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Ask Slashdot: How Long Do We Give an Online Service To Fix Issues?

Posted by Soulskill on from the as-long-as-it-takes-to-write-an-angry-email dept.

ncc189 writes "The Funimation Roku channel has been basically unusable during primetime for about a month now. With very little feedback from the company and no improvements to the service at all, I canceled my account. My question to Slashdot users is: how long do you give a service to fix issues before you cancel the service, and how much leeway do you give the service's representatives in communicating issue with us? It seems to me that a few days is more than enough in the internet age; 3+ weeks is beyond reason. How long do you think is fair for services like this?"

9 of 113 comments (clear)

  1. Depends by Osgeld · · Score: 4, Insightful

    If I pay for it, they better be telling me something reasonably accurate

    If I dont, then they dont owe me squat and it will be back when its back

    1. Re:Depends by sandytaru · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Pretty much this. I'll give something a few weeks or even a few months if it was a free service and the only monetary contribution I made toward it was turning off AdBlock. But it it's something I paid for, even a token amount like $5 a month, it better damn well be fixed in a few days. If it's not fixed by the time the next billing cycle rolls around, it's definitely cancellation time. I'll find a free version, or a better service that gives me value for my money.

      --
      Occasionally living proof of the Ballmer peak.
  2. You give it as much time as it's worth to you by eksith · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I assure you there are folks who would give any service of their choosing as much time as they like if they think it's worth while to wait. Can be three weeks like for you or it can be maybe a few months even. Loyalty is a personal thing, but companies that do poorly with service tend not to have many clients/customers unless they offer something unique and/or interesting. And loyalty is very fickle.

    --
    If computers were people, I'd be a misanthrope.
  3. I would want some kind of compensation to stay by cgimusic · · Score: 3, Insightful

    If it goes beyond 5 days I would expect a reduced bill for the time the service was unusable that month. If I didn't get one I would definitely cancel.

  4. Re:It seems to me that a few days is more than eno by pla · · Score: 4, Insightful

    ISTM that you're an unreasonable little snot, since the speed of the resolution of the problem is completely dependent upon the cause of the problem. What is reasonable, though, is timely customer feedback.

    Sorry, but 100% wrong. Yeah, timely feedback (including the magic phrase "prorated refund for downtime") will buy you a few days (at most). But if I actually pay for your service, I don't give two shits if your only datacenter just got hit by a Tsunami - Get your service back up now, or by next week your competition will provide it for me.

  5. Re:What exactly is this channel? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    What do you mean "mind if it's subbed?" that's the preferred format.

    Ever notice how anime has different voice actors in every show and for every character, while dubbed shows use like 3 voice actors for every show? Nobody in their right mind would watched dubbed anime unless they are illiterate.

    Cruchyroll's just fine the way it is. There's also Crackle for some dubbed/subbed shows if you don't mind that.

  6. Re:It seems to me that a few days is more than eno by sumdumass · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Empathy has nothing at all to do with it. I can feel bad for a destroyed data center owner but that feeling does not negate the reason and purpose for using them in the first place. the bottom line is that there is no reason to have an ISP that doesn't allow you to get online, there is no reason to keep buying bus tokens when you do not ride the bus, and there is no reason to continue paying for an online service when they cannot deliver whatever it is that you needed in the first place. In most cases, if the service or whatever was needed, it will likely need to be usable therefore replicated when the service isn't provided. Being sad or feeling sorry for the service doesn't change that.

  7. Re:It seems to me that a few days is more than eno by pla · · Score: 4, Insightful

    This is plus 5 Insightful? More like plus 5 Sad. Or are most people here Americans with scientifically proven zero empathy.

    "Empathy" means the ability to understand and share the feelings of a fellow human. Mitt's assertions to the contrary aside, "businesses are [not] people too". So empathy has nothing to do with it.

    A business exists solely for the exchange of goods and/or services for money (or other goods and/or services). If a business can't provide me with the goods and/or services I want, they have no reason to continue to exist for all it matters to me. I would only even give them that few days I mentioned to restore service, as a matter of convenience to me - If I could realistically switch ISPs, for example, 15 seconds after discovering my internet had gone down again, Verizon could kiss my hairy white ass goodbye.

    Now if you want to talk about loyalty - I have loyalty to my friends. I have loyalty to my family. I have loyalty to people that have given me a reason to care about them. The company that, despite my opting out of everything possible on their privacy policy still has their "partners" send me life insurance offers once a month? Yeah, not so much loyalty there - More like "simmering resentment" that such complete bastards manage to have the best game in town.

  8. Re:What exactly is this channel? by Stormwatch · · Score: 1, Insightful

    What do you mean "preferred"? Subtitled is the ONLY acceptable format.

    --
    Circumcision is child abuse.