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WWE Network "Customer Service" Story

Hey Scott,

I never e-mail you, but I'm a reader of your work for going on 10+ years now, and felt compelled to share my experience interacting with @AskWWENetwork on Twitter with the fellow Blog-ites (or whatever name you have for us).

A few weeks ago, when the Network was doing the Smackdown anniversary deal and was uploading all that Smackdown-related material, I went to go pull up the 2004 episode they uploaded/aired, which had the Eddie Guerrero-JBL cage match that I never saw before.  I didn't catch it on the live stream, but that's one of the best things about the Network, right?  Everything is available to watch on demand, IMMEDIATELY!

Not exactly.

I went to the year filter under "Smackdown Replays" and noticed that 2004 was not available to choose.  "OK", I figured, "I can just use the search engine and pull the episode up that way".  Well, I think all Network users know how well that probably worked out (side note - I mean, really, it's been 8 MONTHS and you can't get the search feature working at least somewhat properly?). 

My next thought was to reach out to the @AskWWENetwork handle on Twitter and let them know of what I perceived to be a minor, easily-fixable issue.  All you have to do is add a filter...it can't be that big a deal.

@AskWWENetwork Just a heads up, 2004 isn't available from the Smackdown Replays drop-down menu filter, so you can't access the 2004 episode.

@JFratt Hey there! Thanks for letting us know. We'll send this information to our tech team for further analysis. ^AW|

Fair enough. Again, this shouldn't be a major issue, so hopefully the filter will pop up in the next day or so.

Two days later, I decided to sit down and watch the Network...but it was kind of sticking in my craw that I couldn't pull up a show I wanted to watch. So again, I decided to reach out.

@AskWWENetwork Noticed this still isn't fixed. Any update?

The reply I received wasn't very helpful.

@JFratt Unfortunately, we have received no further info, we hope to have an update soon! Thanks for your patience. ^JS

OK. Well it was a holiday weekend in the States, maybe they just need the right person in to take care of this...say it with me...minor issue.

Well, a week passed. Two weeks. Three weeks. Finally, today, a MONTH later, I decided to ask again, just out of morbid curiosity as to how something so simple to fix could be neglected so easily. I replied to the thread from a few weeks back so whoever was responding could see what I was referring to.

@AskWWENetwork Is there an update on this? This seems like a pretty minor issue that should be easily fixable.

The response didn't seem to make a ton of sense.

@JFratt Thanks for reaching out. We have no further info on when those episodes will be available. Stay tuned for a future update. ^SO
Did you read the question I originally asked before you inserted your typical, blow-off response that you've been sending out to quite a few users about quite a few topics? (Check their timeline and see what I'm talking about.)
@AskWWENetwork You didn't read the problem correctly. There is an episode already available that you can't access because the drop-down...

@AskWWENetwork ...menu doesn't have the year listed to choose from. I'm not asking for info as to when episodes would be available...

@AskWWENetwork ...this is regarding an episode that already aired that subscribers can't access.

Alright, I aired my grievances, and spelled the issue out pretty well, methinks.

@JFratt Unfortunately, we do not have an update regarding when these will be available to view. Sorry for any inconvenience. ^SO

So this whole deal was..."helpful". Look, I've been a subscriber since Day One. And I'll probably continue to be one, because I love the idea behind this product. Lord knows it satiates my appetite for wrestling better than today's lousy product does. And again, I know it's ONE little episode of Smackdown and it's definitely not as in-demand as the Nitro episodes were, or the ECW material, etc, but to me, this is a great illustration and a microcosm of how disorganized and poorly executed this has been, in many ways.

Anyway, I know this was long and maybe drawn out, but I figured it was worth sharing...I'm sure other readers have had experiences that are somewhat similar in nature.

Keep up the great work, Scott. Always been a fan and will continue to be one!

​Thanks, I'll pass your concerns on to the blog technical staff and get back to you once we figure out the best way to respond to your positive feedback.  

If it helps, everything I've heard about people who are involved with the Network is that they're just as frustrated as we are due to budget cuts overriding any other consideration, so I wouldn't hold your breath for things to improve any time soon.   ​

Comments

  1. I feel bad for corporate "customer service" reps. They have to explain idiotic corporate decisions with no talking points.

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  2. Where da Friday night thread at yo

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  3. Is this still being run by the MLB network people they bandied about at the unveiling? In house? Trained monkeys?

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  4. This is almost as bad as my experience with EA's customer service.

    Almost.

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  5. Having done this for a number of companies, A-FUCKING-MEN.

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  6. Just posted it, playa!

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  7. Well, plus, half of the them have nothing to do with the company and are just farmed out to any asshole with a problem and some stupid script to follow to "help".

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  8. Your new avatar is...........................................................................


    #HOSSAPPROVED

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  9. This has been an issue since launch. It take forever for them to add new years. I remember several old school show missing for the longest time.

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  10. The lack of a useful search and play lists still irritates me. It's basic stuff that takes little man hours.

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  11. yeah, customer service's job is basically to get yelled at so the company can look like it cares about its customers/fans, while managing to give them as little as humanly possible to placate them.

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  12. I've worked for EA; their customer service is indicative of the entire company.

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  13. I have utterly no problem believing this.

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  14. I bought Madden 99 on Nintendo 64 way back when from BestBuy. I get home and open the package and there is no game in the box. Instead, it's replaced with a "The Boys" cassette tape. I went back and raised hell but everyone thought I was lying. I just had to eat those 40 bucks. This really has nothing to do with your post.

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  15. Stranger in the AlpsNovember 7, 2014 at 6:18 PM

    Somebody tell this guy that if you search for "2004" on the laptop version, you find the various milestones for that particular episode, as well as others from that year.


