How Not to Do Business Part 2: TopWare
I wrote last week about the surprise DLC for the seven-year-old RPG Two Worlds II and how I decided on a whim to buy it. Well yesterday was the official launch day for Call of the Tenebrae and yet, twenty-four hours later, I’m still not playing the game. So far, I have not received a Steam key for the game, despite the money being deducted from my PayPal account on the 5th of June. So naturally, I have made enquiries as to what is happening and have endeavoured to contact the publishers TopWare. Let it suffice to say that my attempts to resolve the matter have proved fruitless and I have discovered that TopWare are far from the embodiment of German efficiency.
I wrote last week about the surprise DLC for the seven-year-old RPG Two Worlds II and how I decided on a whim to buy it. Well yesterday was the official launch day for Call of the Tenebrae and yet, twenty-four hours later, I’m still not playing the game. So far, I have not received a Steam key for the game, despite the money being deducted from my PayPal account on the 5th of June. So naturally, I have made enquiries as to what is happening and have endeavoured to contact the publishers TopWare. Let it suffice to say that my attempts to resolve the matter have proved fruitless and I have discovered that TopWare are far from the embodiment of German efficiency.
I was initially surprised when I made my purchase last Monday week, that I didn’t receive a Steam key immediately. However not all games allow you to activate and pre-load content and as this is an older title I simply put it down to logistical reasons. However, as yesterday was the official launch for this DLC and I had not been informed of any delay, I went straight to my account at the TopWare store to see if a key had been added. Its absence was conspicuous. So, I decided to use the messaging facility linked to my order and sent a simple enquiry as to where my key was. The website curiously rendered my message into German and then back into English, so what I currently have in my chat timeline is not the exact message that I sent. As of writing this post, that message has not been responded to.
I next decided to see if I could find out anything further about the Call of the Tenebrae launch in case it had been postponed. TopWare delayed the release of Raven’s Cry several times at short notice, so they have form for such changes. After some checking, I soon discovered that TopWare were not exactly regular users of social media. They have three Twitter accounts (One US, One German and another specific to Two Worlds II) that have no launch day information. Previous tweets date back several weeks. There Facebook page is similarly devoid of anything other than press releases and woefully out of date. So, I opted to send an email via the default info email address. Again, thirty-six hours later I’ve had no response.
As I fast approach fifty, I tend not to get as irate as I did in my youth. That’s not to say that I’m not annoyed by this inconvenience but in the great scheme of things and especially within the context of my personal life at present, this isn’t such a big deal. So, I have decided to use this situation as a writing opportunity. I suspect that there will not be a quick resolution and I can see myself having to get PayPal to claw the cost of this game back from TopWare. In the meantime, it would appear the Call of the Tenebrae has launched on consoles and possibly on Steam. I have seen no feedback yet about the quality of the game itself but the inclusion of a cash store and microtransactions does seem to have caused a controversy. All I can add to the proceedings at present is that TopWare seem to be providing the gaming community with a text book example of how not to do business
Update:
I received an email from TopWare customer support on Sunday 18th June. It contained my serial key but there was no explanation or apology regarding the delay. I now have the game installed.
How Not to Do Business
I've been blogging for nearly nine years and by sheer persistence the audience has grown and traffic is relatively respectable. There are plenty of web based tools available that can determine how well a site is performing and as a result I have recently started receiving a great deal more unsolicited material. This consists of press releases, invitations to review content and even the occasional freebie. I'm fine with all this because it broadly indicates that Contains Moderate Peril is growing and appearing on the radar of a wider variety of organisations. Plus some of the stuff I’m sent is quite useful. At the very least it proves the old adage that if you throw enough shit at the wall, some of it will stick.
I've been blogging for nearly nine years and by sheer persistence the audience has grown and traffic is relatively respectable. There are plenty of web based tools available that can determine how well a site is performing and as a result I have recently started receiving a great deal more unsolicited material. This consists of press releases, invitations to review content and even the occasional freebie. I'm fine with all this because it broadly indicates that Contains Moderate Peril is growing and appearing on the radar of a wider variety of organisations. Plus some of the stuff I’m sent is quite useful. At the very least it proves the old adage that if you throw enough shit at the wall, some of it will stick.
However among these various communications are small percentage from businesses that always seem to have a "great business opportunity" or "proposal that I can't afford to miss". Effectively they're trying to sell me something that I don't need or worse still, they want to buy a link back to their site. It is the latter galls me the most.
Now I am not averse to the notion of my blogging endeavours making money if possible, but funnily enough I do have some principles regarding how this is done. Firstly, I don't carry any advertising on the website because the delivery software totally dictates what material gets shown. I don't like that notion at all. Then there are are some businesses that I don't want to be associated with and featuring them on my site in my opinions cheapens it. Plus the use of adblockers seems to be making this means of generating revenue obsolete anyway. I also apply exactly the same stipulations to anyone trying to buy a link from my site to their. Do I want to be associated with you?
Secondly, although link sharing has its uses, it is fundamentally based on a parasitical concept. Think about it for a moment. After years of giving up my free time to write and build up an audience, some third party thinks they can just waltz in, toss me a few dollars and leech off my blood sweat and tears? I think not. Plus while we’re talking about hard work, something I’ve noticed about many of the business requests I receive is the casual and lacklustre way in which they are made. They often lack any real effort. Business etiquette, common sense and good manners seem to elude them.
Take for example the above email. Who in their right mind thinks this is a good way to conduct business? Let's address some of its points of failure in bullet point format, because it will curb my tendency to rant excessively about the overall stupidity of this communication.
1.) For starters what kind of business do you wish to conduct? If you are making a pitch then it may be beneficial to include the relevant details.
2.) So my site fits your needs? Really? As you haven't at this point given me any inkling of what it is that you want, please remind me again why I should give a fuck about what fits your needs?
3.) As for the best way to contact me, let's ponder that one for a moment? Hey why not drop me an email like the one you just fucking sent?
So it would appear that this joker wants to do some sort of business with me, but is reticent to stipulate the exact nature of which and furthermore wants me to waste my precious time contacting them to proceed further. The stupidity of the proposition beggars belief. They must be stupid, ill-mannered or utterly clueless about how to conduct business; or maybe all three? Perhaps a Venn diagram will help clarify the situation.
Here is some guidance to those wanting to do business with Contains Moderate Peril. If you have any sort of business proposal then a concise email providing an overview of what you are offering is required. I will then on the basis of that communication decide whether I wish to contact you to discuss the matter further. Do not make any type of pitch where I have to do all the leg work. If you want something from me then make some effort yourself. My time is precious and I have better things to do than accommodating your ineptitude.
Also take time out to consider what you are selling. I'm not interested in gambling sites, miracle cures, dating websites, stilts for Dachshunds or an Osmonds tribute act. Make sure it is relevant to Contains Moderate Peril. And if you haven’t even the decency to use my name in your email then don’t bother. I like manners. By following these simple rules there's a chance for a mutually beneficial relationship. Ignore them and you'll be pissing in the wind.