Namco Bandai Store: Worst Store Ever

[winds]

I am quite shocked and frustrated at the moment and need to vent somewhere...
I've literally just had the WORST online store experience i've ever had, and it was at Namco Bandais online store.

A few months ago I made a thread here about Namco releasing a limited edition of Ni No Kuni exclusively on their online store. Being as excited as I am for this game (Studio Ghibli and Level-5? Come on that's a match made in heaven, who wouldn't be!) I ordered it as soon as it was announced. However the one issue at the time was they didn't ship outside of the US and me being in Canada had to use a deputy service that would ship it to me.

All was good, I ordered the item, paid in full, and entered the deputy services US address. I didn't mind paying a tad more for shipping since it was something I really wanted. Anyways, a month or so passes by and due to an influx of emails from Canadians crying, Namco announces they are now offering Canadian shipping as well. Awesome! I don't have to use the deputy service anymore nor pay extra because of it.

I went to namcos store and tried to switch my shipping address on the order but couldn't find the option anywhere. I then emailed Namco asking if they could switch my shipping address for me, from the US address to my actual Canadian one. No problem right? Here's how it went down.

- I emailed Namco asking if they could switch my address on the order.
- They emailed me back saying they sent the request for the address change but it MAY or MAY NOT be changed.
- I emailed them back asking if it was possible they could update me when they heard more information on it
- They replied saying it isn't possible to know if the shipping address is changed UNTIL the order gets sent out (In January)... uhh... okay... that's real helpful...
- Not trusting that, I emailed them back asking if I it was possible to just cancel my order and order it again using my correct address (Keep in mind I didn't ACTUALLY ask them to cancel the order, I just wanted to know if that was a possibility in conjunction with ordering a new one - A simple yes/no answer would have sufficed)
- They emailed me back saying they went ahead and cancelled my order (WTF?) and that I should order a new one
- A little outraged that they cancelled it when I hadn't actually requested they do it yet, I attempted to go on their store page again and re-order the limited edition using my correct address. Of course... it's no longer available for order. Sold-out. Great...
- I emailed them back saying how that was unfair for them to cancel my order when I hadn't made that request, and that their suggestion to "order a new one" wasn't possible due to it no longer being available on their store. I demanded they reverse my previous order cancellation.
- They emailed me back saying the cancellation can't be reversed.
- I emailed them a long spiel about how their actions have been totally ridiculous and shameful and that ALL i wanted was a simple address change. How could that not be possible when the game doesn't even ship for 3 - 4 months? Are they lazy or stupid?
- They just emailed me back with some automated email saying they can no longer help me with this case.

Thanks Namco! A game i've been excited about since I first heard about it years ago, ordered the limited edition and paid in full as soon as it was announced. Now I won't be receiving it due to Namco's cookie cutter, automated customer service that doesn't actually pay attention to what I was asking. Fuck you Namco, Fuck you up the dick. (sorry, so frustrated I had to vent somehow).
I'm going to try emailing them one more time hoping to talk to someone who isn't a retard and hopefully either get my order back, or grant me special circumstances and allow me to order a new one somehow... At this point I doubt I won't hear anything back other than a standard "We are sorry for the inconvenience but we are no longer able to help you on this case. Thank you for shopping the Namco Bandai Store!"

TL;DR: I ordered and paid in full a limited edition game that was exclusive to Namcos online store. I requested an update on my shipping address but due to their incompetence and not listening to what I actually wanted, they ended up cancelling my order instead. There is no way to undo the cancellation and the game is no longer for sale. I'm outraged.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Hm.. I would suggest phoning them. Actually talking to someone will have far more impact than emails.

If phoning them doesn't help, ask to speak to whoever is in charge. Escalate it. Don't take no for an answer.

[driph]

Yeah, don't drop it. Maybe hit them up on twitter, as well?

[Zing]

Does anyone actually skip the entire body of a post, looking for the TLDR section, and read only that? I wouldn't even cater to that sort of person.

[MrPopo]

Yeah, don't drop it. Maybe hit them up on twitter, as well?

No. We need to nip this Twitter thing in the bud.

But I agree, if you can get someone on the phone it is much easier to start escalating up the chain until you've been properly serviced. With email they can "not get to you" for a few days.

[winds]

Yeah, I can't stand talking to whichever numbnuts is replying to me on this support email. They are obviously using some guide to respond since none of their responses actually have anything to do with what i'm asking them.

As usual with bad online customer service, the phone number isn't easily visible on the website, at least from what I can see. Although I did find this phone number suggested by one of the board admins hidden away in some old post: 1 (952) 392-2057. I'll give that a try.
Also in the footer of all their emails there is a link to some live chat, though it directs to a website outside of namco (server.iad.liveperson.net) so who knows how effective that will be. It's worth a shot I suppose.

[xan_racketBOY_fan]

Damn that's complete horse crap, hope everything runs out well for you. When it comes to customer service, I always go the phone route - less chance of error.

[CFFJR]

I'll be interested to see where this goes, so keep us posted. Sorry about your frustrations.

[winds]

So I called the number I found hidden on an old thread on namcos forum. Turns out the number is for Digital-River, the company that handles Namco's shipping.
Since they are the ones who I was dealing with in email, and subsequently are also the nitwits who cancelled my order by accident, I spoke with them.

The kid whom I spoke with sounded young and inexperienced. I told him the situation but all he could do was regurgitate back to me that my order had been cancelled and can no longer be reversed. He kept suggesting I re-order the product online through the store. I again explained the situation to him and that the order should have never been cancelled since all I wanted was an address changed, and that the item isn't available for purchase online anymore. I could see continuing the conversation with this kid was of no use and asked to speak to a manager. He informed me that one wasn't around but gave me contact information for Namco.

Since it was a long distance call I didn't want to keep arguing when I could see it was getting me nowhere. I just tried calling Namco but got someones voice mail, so I left a message asking if they could call me back.
I'll try the number for Namco again in an hour or so, and if after a few days that proves useless, i'll call digital river back.

At this point I get this weary feeling that each company is going to say they can't help me and suggest I call either Digital River or Namco, depending who i'm talking to.

[01toubib]

Keep calling/bugging them. Don't let their mistakes be your problem. They cancelled your order without your permission, you have a very valid case.

The squeaky wheel always gets the grease.