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For those who don't know, forums.penny-arcade.com will be closing soon. However, we're doing the same kind of stuff over at coin-return.org with (almost) all the same faces! Please do feel welcome to join us.
For those who don't know, forums.penny-arcade.com will be closing soon. However, we're doing the same kind of stuff over at coin-return.org with (almost) all the same faces! Please do feel welcome to join us.
For those who don't know, forums.penny-arcade.com will be closing soon. However, we're doing the same kind of stuff over at coin-return.org with (almost) all the same faces! Please do feel welcome to join us.
Posts
So like the rest of you I read Gabe's link and thought the guy was insanely unprofessional. I sent out a couple of tweets about it, then I decided to send a snarky email as well. This is that email, if you're curious:
After that email I thought it over a little bit and I realized: practially anyone would be better at PR than this guy. So I went to avengercontroller.com and found the contact link and sent another message. This time, I talked up the fact that I have 10 years of customer service experience, am a lifelong gamer, a Penny Arcade fan, and know how to use spell check - I would be perfect to be the PR director for avengercontroller.com! I also provided links to my Penny Arcade profile, my facebook profile, and my twitter account.
I didn't expect anything to come of it (especially after my snarky email above), but around 6am CST (my time) I got a call from a Florida number. Not recognizing it, I didn't answer. The caller left a voicemail saying that if I'd like a customer service job to call back. No name given. Shortly thereafter I got a text message from the same number, again querying me regarding whether I wanted the job or not. I reply to the text saying that as long as I could do it as a second job, then absolutely I would be interested. An hour later I get another call, from the same number, and this time I answer. As suspected, it was Paul Christoforo himself. He spent the first 10 minutes of the call trying to justify himself to me, saying "I don't want you to think I'm a bad guy..." and that he just "had a bad day" and that he's "not even supposed to be taking emails, he just does it to help the company out." He talked for a long time trying to explain himself, and I just stayed silent and wondered what he wanted from me - absolution? Inside of his story did seem to be a job offer to answer emails, though, so he wasn't just calling to explain himself as it first seemed. Anyway, he seemed to want an answer from me as to whether he's "a bad guy" or not, so I gave him some free customer service advice - that his emails seemed to me unprofessional in the extreme, that of course everyone gets mad at customers now and then, but you never talk to a customer like that, especially in writing, not if you want to keep your job. Although he assured me that he sells so much for the company that they'd never fire him (we'll see, I guess).
Anyway, after this extremely weird conversation, he asked for my resume, just to answer emails (though I did say I could take calls as well) didn't give me a clear salary indicator (I will put my salary demands in my email, you can be sure I won't be cheap), but he also said that they don't need my W2s that this can just be 'under the table' and I don't have to report it. Charming. If he makes me an offer I'll be sure to write up a contract for my work so that I actually get paid. I also pointed out that I work for a large telecom and would have to clear this second job with my HR before taking it, as they would not permit me to work for a competitor (it shouldn't be a problem, but my company does make "games" for their set top boxes, so they might see it as competition).
This is by far the weirdest phone call I've ever been a part of. And I've gotten 4am drunk calls before!
Edit: Anyone know how to contact someone within the actual company?
Nother edit: Oh yeah, he did give me the CSTROPHIC at HOTMAIL.COM email address to send my resume to. If anyone was wondering if that's his actual email or not.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
I have a clue he's pretty crazy.
Actually, strike that, what he appears to me is: extremely insecure.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
now he's threatening people with identity theft
Although all the misspelling is starting to take its tole on me.
Kind of ignores the point of the system, though. From what I gather it's made for people who have a physical problem with using the controller as it is, not as a normal use item.
Why the fuck is this giving me the weirdest sense of deja vu?
@gamefacts - Totally and utterly true gaming facts on the regular!
Agreed. That guy can spell way better than the real Paul.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
I remember reading on the site that the controller is designed to give you an edge in FPS games, since using more fingers than you do with the normal supposedly gives you faster reaction times, and more able to do multiple things at once.
This may just be the greatest sentence ever written by a human being.
I wish I knew where that mysterious "real internet" was. What a wondrous place it must be.
/me shakes fist at air
It's almost got Greek tragedy written on it, but I don't feel sorry for the guy.
(I didn't feel sorry for Oedipus either, that guy was a douche).
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
"When these assholes threaten me or Penny Arcade I just laugh. I will personally burn everything I’ve made to the fucking ground if I think I can catch them in the flames."
Dang.
Truth.
Such is the internet, however. She offers many delights and free marketing advantages to those who know how to wield her, but she will smite you with the fire of a thousand suns if you scorn her.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
I really hope people remember that this whole incident isn't from the actual controller company, just some asshat in a PR firm. He certainly deserves whatever he gets, the Avenger company on the other hand does not. I'd really like Mike to acknowledge the company and support them a little more, cause right now they need it.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
This is also true. When you see a public flub like this, what it means is that either the wrong person was put in frontline customer support, or that person was not given the resources they need to do their job effectively; both are ultimately the company's fault. The company needs to take ownership of the issue as well and issue a mea culpa if they want to move forward.
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
Moral of the story: don't be a dick!
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
word from further up this page is that that is a fake account
But fuck you — no, fuck y'all, that's as blunt as it gets"
- Kendrick Lamar, "The Blacker the Berry"
I especially loved seeing this because I was able to forward it to a bunch of Agents as a fantastic example of what not to do.
Although I have contemplated changing my signature to have "Welcome to the Internet, Bitch." I'm sure customers would love that.
I dunno, I wouldn't trust any twitters personally.
Not after I got burned by http://www.twitter.com/BarackObana
@hoodiebear.bsky.social
yeah, "Stratagy" is the real (renamed) account; the fake one posting all the outlandish shit is "OceanStretagy".
It really seems like he doesn't know how twitter works, since the original twitter account was retweeting the people refuting his claims and calling him names.
It was originally designed for gamers with difficulty using the standard controller, but that's obviously a fairly limited target demographic. By touting the supposed advantages it has for regular gamers they increase their potential sales.