    It doesn't fix the problem of a poor menu system and lack of customer service, but it will get him what he wants.

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  16. MLB runs the infrastructure WWE handles their own customer service.

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  17. So 'this guy' is actually right here. I do tend to comment on here once in a while...


    The tip is appreciated, but I don't want to watch on my laptop. I want to watch it anywhere, anytime, on any device, like they advertise you can do. And we, as customers, pay for this, and this kind of stuff happens in a service in its first weeks and months, not almost a whole year in. It's just kind of ridiculous...I'm sure you agree, but I'm just reiterating the point I made in my (long) story I sent Scott.

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  18. If you are ordered to walk one mile - walk two. Love those you hate you and persecute you.

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  19. Hey that is most worldly organizations.

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  20. Oh will you piss off already. If we wanted a preacher we'd go to church

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  21. Am I not getting a joke here or something?

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  22. Stranger in the AlpsNovember 7, 2014 at 8:26 PM

    I just tried the same on Roku, and it wouldn't even let me add a fourth digit unless that digit was 0.


    And I do agree. I haven't tried watching something random like a 2004 Smackdown, but if I wanted to I would be frustrated with the process.

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  23. Um, this isn't really a minor issue, though. I mean, they already have a database to hold all the episodes and queries in place to find them, but adding a 2004 filter or whatever still involves programming manhours to implement and I'm going to guess the Network software was outsourced. So, to add that one thing would probably cost a bunch of money and they don't seem to be too keen on doing that.

    Or maybe they have an in-house programming team for the Network and those guys just don't want to do it.

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  24. You guys get all the PPVs and still complain!

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  25. Holy shit what a throwback!

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  26. Actually, it likely has to do with how they tagged the episode.


    As someone who does a ton of database programming, if 2002, 2003, 2005, and 2006 are there, 2004 should be there automatically. There's no extra programming involved adding in the years -- it should be automatic. Which means that the 2004 episode is likely just tagged wrong somewhere.

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  27. The MLB guys handle the infrastructure, but who knows who handles the front-end and/or data entry stuff.

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  28. The entire menu system they use is so unwieldy as to be nearly unusable. There are dozens of sites which illegally archive tv shows all of which use easy to navigate menus for their archives.It shouldn't be hard for the WWE to get this right surely.

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  29. "with the fellow Blog-ites (or whatever name you have for us)."

    Shut up Meekin.

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  30. You know, I live in the Netherlands. Last week I was excited about the 1 month free WWE Network. (Although later I read that offer is US only). So via the WWE app I tried to sign up for that. By doing that an e-mail was sen. I did that twice. One week later: zero response. That is really the way to get customers excited for the network.......

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  31. It's his job as a self righteous asshole to school all of us heathens. It's his social responsibility. Frankly, he can get fucked. what a cocksucker.

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  32. Is this John 9:99?

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  33. the usual advise: use an unblock service, it should work then.

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  34. I do a lot of programming, but no database work. I just know how it works at my company. To get any change added, no matter how small, there has to be about 5 million tickets opened and approved and money allocated just so I can go in and change, say, the frequency an XML parsing script runs. It's really a HUGE pain in the ass; not the actual programming, but the approval process.

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  35. I don't know if this would work. Very few people give me orders, and if I was in the army and was given an order, but then did it twice, I think I'd get some sort of...duty. I never joined the army. Pushups I guess?

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  36. I don't complain about the PPVs unless they're bad. I also complain about shows I like, if they're bad. SNL has been a bit lacking this year, for example.


    I just want the Network to do well, and it seems like there are easy fixes for that to make it more accessible to people who might want to sign up, but WWE doesn't understand how it works, or how to run a network like this.


    And god forbid something goes viral. Got to pull the plug on that as soon as possible. #ScubaKane.

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  37. right? WatchSeries is so freaking easy to Navigate.

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  38. Don't get me wrong -- it's distinctly possible they have XML files or something that controls their menus, but that would be absolutely the worst way to do it (so I totally wouldn't put it past them).

    Thankfully, I work in QA Automation, so my job pretty much entails "get that sh*t done!" rather than extensive approvals.

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  39. I think back to the days when episodes of wrestling were lost to the sands of time and you would pay way more than $10 for a Coliseum video that had 5 or 6 matches on it, and i just wanna tell this dude to shut the fuck up already. Go on YouTube dude.

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  40. I'm sorry if I'm not wording this right....I don't disagree with a word of your theory on the WWE's database. I'm only trying to say getting a large company to make a small software change can be a major beauracratic nightmare. My job is to write software to analyze performance trends and sometimes I have to submit tickets to myself for changes. Getting those tickets approved is a nightmare.

    I'm really not trying to argue the substance of your posts. I'm not a database guy by any means and don't pretend to be. I'm merely speaking to my experience with trying to get small software changes implemented in a big company.

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  41. Oh I know. That's why I'm HOPEFUL they're doing it the right way, because if they need to change code to make minor changes -- ESPECIALLY on something like The Network -- that would be a mess.


    (I have a friend who works tech at Turner -- handling the massive server load for broadcasting and online viewing for their live events. He said that getting anything done is a slog because they're under the gun the whole time).

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  42. Dude. I could have a foursome with the hottest women ever born (and Jennifer Connelly) and still find something to complain about. Think I am happiest when I complain. And I think that people think I am smarter when I am more critical. But no, they just think I'm annoying and negative and eventually want nothing to do with me. Sign.

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  43. CruelConnectionNumber2November 10, 2014 at 12:16 AM

    What a goof....typed in SmackDown 2004. It's the first show that comes up.

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