My Private Messages

#1 - Dec. 12, 2012, 10:35 a.m.

This is a personal note, and I’m sorry to make a post about this, but it’s time:

I have more than 400 PMs in my in-box. Some are great, and entirely appropriate. Some are there because (very rarely) I ask for information that is best sent by PM. I thank you for those.

But the vast majority of the PMs are from people who should be posting their issue, request, or question in the forums. Or from someone who posts and then PMs me to ask for special care. Please do not PM me to request a ticket review, nor to ask me to expedite your ticket, your brother’s ticket, your friend’s ticket, or your sister-in-law’s dog-sitter’s parking attendant’s ticket.

I spend as much time as possible on the forums, and I do my best to help everyone. A friendly note is more than welcome. But I cannot justify handling account issues via PM — they need to be in the forums themselves (without personal information, of course) and almost always, before they are posted here, they need to be sent to and resolved by the Customer Service Team.

Thank you for understanding!

#6 - Dec. 12, 2012, 4:50 p.m.

I hope I didn’t come across as cranky. Or if I did, that it was clear I was only mildly cranky. I just hate to have unanswered PMs! (Many of you guys who send notes are just fine, I just feel bad when I get the “Please help me” on top of the forum post on top of the ticket.

#8 - Dec. 18, 2012, 2:48 p.m.

Drat! I’m getting personal appeals via PM again.

Please read the initial post and follow the process. We’ll help everyone we’re able to help, but I’d sure appreciate not getting “Can you help me” pleas via PM. Thanks!

#13 - Dec. 19, 2012, 9:39 a.m.

Eosin.2078:

Gaile,

Other staff have been very unhelpful with a ticket so I sent you a PM. It’s not fair for someone to say “no help, case closed”. After using the proper channels, what other choices are left to get help?

Your option is to post on the forums, in the “Tickets for Review — Three Days and Older” thread (as long as it is indeed 3 days or older). There is absolutely no need to send appeals via PM — I track that thread regularly and investigate as needed. Thanks for asking.

Mif.3471:

What’s your stance on sending you pictures of cats?

Major thumbs up. The 30 seconds it takes me to view a kitty is +10 to Energy for the rest of the day.

kingslayer.1342:

Don’t worry too much about coming across as cranky. For all the great support and patience you offered, I’d think you’re allowed to feel a little miffed if you’re getting drowned with inappropriate requests.

I hope this thread gets through to people, and keep up the great work Gaile, I love your positive attitude!

That’s incredibly kind of you, and thanks, kingslayer!

ShiningSquirrel.3751:

You once told me seeing my name made you smile. It’s time for me to return the favor.
Just seeing your name here in the forums brings a smile to my face as it makes it feel like it’s home here.

Many thanks, ShiningSquirrel. I so appreciate that thought!

I don’t want to derail the forums with this thread, so I’m combining all the comments into one, and… I now return you to our regularly-scheduled forum posts.

#16 - Dec. 26, 2012, 10:11 p.m.

I guess this fell off the first page but the number of PMs is rising, and I really want you to get the help you need as quickly as possible. Please don’t PM me about your account issues. Please submit a ticket, and use the Tickets for Review thread, if you need to, but I am not able to expedite tickets or review issues submitted through PMs.

#17 - Dec. 30, 2012, 1:53 p.m.

Oh great. Another 38 PMs, most of them asking me to review their tickets or answer questions I’ve already answered on the forums. I may need to have the forum team disable my PMs, so please don’t abuse the system.

• If you have an account issue, please submit a ticket.
• If you have continued questions, update your existing ticket (do not make a new one) and add your question(s).
• If you need to follow up, wait at least 3 days — to allow the team to address your ticket — and then post in the Tickets for Review thread above.
• Please do not submit a ticket and immediately post here. Please do not submit a ticket, post here, and send me a PM. The team will work as quickly as they can, and PMs are not intended for discussions of individual tickets.

Thank you for understanding.

#19 - Dec. 30, 2012, 5:30 p.m.

Loli Ruri.8307:

Why not program the forum to auto-reply to any mail that is sent your way, telling them generally where their info should be directed?

Software is software, there is no reason why somebody can’t make it happen.

Don’t have the programming to do that right now. I’m not a fond of auto-responses, but I may need to ask for that to get coded.

#23 - Jan. 30, 2013, 12:06 p.m.

Just got a bunch of personal appeals that easily can be, and should be, addressed by the Support Team or in a normal forum post.

Here is how things work:

• If you have an account issue, please contact Support by filing a ticket through the “Ask a Question” tab on that linked page.
• If you have not received a response in three days, feel free to post your 12-digit ticket number and a brief description in the Tickets for Review thread.
• If you have a connection issue (Technical Support), a bug to report (Bugs), a question about the game to ask (GW2 Discussion), or a suggestion to make (Suggestions), please use the proper forum.
• If you have a general question, please post it here. There are very, very few questions or issues that need to be addressed to me via Private Message. And due to the many other things that I handle for ArenaNet, it can be days before I get into the PM folder and review the messages. Quite honestly, when I do review them, I do not respond to most because they should be posted in the forums or should be directed to Support. Responding to explain that, over and over again, is a poor use of my time.
• If I answer a PM with a link to this thread, I’m not being rude, neglectful, or uncaring. I simply need to manage my time and handle my responsibilities as efficiently as possible.

Thank you for understanding.