No place for sentiment in big business...

Started by Crasger, April 18, 2014, 11:40:57 am

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Crasger

This is a rather cliche, but all too true idea.

I've noticed it, and it's a rather obvious thing.
The elephant in the room, if you will.

Why is it that big companies that start out small, end up losing touch with their consumers? It's really something I'm finding to become more commonplace around business. I'm pretty sure it's been around since the dawn of business, but nowadays I've noticed it a lot. Especially on the internet and with software.

Everyone's always complainin' about why these corporations are releasing bad unfinished products and forcing it upon the populace (i.e, Google+, New YouTube comments, Windows 8, ios7(or something, the latest iPhone OS. I'm not up to date with that shit.)). I really hate it when people sell out.

Someone should write a businessman's handbook that says specifically not to sell out and not to screw the consumers over.

I think this explains my rant rather well...
Spoiler: ShowHide


Blizzard

The main problem is when companies become big, they become less flexible. Tens of thousands of jobs might depend on them and they usually have a 5 or 10 year plan in advance so to what to create/sell/etc. Just a small deviation from this sort of plan can have dire consequences and hundreds, if not thousands of people could lose their job over this. Why was Windows 8 released regardless of the fact that most testers hated it and urged MS to fix things? It could be quite simple actually. MS already made Windows 8 and they fucked up. But fixing or scrapping it completely could have worse consequences than releasing a crappy product and deal with the shit that comes with it. Obviously MS overestimated Windows 8 and people hate is so much that they will be shutting down support for it very soon in favor of Windows 8.1 Update (which means that the original 8.1 will also lose its support from MS).

But the problem isn't just this one. Huge companies cannot micromanage every single customer. If one person doesn't like their product, there isn't much they can do. People are often biased and/or have unrealistic demands so they can't just listen to everything people say.

The last problem might be that the focus is too much on increasing profits. Of course a company has to grow, but if growth and profit is put above quality, then things start to fall apart at some point. A company can only milk that much money from the customers before they piss them off. A good example is Apple. Sure, they really had some solid piece of hardware with the original iPhone, but the recent cheaply manufactured iPhone versions really did a dent. I can't remember the last time somebody said Apple makes high quality products, especially when they are now slacking behind Android in practically everything (even screen resolutions).
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Crasger

Quote from: Blizzard on April 18, 2014, 12:15:00 pm

Huge companies cannot micromanage every single customer. If one person doesn't like their product, there isn't much they can do. People are often biased and/or have unrealistic demands so they can't just listen to everything people say.

The last problem might be that the focus is too much on increasing profits. Of course a company has to grow, but if growth and profit is put above quality, then things start to fall apart at some point. A company can only milk that much money from the customers before they piss them off.


Yeap. There's always been a bad relationship between customer and seller. Especially when the company is enormous.

Somebody should really change the way business works.

A rather unrealistic suggestion, but it could be done, nonetheless.

WhiteRose

One company I've seen recently make an about-face along the lines of customer relations is Blizzard, with regard to Diablo III. At launch, the title was clearly much different than expected of customers, with the clear intent of Blizzard receiving a greater profit from the game due to features such as the real money auction house.

Were it not for its reputation, the game would have no doubt been a complete commercial failure. As it is, it managed to hang on, despite negative reviews, until the release of the expansion pack. At this point, Blizzard almost completely scrapped the old idea and, using the majority of the same assets, re-designed a large portion of the games functions, based largely on customer feedback. Since the release of this version "2.0" there has been an on-going dialogue regarding the continuation of the game, with extremely impressive responses on the end of Blizzard's CR team. With such a massive playerbase, I've been impressed that they really do consider almost every response given, and those suggestions which make sense and maintain gameplay balance while still improving the game overall are often implemented surprisingly quickly - often times within days.

It's impressive to see this from such a massive company, and I think it sets a good example that many other companies, such as EA, as well as companies outside of gaming, could follow.

Crasger

April 18, 2014, 11:07:41 pm #4 Last Edit: April 18, 2014, 11:08:59 pm by Crasger
Quote from: WhiteRose on April 18, 2014, 10:38:00 pm
It's impressive to see this from such a massive company, and I think it sets a good example that many other companies, such as EA, as well as companies outside of gaming, could follow.


Well, everyone's almost always concerned about milking as much money as they can. Without caring too much about everyone else. Sure their employees get paid, but the consumers get screwed. But in the long term that only affects about as much as a tap on the shoulder for consumers, unless of course they had their heart and tons of their money set on the product.

Looking at it again, the people who work hard on these things really need more pay.

The really disappointing thing is that a lot of money goes to the 1%. When all they do is order everyone around.

Sure there are exceptions, there are some rich people who are rather nice.

Isn't there a way where everyone gets fairly paid, and the consumers become happy and satisfied as well?

Blizzard

April 19, 2014, 03:49:32 am #5 Last Edit: April 19, 2014, 03:53:59 am by Blizzard
@Rose: It was more forced than voluntary. As far as I know, Blizzard was almost going to go bankrupt. They only thing they could do was pimp up Diablo 3 properly so they don't go out of business. Actually, they might still be on shaky legs.

