Should Oculus say sorry to it's loyal customers and backers by means of compensation?

SkScotchegg · May 2016

Just an idea because a lot of people seem unhappy on the forums and other companies have apologized this way before too. Like Sony with their PlayStation.

I think it would be a good idea if they gave discounts or 1-2 free games to everyone who pre-ordered in the first month. It could work something like this. But this is just an idea. It could work other ways too, such as discounted Touch Controllers for everyone that pre-ordered within the first month or two.

I read these forums every single day and I see a lot of unhappy people. I read peoples comments on Reddit and Facebook and else where too and so it just seems right that they should offer some kind of compensation to their loyal customers and backers to apologize for all their mistakes.

I think this would go a long way. Once everyone is gaming with their Rift I reckon everyone will be happy and half way ready to forgive Oculus for their mistakes, but to ensure that everything is forgiven and forgotten I think this extra effort on their part would go a long way in redeeming customer confidence and keeping loyal backers keen to purchase future products & software from Oculus.

Whats everyone else's thought on this?

Dreamwriter · May 2016

You mean like they already did, with giving everyone free shipping?

monsterOzero · May 2016

No. just no.

These people need to get a grip....Maybe they can visit a child cancer care center and complain to the children tell them how awful their problems are and how bad Oculus is. Maybe the children(before they die) can write Oculus a letter and help the people who are having shipping issues.

Hiro_Protag0nist · May 2016

They have given us an absolutely amazing product with a couple of free games and some money off.

AND they have apologised.

JED44 · May 2016

@Dreamwriter You mean downgrading almost everyone to free $8 ground shipping without notice or option to keep expedited shipping at cost ? Though some kind of gift would be nice. I would really rather just be told things straight and in advance. Instead of waiting till the last minute or hoping people don't notice

christopherbarnhouse · May 2016

No.

SkScotchegg · May 2016

Based on the first three replies of this thread I'm already regretting posting lol. I'm thinking perhaps everyone is getting annoyed at me for posting this already but I was being sincere. I just meant because Sony and other companies have done this in the past so I thought it would be a good idea.

I realize though everyone has their own opinions on this matter but for me as a customer I think it would be right for them to give discounts or free games.

And I don't include the games that come with it because I figured they already come as part of the initial price packages.

Unlike other people I have seen say "they're cancelling their pre-order" I wouldn't ever quit on Oculus because I think their product is amazing and I don't feel angry towards them like others I've read on these forums.

I just thought it wouldn't hurt if they did this. If it was my company I would do this. That's all I'm saying. Just my 2 pence worth! lol

RobHermans · May 2016

Oculus are already selling the Rift at cost, not making any profit, and Touch will be exactly the same. Considering they are hoping to make a profit by selling software, perhaps they could give everyone a voucher to be redeemed on Oculus Home. That way they get some free advertising: people spreading the word about their new free game will likely get non pre-order buyers interested.
Anyone care to name an amount with which you might be satisfied? ...'cause I don't think 10 bucks will do it for me.

SkScotchegg · May 2016

RobHermans said:

Oculus are already selling the Rift at cost, not making any profit. Considering they are hoping to make a profit by selling software, perhaps they could give everyone a voucher to be redeemed on Oculus Home. That way they get some free advertising: people spreading the word about their new free game will likely get non pre-order buyers interested.
Anyone care to name an amount with which you might be satisfied? ...'cause I don't think 10 bucks will do it for me.

Well their games seem quite expensive, especially the high end triple AAA games so I think anything from 30% to 50% off even one game would be nice.

JED44 · May 2016

I would be happy getting the free expedited shipping we were promised

blue-steel · May 2016

That would require oculus to actually care about its customers. I have yet to see them do anything that remotely shows that they care.

Percy1983 · May 2016

JED44 · May 2016

It being a first world problem doesn't make oculus' lack of communication and general disregard for its pre order customers automatically ok. It's not how a company should conduct business or customer relations

Percy1983 · May 2016

JED44 said:

It being a first world problem doesn't make oculus' lack of communication and general disregard for its pre order customers automatically ok. It's not how a company should conduct business or customer relations

They are getting them out as fast as possible and your order page will tell you when to expect it. What more do you want them to do?

