what the online representative should have said: "Next time, you're better off letting the vehicle remain lost and we can refund you the cost to purchase a new one. We can't do that with properties, I'm afraid, as we can't see any of that on our end."

Unfortunately, despite how much I tried to reason with him and ensure that he understood my point of view and what I had to politely say to combat this, he wouldn't budge. There was no way I was getting the $175,000 refund.

Like I told the representative over the phone, if I didn't obtain that currency through my own money, I wouldn't care. I'd just keep grinding on Rooftop Rumble. But that's money I'd spent on a Shark card that is now wasted. I know it was extra money that I didn't need for anything specifically at the time, but money wasted is never a good thing. I could have put it toward some DLC for Watch Dogs next week, or Dragon Age Inquisition in October, a pack of cigarettes, filling the gas tank of one of my cars or my Triumph.

I was better off letting the vehicle stay lost...isn't that some s***? I don't really even know how to process that. The idea itself is so radical, I can't even be upset about it. The only thing I can do is shake my head and laugh. How utterly pathetic of not only myself, but of the company. It doesn't cost them a dime to refund virtual currency, yet they treat it like it's sacred. It's absolutely hilarious. At least the representative on the phone was quite polite and empathetic.

Tell me, readers, as I'm sure you're dying to point and laugh: is that what I get for being one of the peasants to purchase a Shark card? Did I bring it upon myself for supporting Rockstar through the mind-numbing exchange of real for virtual currency? I believe I did, which is why I will never make that mistake again.

The only question is, would I be going to far as to not support Rockstar at all anymore?