Weaponsmith Archive
Thread: Disgruntled Weaponsmiths Thread
Itchybacca wrote:
IMO it isnt the customers job to go to www.swgcraft.com to look up and understand how to craft a weapon. It's the weaponsmiths job to know everything about every weapon to beable to answer the customer who's only goal in the game is to kill effectivly, be it in PvP or PvE. THese questions are very easy for us to answer so take the 30 seconds to answer it, or have them shhot you an e-mail and answer the question when you have time.
Itchybacca wrote:
IIMO it isnt the customers job to go to www.swgcraft.com to look up and understand how to craft a weapon. It's the weaponsmiths job to know everything about every weapon to beable to answer the customer who's only goal in the game is to kill effectivly, be it in PvP or PvE. THese questions are very easy for us to answer so take the 30 seconds to answer it, or have them shhot you an e-mail and answer the question when you have time.
Part of me agrees with this, and part of me does not.
I pride myself on my customer service; I feel I have done a great deal to educate the people who want to learn what makes good weaponry. The key there, however, is "want to learn". Many players DON'T want to learn. Not only do they not want to take the time to read for themselves and learn what is and is not craftable, they don't want to take the time to listen to you while you attempt to teach them that what they want ("mak m3 sum kryat vks") is not possible. I can accept ignorance when the individual in question is willing to help himself; willing and persistent ignorance makes me reach for the keys that spell /addignore. I agree that it is my job to know what makes good weaponry, and to gather the materials to do so; however, when someone comes to me with a custom order and refuses to believe me when I tell them what they want is not craftable, I have very little patience.
Sometimes it takes far more than 30 seconds to help people. Attempting to help 5 or 6 people at once -- none of whom understand that you are busy and trying to have fun on your own -- is even more infuriating.
I think the largest problem being a master crafter in SWG entails is simply one of respect (or, more accurately, lack thereof). I would wager that over half of players have no respect for me as an individual who is playing a game for fun. They treat me like, as someone else put it, a "crafting monkey", whose sole reason for existence is to equip them with high-quality weaponry for a pittance... and that I should be honored that they've chosen me to do so! I am constantly beseiged by such people, and they make me loathe becoming a WS to begin with. However, a fair share of players do not act this way.It is sad that such people should stand out and be the exception rather than the rule.
In short, I think you'll find that a lot of MWS go out of their way to educate their customer base, but much of the time, that customer base simply doesn't want to be educated. They simply want uber weaponry, and they want it now. They don't care that they are sometimessucking the fun out of the game for you; so long as they get whatever weapon it is they want, you are just a crafting monkey who should be thanking them for deigning to speak to you.
And if I had 7 tissues and wanted 6 republic blasters Im sure as heck not going to give you one of the weapons!
And with that statement you have disqualified yourself, LordMaxx. Since you obviously have no idea what you are talking about.
maxx that was so dumb you hurt my head. Krayt tissue is not a limited build weapon. You can always make a krayt weapon provided you have enought tissue. Ninety nine percent of the players realize that a smith cannot make them these items unless they supply the tissue.
Manufacture monkey. A character that is reduced to makeing something for no gain , and no self improvement. How many of us are just out for cash. The limited schems provide no improvement for us. Unfortunately we have to get out hands on them and make them. Why because its part of a smiths reputation. If I do not even bring these weapons to my customers they will look elsewhere. It is not a question of how hard I have worked to make my weapons better, or the great customer service I provide. Its all a matter of a leet dood selling the schem to me. So that if anyone has the loot I might make it for them.
There are tons of professions about cranking out items. That cannot be worked towards improvement. Weaponsmith was never supposed to be among them.
Then you sir are in the wrong business.
I go to the car dealership expecting the salesperson to answer any questions I have about the car I'm looking at.
I go to the Butchershop expecting the Butcher to know which cut of meat is best for the meal I plan on making
I go to the gun shop expecting the guy behind the counter to suggesst the best Rifle for my hunting needs.
I go to the Armorsmith in SWG expecting the Armorsmith to give me ideas for what I plan on acheiving in combat.
If I go to a weaponsmith and they give me the impression of "if you dont know then I am not going to help you" I will take my business elsewhere.
Yes sometimes its going to take more than 30 seconds. THere are people who are wastes of time and annoying jsut for the sake of being annoying, but others are truly looking for guideance, and are willing to wait for a complete answer, or a partial answer will get them by.
Sometimes taking the time is very rewarding. One time taking the time earned me an entire guild dedicated to the weapons I make, and to this day they still buy over 300 weapons a monnth from me. The payoff is in good customer service, and blowing the custoemr off even in a question that seems very miniscule, can pay off big in the end.
But not everyone is in this business to please the customer. If you arent more power to you, I'm just sharing my beliefs in how thigns should run. I own a Manufactuiring and Distribution company IRL, I get customers calling me 10 times a day not knowing the product they buy from us, and it seems everytime they call they never learned anything new. That doesnt mean I am goin gto tell them to go read up on types of hinges and welding products on the internet before ordering from us. No...I'm going to explain the process to them again, and eventually they will get it.
If I was a salesperson at an appliance store, do you think a customer would buy form you if you refused to explain something to them how that microwave works. No they wouldnt, well they'd be dumb to give you business because it's a salesperson's job to sell the product. They sales dont come freely.
ok first up,
why ban a guy for BUYING YOUR WEAPONS? If joe shmoe 1 and joe schmoe b both buy one rilfe, you make the same as if joe schmoe c had bought 2. Easy fix, raise your prices till people only buy just one?