Zenbane · May 2016

Percy1983 said:

JED44 said:

It being a first world problem doesn't make oculus' lack of communication and general disregard for its pre order customers automatically ok. It's not how a company should conduct business or customer relations

They are getting them out as fast as possible and your order page will tell you when to expect it. What more do you want them to do?

There is no answer for those here specifically to post daily about the shortcomings they find; and find them they shall!

JED44 · May 2016

@Percy1983 I would have liked them to have been upfront and honest in the first place. And to have actually said when they offered free shipping that after a certain number of orders it would be changed to ground. As it stands. Everything we were told was too little too late. Even going back to Palmers message literally the night before launch about how the preorder shipments were "just set in stone" for Wednesday. You can't argue that we haven't gotten information in a timely or entirely straightforward manner. And just because they are shipping out now I don't believe it necessarily means we should ignore the fact that we were consistently kept in the dark and misdirected . EDIT. I would also like to put into consideration the fact that my order page didn't tell me when to expect it until close to 3 weeks after when I was told originally to expect it in January.

JED44 · May 2016

Honestly it seems like the people who don't think there is any problem with the way things have been conducted are those like zenbane who already have their rift in hand or shipping. It's easy to turn a blind eye to the bad stuff and be positive when you are one of the few to have the $600 product you've been waiting months for, same as everyone else, and preordered first hour with the expectation that you would have it for launch or shortly thereafter

Oblongship · May 2016

Dreamwriter said:

You mean like they already did, with giving everyone free shipping?

Free shipping has turned into another fiasco.

From what I have read, they no longer do the free overnight shipping....

So now there are customers who received a much better shipping than I will even though I was within the first minutes...

What does that say to me? "We value these customers more"

I can see a time cut off, but I was just as effected as everyone one of them, so why am I less important?

Why do I get to have 2-3 day shipping with no way to upgrade to overnight?

I really hope what I am reading is all wrong and this isn't the case.

Felixm477 · May 2016

JED44 said:

Honestly it seems like the people who don't think there is any problem with the way things have been conducted are those like zenbane who already have their rift in hand or shipping. It's easy to turn a blind eye to the bad stuff and be positive when you are one of the few to have the $600 product you've been waiting months for, same as everyone else, and preordered first hour with the expectation that you would have it for launch or shortly thereafter

i dont have mine and im not going to get it till June and i am perfectly fine with it. They have appologized and tried their best with what they have and im ok with that. I am upset about my Vive though for obvious reasons.

JettStiles · May 2016

Nah, no need to say sorry unless you are planning to change things.

I'd rather prefer they'd become a little more userfriendly and feed us information on time. No candywrapped presents - just the honest truth in advance and we'll all be happier.

Also a little more official participation on these forums - nothing against Cyber but it would be nice if Luckey, Irbe or Carmack would post here every now and then instead of just Twittering and posting on Reddit.

A little less corporate, a little more useroriented - that'd be great.

Hanover · May 2016

I'm wondering if this is the first bleeding edge, first generation product many people demanding compensation have ever pre-ordered...

JED44 · May 2016

@Felixm477 so the not telling us free shipping would be downgraded until after the fact and not giving us the option to pay for expedited shipping is the best they can do? I don't think any rational person would say that they are doing their best when there are still issues like this happening becuase they either neglect to tell us important information or outright decide not to until they have to.
An apology also implies you've learned from and won't repeat the same mistakes again. Which I wish were the case with oculus Edit- please remember this a company, particularly a company that was bought by Facebook, we're not talking about a kickstarter project anymore. When youre a company or work for a company, there are standards and you are held to a certain level of expectation for how you conduct business and treat clients. A company is supposed to be professional, if there are mistakes or issues , you own up to it and fix it or mitigate it and make sure it doesn't happen in the future. this is anything but professional .

