Penny Arcade Publishes Transcripts Of Customer Service Blunder
Just wow, like it says!
Moron. I kinda like the PS at the end about bullies.
Penny Arcade is awesome like that.
August 31, 2012. A Day that will Live in Infamy. Or Information. Possibly Influence. Well, Inf, anyway. Thank you, Paragon Studios, for what you did, and the enjoyment and camaraderie you brought.
This is houtex, aka Mike, signing off the forums. G'night all. - 10/26/2012
Well... perhaps I was premature about that whole 'signing off' thing... - 11-9-2012
Yeah its awesome to see Gabe sticking up for that guy, and other company's (IGN, PCGamer, and a few others) have followed example. The marketing guy got dominated by the internet. I think its a good lesson for people that are in marketing or own a business as well.
If you ever get into PR and want to be good at your job, just look at what Paul Christoforo did here... and then do the exact opposite.
@Demobot
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Looking thru the thread on PA, it appears this Paul guy has a track record of antagonizing customers. It's possible the guy just got in over his head after the PR team he had up and quit. It's also possible he's just manic and the flood of emails eventually triggers a rage attack.
Either way, dude seriously needs to get someone to proof read his e-mails.
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Keep Calm & Chive On!
how sad.
A two-bit form letter could have prevented all that silliness
Here's a little spoof video on youtube about the events.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=xqV9kx40RG0
Make sure to check out www.penny-arcade.com if ya get a chance, there are a few updates on the situation. It appears Paul has lost his position with Ocean Marketing, and a new company was hired to fix the blunder.
And another new link with Paul trying to come off like a "winner".
http://ingame.msnbc.msn.com/_news/20...nternet-infamy
The vid is funny.
The whole story is sad, that guy never needs to be near any marketing again.
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Wow in just 24ish hours that guy went from a Job to a "Evil Man" on the Internet. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Christoforo
Attacking his "wife and kid" is out of line, if there real. I would feel sorry for his kid, growing up with a man like him would get you bullied in school.
Going to miss the fun and nice people here at CoH. Feel free to add me on PS3/XBox360
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He must have a really sad home life that he feels he needs to take it out on customers...
Putting marketing aside entirely, who in the world ever "gets away" with speaking exactly what is on their mind to a customer, co-worker, etc.?
He has some pretty serious issues, both anger as well as behavioral...
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I hope that sales of the product aren't hindered too much due to this guy's ineptitude.
As was mentioned in some of the articles on the subject, people are downvoting the item on Amazon and the like, and it will undoubtedly hurt the product's sales because of an idiot third-party marketing rep.
Thank you, Champion.
Hm,
Just... hm.
Part of my long and varied working history has been in Customer Service. Actually, thinking about it, almost all of it has been solving customer problems in one form or another.
It's my considered opinion that no rational employer allow this man to have anything to do with the public ever again. Somebody earlier mentioned that this is a perfect example of what not to do.
I do hope that the original customer finally got somebody that was willing to listen to his situation and get him the answers and resolution he needed.
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This, pretty much.|
Originally Posted by all_hell
how sad.
A two-bit form letter could have prevented all that silliness |
He's quite possibly ruined his career and damaged his former employer's business over something that could have been so incredibly easily prevented.
Quote:
Sad home life doesn't usually lead to delusions of grandeur and creative use of reality. His non-apology shows no real remorse, but the practiced surrender of someone who has learned that he better start saying stuff that sounds like "I'm sorry" or things will really turn bad.|
Originally Posted by Meowtch
He must have a really sad home life that he feels he needs to take it out on customers...
He has some pretty serious issues, both anger as well as behavioral... |
Such lack of being able to read human emotions or to engage in rational conversation or have compassion or a conscience is typical of a manic state of a bipolar disorder or a borderline personality disorder (and self-medicating hormonal exercise regimes surely don't help the situation). He should definitely seek professional help for a diagnosis and then the therapy needed to learn to cope with whatever it is he's suffering from.
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Quote:
Zombie Man, Professional Internet Psychiatrist.