Secondly, to ask for the loto schematics to all be 1000 uses is quite honestly, a showing of how lazy weaponsmiths as a whole has gotten. To think a customer wants all 5 distrubotr rifles for himself, witht he ten cubes and the schematic he looted......gee makes sense. Would you want to give away 3 uses of a scheamtic if you were only a fighter? No you worked hard for your schematic now you want a nice set of weapons made from them. Only logical. Its not hard to get extra schematics to craft for yourself, if it is, you need to network more.
Time, yes time is what is a smiths most precious commodity. Dont liek answering newb questions? Throw up your afk sign, and include a wp to your shop or explicit instructions about your prices etc.
Custom work? why complain about easy money?. Say a dude wants 5 dxr6's with his schematic and his cubes, you spend 10 minutes making them, say you charge 100k per (i wouldnt charge 100k per as its not worth my time at that price) thats 500k for ten minutes of "hard" work.
Serioulsy, is it sooooooooo bad that you cant factory make a bijillion dxr6b's? Almost sounds like your all too lazy to do REAL weaponsmithing.......
People that dont care to learn what the limits of weapons are and look for the best within the bounds, but want an impossible-to-make weapon built for peanuts is another matter entirely. I have no problem with involuntary ignorance. Its those that choose to be ignorant that bothers me.
NisiDaca
"why ban a guy for BUYING YOUR WEAPONS? If joe shmoe 1 and joe schmoe b both buy one rilfe, you make the same as if joe schmoe c had bought 2. Easy fix, raise your prices till people only buy just one?"
I think he was talking about players who come and buy all the weapons and then sell them at a higher price. Normally I dont have a problem with that as long as I get what I want out of them, but I can understand it being annoying if people are buying your stock out so that your other customers can't buy a weapon just so they can make a profit. That would irritate me too.
"Would you want to give away 3 uses of a scheamtic if you were only a fighter? No you worked hard for your schematic now you want a nice set of weapons made from them. Only logical. Its not hard to get extra schematics to craft for yourself, if it is, you need to network more."
Itchybacca wrote:
Yes sometimes its going to take more than 30 seconds. THere are people who are wastes of time and annoying jsut for the sake of being annoying, but others are truly looking for guideance, and are willing to wait for a complete answer, or a partial answer will get them by.
This is true, and I don't mind talking to these kinds of people. Honestly, sometimes I get too down on my customer base, it's just that all of the horrible experiences I remember, the good ones I take for granted as "the way things ought to be".
Sometimes taking the time is very rewarding. One time taking the time earned me an entire guild dedicated to the weapons I make, and to this day they still buy over 300 weapons a monnth from me. The payoff is in good customer service, and blowing the custoemr off even in a question that seems very miniscule, can pay off big in the end.
I've had a good many of these myself. Plenty of people have thanked me for taking the time to educate them and I've earned a goodly number of referrals this way. Providing this level of customer service is a great way to grow your business; I answer all manner of weapon questions both in-game and on our server boards.
But not everyone is in this business to please the customer. If you arent more power to you, I'm just sharing my beliefs in how thigns should run. I own a Manufactuiring and Distribution company IRL, I get customers calling me 10 times a day not knowing the product they buy from us, and it seems everytime they call they never learned anything new. That doesnt mean I am goin gto tell them to go read up on types of hinges and welding products on the internet before ordering from us. No...I'm going to explain the process to them again, and eventually they will get it.
True, not everyone is in the WS gig to please the customer. The differences between in-game and real-life are quite staggering, though. Considerthat the people who call you and ask questions regarding your products take your advice and experience at face value. They do not respond with "Well, my friend can make..." They contact you with the intent of obtaining better information in order to make an informed purchase, and they understand that they will have to give up something to get what they want.
One of the biggest deficiencies in an average SWG player's education is an understanding of basic economic principles, i.e. you don't get something for nothing. "Why yes, I'll be happy to make you 3 krayt Geonosian sonic blasters with your schematic and tissue.. all it will cost you is leaving the last 2 uses of that schematicfor me to make some profit on. I won't even charge you for my time to hand-make them." That's just an example, but you get the idea. Not everyone wants credits in payment.
If I was a salesperson at an appliance store, do you think a customer would buy form you if you refused to explain something to them how that microwave works. No they wouldnt, well they'd be dumb to give you business because it's a salesperson's job to sell the product. They sales dont come freely.
No, of course not. But don't you think the salesperson would get a tad exasperated with you if you kept insisting to him that the microwave he is showing you should also be able to wash dishes because a friend says he has one that does (even though he offers no proof and you highly suspect he's full of crap)?
It is the salesperson's job to sell merchandise, yes. However, it is also the customer's job to have even the most rudimentary amount of trust in the salesperson when asking questions. If you're not going to believe me, why did you ask me to begin with? Go do the research yourself or ask someone you trust before asking me for confirmation; don't waste my time by making me write out an answer then calling me a liar.
Don't misunderstand me, Itchy, I share your business principles and ideas. I am simply pointing out that it is easy to become disillusioned because so many people in-game refuse to (a) listen and (b) believe you when you try to explain something to them. This is what makes "customer service" within SWG such a frustrating experience sometimes... the attitudes of the players.