RirtualVeality · May 2016

blue-steel said:

That would require oculus to actually care about its customers. I have yet to see them do anything that remotely shows that they care.

You mean besides giving free shipping to its customers and free Rifts to the Kickstarter backers?

Hedgy · May 2016

No they shouldn't, Tesco delivered my shopping late last week but I didn't ring them up and demand free milk. No offence to the OP as I'm replying to a few threads along the same lines here but some people have wound themselves up to the point where their Oculus order has become life or death.

It's a toy, so is the Vive. They're really good toys but still just toys. Think how you tut at the TV when you see people going crazy over some Christmas fad.

Let's keep some perspective, we're on the bleeding edge and stuff happens when you live out here.

greeneblitz · May 2016

If companies "gave away" stuff because people whine on internet forums they'd be broke.

Felixm477 · May 2016

JED44 said:

@Felixm477 so the not telling us free shipping would be downgraded until after the fact and not giving us the option to pay for expedited shipping is the best they can do? I don't think any rational person would say that they are doing their best when there are still issues like this happening becuase they either neglect to tell us important information or outright decide not to until they have to.
An apology also implies you've learned from and won't repeat the same mistakes again. Which I wish were the case with oculus

well considering the 50 in shipping i was going to pay was mandatory and i got it taken off for what a whole 2-3 days longer? I say i am fine with it. What else do you want to argue with them about, Oculus will clearly not be phased by you so why are you here and why are you giving them your money?

JED44 · May 2016

@Felixm477 I'm glad that you are ok being kept in the dark and misinformed cuase you end up saving a few bucks. But a majority of us actually care about being lied to and not being given information or options for a $600 purchase. Down to it I want rift cv1; but that doesn't mean I have to agree with or endorse oculus or what they have done. and I've resigned myself to waiting , I'm really not all that excited for it anymore. Not like I originally was. Additionally. I'm not arguing. I'm merely stating what oculus has done, and how it negatively affected many preorder customers. Oculus may not be phased by me, but come gen 2 when there are more competitors for cv2, you can bet people are going to remember how oculus treated them during this launch and chose to invest elsewhere. You can also bet that many people aren't going to give oculus money through their home service either. So think of it as +1 for later on

Zenbane · May 2016

Felixm477 said:

JED44 said:

@Felixm477 so the not telling us free shipping would be downgraded until after the fact and not giving us the option to pay for expedited shipping is the best they can do? I don't think any rational person would say that they are doing their best when there are still issues like this happening becuase they either neglect to tell us important information or outright decide not to until they have to.
An apology also implies you've learned from and won't repeat the same mistakes again. Which I wish were the case with oculus

well considering the 50 in shipping i was going to pay was mandatory and i got it taken off for what a whole 2-3 days longer? I say i am fine with it. What else do you want to argue with them about, Oculus will clearly not be phased by you so why are you here and why are you giving them your money?

Well for example, the best way to highlight the evils of a car company is by playing in traffic. It is known. And that is why he is here

JED44 · May 2016

@Zenbane it also helps when the drivers are wearing blindfolds and not actually paying attention to the road signs

Percy1983 · May 2016

I can't remember Oculus ever promising me next day delivery.

As it is I was expecting to pay £30 for shipping of some sort and got free shipping of some sort.

I will say I do now have my rift but I can genuinely say my opinion didn't have before or after I got mine.

ie, I was told there was a delay... no problem I will just get on with.. you know... life...

I was told it shipping on a Thursday, I didn't get it until Tuesday due to a bank holiday, oh well It was a nice weekend with and extra day off work... I had fun rather than sitting at home mashing F5 expecting a different result each time.

They do say that is a sign of insanity, trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Maybe I am just too laid back, or maybe there is more to my life than rift ownership...

Shadowmask72 · May 2016

They already cut the cost of shipping but I think as a further nice gesture they should inflate the price of Touch by 20% in a board meeting and then offer a 20% discount voucher to those who ticked the Touch pre-order option when they ordered the Rift.

Should Oculus say sorry to it's loyal customers and backers by means of compensation?

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