@Crasger: Actually that's just a stereotype. It's true that there are rich assholes, but just like with "normal" people, a rich asshole is maybe 1 in 10 or even less. As a matter of fact, most successful people are quite the opposite of the stereotype. The stereotype of the rich being cruel douchebags that care about nothing than money was made up by lazy people to make them feel better about themselves. "Oh, I never want to be rich. The money would just corrupt me." It's basically an excuse to stay mediocre and not put some effort into things. So don't be so quick to judge. Most successful people wouldn't blink with an eye and give all their fortune away just like that if they could make the world a better place. Some of the notable examples is a Bill Gates. He's given away billions of dollars to charity.

But I'm getting offtopic.

To achieve a balance between a good product is difficult and profit (or the way to monetize the product) is difficult. A small miscalculation and things go in the wrong direction. This goes especially for large-scale products since a small change can change profits drastically. Diablo 3 is a good example. If they had made things just a little bit less about money, they might have received criticism, but it wouldn't have been too far out there to not become a commercial success. The problem is that they wanted to bill players multiple times, not just when selling the game. Past experience has shown that this business model is not a good one. When people already pay for the game, they don't want to spend even more money inside the game.
Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
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Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Crasger

Ah yes, stereotypes. My guess is that it's about 3/10 businessmen around the world who are evil and corrupt, and don't get me started with businessmen involved in politics...

I had always thought of business men and the rich being like that.
If I'd start a business it'll be high-quality or average products with cheap, reasonable prices. No matter how big the company'll get it should always stay to its roots. Treats its employees nice, many benefits.
Which will, with business logic, drive the company to the ground in the Stocks...

Also, I think that those "nice things" they do are just publicity stunts designed to make 'em look better. Well, not Bill Gates. Some of them do that, though.

Some rich celebrities and artists. SOME, well, maybe a few of them just fake their kindness for good publicity. Those actions are just despicable.

Blizzard

You are being too cynical about this. Not everyone out there is trying to screw everyone else over for their own gain. Yes, the end result may look bleak, but it usually gets to this, because it has to go through a range of people and the nicest people are usually not the most assertive ones.
Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
Drinking Game for Android      Never have I ever for Android
Drinking Game for iOS      Never have I ever for iOS


Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

Crasger

I am kinda cynical sometimes. Well, actually, most of the time. Sometimes it's for humor, other times I'm dead serious.

But I digress. I'm going off topic.




Quote from: Blizzard on April 19, 2014, 06:26:15 am
the nicest people are usually not the most assertive ones.


Yeah. They usually get trampled. But nice people are often the ones who are appreciated. We all know that we remember bad things more than good. So while the nice people are appreciated, they won't be remembered too long. Sure they'll stay as a distant memory. But most folks would remember that sicko who screwed them over a couple days ago than the nice ol' lady from down the block.

WhiteRose

Quote from: Blizzard on April 19, 2014, 03:49:32 am
@Rose: It was more forced than voluntary. As far as I know, Blizzard was almost going to go bankrupt. They only thing they could do was pimp up Diablo 3 properly so they don't go out of business. Actually, they might still be on shaky legs.


Do you think you could dig up the article about Blizzard being on the edge of bankruptcy? Not that I doubt you - I'm just so surprised that I think it would be a genuinely interesting read. With Activision Blizzard running both Call of Duty and World of Warcraft, probably the biggest titles for gaming outside of the casual market, them having financial troubles might point to a serious need for change in the gaming industry. With some luck, maybe this means that the market on a whole will be drifting towards Blizzard's methods of positive interaction with customers. Maybe we'll start to see a little more sentiment in business after all, at least on the entertainment side of things.

Blizzard

I remember only people telling me about that so it's not accurate or dependable information. But I think I'll google around a bit since now I wanna know myself for sure.

If they are in serious trouble, that might not be a result of cumulative failures, but it could be one major investment (e.g. Diablo 3) that simply caused a lot of financial damage. In any case, I'll google around.
Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
Drinking Game for Android      Never have I ever for Android
Drinking Game for iOS      Never have I ever for iOS


Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

WhiteRose

Quote from: Blizzard on April 19, 2014, 07:08:13 am
I remember only people telling me about that so it's not accurate or dependable information. But I think I'll google around a bit since now I wanna know myself for sure.

If they are in serious trouble, that might not be a result of cumulative failures, but it could be one major investment (e.g. Diablo 3) that simply caused a lot of financial damage. In any case, I'll google around.


Don't worry about it too much if it's any trouble; you just managed to spark my curiosity.

Crasger

Quote from: WhiteRose on April 19, 2014, 07:03:48 am
at least on the entertainment side of things.


Well, entertainment is always about sentiment.

Blizzard

Check out Daygames and our games:

King of Booze 2      King of Booze: Never Ever
Drinking Game for Android      Never have I ever for Android
Drinking Game for iOS      Never have I ever for iOS


Quote from: winkioI do not speak to bricks, either as individuals or in wall form.

Quote from: Barney StinsonWhen I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.

WhiteRose

I did a little searching myself, and found something about them filing for bankruptcy, but it turned out to be an April Fool's joke. XD

Thanks for finding those. I'll read through them and poke around a little more. At least I can rest assured that I'm not going to wake up tomorrow to find that all of the Starcraft servers have been shut down and that South Korea is in need of a new national sport.