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Originally Posted by Zombie Man
Such lack of being able to read human emotions or to engage in rational conversation or have compassion or a conscience is typical of a manic state of a bipolar disorder or a borderline personality disorder (and self-medicating hormonal exercise regimes surely don't help the situation). He should definitely seek professional help for a diagnosis and then the therapy needed to learn to cope with whatever it is he's suffering from.
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On the internet, we're all professional psychiatrists.
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Originally Posted by Silas
Zombie Man, Professional Internet Psychiatrist.
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Apparently!|
Originally Posted by Silas
Zombie Man, Professional Internet Psychiatrist.
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...yet one more talent we...or I...didn't know about him!
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So if he had known he was talking to someone with influence, he would have been nicer? Apparently it's fine to abuse the little people. Good to know.
'I don't like the look of it at all,' said the King: 'however, it may kiss my hand if it likes.'
'I'd rather not,' the Cat remarked.
'Don't be impertinent,' said the King, 'and don't look at me like that!' He got behind Alice as he spoke.
'A cat may look at a king,' said Alice.
LOVE the quote from the new marketing guy.
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| I cant worry about the fact that there isnt a bus big enough for me to throw Paul Christoforo under. The internet did that for me. I think they set him on fire too." |
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I like the comic Penny Arcade did for this 
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Originally Posted by Mr. DJ
I like the comic Penny Arcade did for this
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Yyyyesssss!
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Quote:
In RL, I am in a position in which I make recommendations and referrals for professional psychiatric evaluation. You don't do that unless you have an inkling that something is amiss and what the tells are to pursue.|
Originally Posted by Meowtch
Apparently!
...yet one more talent we...or I...didn't know about him! |
But, since this is the Internet, no one should believe that.
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Be that as it may, I would hope that in RL you take a little more time and care in assessing someone rather than declaring them borderline or bipolar based off of their behaviour in a single event.
In any case, I'm not disagreeing with the latter half of your...diagnosis, but then I think pretty much everyone can benefit greatly from doing some therapy.
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Quote:
I didn't declare anything except the facts of the case: The guy has self-destructive behaviors of over-aggressiveness, lack of compassion, delusions of grandeur (he lied about his importance and connections over and over again), and the seeming inability to display real remorse. The people he calls upon as character references are quick to make it clear in the public forum that they not only disavow him, but they had in the past flagged him as someone unprofessional because of inappropriate behavior. So, this wasn't just a 'bad day' for him. It's a lifestyle.|
Originally Posted by Silas
Be that as it may, I would hope that in RL you take a little more time and care in assessing someone rather than declaring them borderline or bipolar based off of their behaviour in a single event.
In any case, I'm not disagreeing with the latter half of your...diagnosis, but then I think pretty much everyone can benefit greatly from doing some therapy. |
Those facts *seem* to fit two common categories of mental illness. I *recommend* professional evaluation to see if it is the case of these two diagnoses or some other reason (e.g., drug use).
Yes, everyone can benefit from growth counseling. However, this guy *seems* to have a problem that's more deep seated than lack of interpersonal skills which is likely, though not necessarily, the result of a mental illness. If such is diagnosed by a clinical psychologist, then that would require more than some growth counseling or an anger management course. That would require psychotherapy by a clinical counselor and maybe even some drug therapy.
Many people with undiagnosed mental illness function in society until a crisis happens and their inability to cope make them seek help, or it's mandated by a court order because they've gotten into a lot of trouble or they've endangered themselves or others.
In RL, I'm the one who deals with these who are in crisis and perform the triage to temporarily stabilize them and get them to the appropriate professional help they need for long term care.
People with real mental illness usually don't show up at a psychiatrist's door to check whether they have a mental illness or not. They are often encouraged, or persuaded, or in some cases, mandated to go for evaluation. That only happens when people like me can suspect there's something wrong and make that recommendation for evaluation.
And given what I've seen so far... there's enough evidence to make that recommendation. People simply having a 'bad day' don't act so professionally self-destructive over a period of time like he did.
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If you don't know who/what Penny-Arcade.com is ... definitely get caught up. As gamers and customers I think a lot of you will enjoy seeing this!
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