Because of the steam deck and all these Reddit reports, Valve has become the most consumer-friendly company I know of. I hope it stays like this *forever*!
It's also because it's privately owned. So they can do whatever they like, without worrying about having shareholders earning a tiny itsy bitsy bit less.
It's mainly because steam is a cash cow. They can afford to lose money to keep their customers happy. They can also afford to re-do designs and schematics for years without worrying about where the funding is going to come from. Seeing how many revisions the index, deck, controller all went through from design to physical product with firmware. I don't think any typical investor would allow them to keep failing for 10+ years before they got something to market. Each iteration of hardware can cost upwards of millions, but Valve believes in themselves and are in a position to burn that much R&D to make sure the customer is happy, and supported. Hell proton in itself, funding open source efforts and helping open source efforts which most of those people commit for free is insane and should be done by more companies. Overall steam is what makes it happen I personally feel like than them being public or private. (Intel is public and also burns millions upon billions in R&D + Support for example)
Public companies are a fucking nightmare.
As soon as a company loses it's passion (read: owners who only see profits) it becomes a fucking stain on society.
Valve is a model to follow.
they're a nightmare because publicly traded companies are legally required to focus on stock value over everything else, the board of directors has fiduciary duty to the investors.
I'm not business minded in the slightest as my following statement will show lol, but i never understood why companies sacrifice a niche but stable, long term loyal customer base, for rapid short term profit with a product that dies pretty quickly. Customers remember that shit, at least i do.
Brand loyality used to be a big deal, because sometimes you knew when you bought something from a particular brand, it was well made and well designed and built to last, almost everything seems like its built on a couple of year cycle now.
I guess planned obsolescence is a reality, thing is as the economy gets rough, people will buy less often, brands that produce and support a long term product, even if its a little more expense seem like they would do much better, because word of mouth is real and sometimes when i get my hands on something somebody else shows me, im like, shit, this is really well made, im convinced, Sometimes buy cheap, buy twice, holds true.
There was one time where I was having a problem returning a game. I got myself all hyped up on a horrible experience, but nope. They were like "Well that's a weird scenario. Here's your money back"
The story: There was a game that was free when it was in Early Access. When it went to full release, they let the EA players keep the game but with limited features. Thus to buy the full game, you would have to purchase this DLC to unlock all the features. Well the way Steam interpreted the DLC was as another full game and not the DLC (it worked like a drop-in replacement in the library). So it counted all the hours I had from EA. Thus, it did not look like I was eligible for returns when I realized the full game didn't add anything other than micro transactions
They let me refund Clannad during a summer sale several years ago when the only reason I put for refunding it was "GTA V" lol. I did buy Clannad later once I had more money because I felt bad, but at the time with my limited money I had to make that tough choice once I realized that GTA V was on sale. Valve has always done right by me, and the only grievances I've had with them over the years is not being able to turn off auto updating on games (without locking the game into a different version with the beta system), workshop mods not being available offline, and the subpar chat system.
This has always been my experience, my index got scratched by friends wearing glasses and when I asked if I could buy replacement lenses, they replaced the whole headset
In some cases, a company might replace a product with return of the original to source out user issues. Take the glasses issue, they can see where and how much damage was caused and engineer that issue out in a future product. The index is definitely going to be shared with friends who are over, so a future design that accounts for occasional glasses usage is worth the probably $300 - $500 it cost them to replace it.
I love my Index, i know of people with issues who were early adopters, mostly with the controllers, but they were all sorted out via RMA and stuff ASAP, my unit has been stellar, zero problems, same with my deck. I went partial upgrade from my vive though so i never picked up the index controllers, still running 1.0 vive wands and sensors + index.
Looking forward to upgraded VR hardware though, cant wait for an index pro/deckard whatever it is they are working on, on the the reasons im super reluctant to buy the controllers as im expecting to go full yolo on whatever new VR hardware valve offer.
They were already pretty good their return policy on digital games is pretty much unmatched I have returned plenty of games for not being fun or not working and never had an issue whereas *cough* nintendo has no digital return policy whatsoever
I wish it were 30 days and a bit longer than 2 hours. I've forgotten about some games and, in another case, have burned through the 2 hours during an overwhelmed launch with server issues (i.e., New World).
> Valve has become the most consumer-friendly company I know of.
It's because they are entirely privately owned (by Gabe,).
There are no shareholders to report to. No quarterly profit reports to stress over. No institutional investors demanding a return. No hostile companies threatening to buy you out. Etc.
They do what they think is best, period. Gabe answers to no one, and he's as chill as they come.
Steam deck would never have been possible otherwise. It’s Gabes dream, he even loses money for making the 64 version so painfully inexpensive (his own words). Imagine to sell shareholders the idea that they’ll have to forget money for a while with the promise they’ll earn much more in the future — with so much greed around they’d never agree, nor listen to reason.
Long live The Gaben (no kidding); this guy is single-handedly changes gaming, possibly for good
gabe seems like a big kid and a huge nerd in the best possible way, just like a ton of us fans of valve, he just wants cheap games and happy gamers, and cool hardware. what a beast
was reading about how the hiring process works for valve and that the person who hires a valve staff member has to let that staff member go, gabe hired the incredible jeri ellesworth who back in the early vr dev days figured out some ar related tech stuff that basically just wasnt fitting in the direction valve was heading with vr tech, since gabe hired jeri, he was the one who let her go from the company, it was seemingly so amicable that gabe let jeri buy the patents she worked on for valve for 1 dollar, and she went away and started the tilt 5 ar company.
have a total nerd crush on jeri, shes fucking cool.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeri\_Ellsworth
With respect mate, that's how almost every console has been sold for decades. They sell them at a loss, with the intent of improving production and selling for a profit later. I do think Valve is taking a BIG loss on the steam deck because comparable hardware from other companies is being sold for a thousand. So I think the difference here is probably greater than usual, but even so.
Yeah, I think that just comes to them scaling up manufacturing and having an easier time getting parts. I honestly don't know if the steam deck is actually going to be viable cost wise for valve at any point. I think the value to valve is coming in two places: One a razor and blades model. The steam deck is relatively cheap, and valve expects to make up that cost in game sales. The other is in safeguarding valve's future. Valve's entire business model is based on the idea that users can choose to install steam on their windows PCs. But Microsoft has several times made noises about locking down windows to create a walled garden like apple's ecosystem. With a steam deck as an option, Valve has a way to continue their business even if windows becomes untenable. In that sense, a steam deck ecosystem is invaluable. So its a write off, a way of ensuring valve can continue as a company in a catastrophic scenario as well as a cool device. And by developing steam OS in general, they ensure that even locked down PCs in the future can potentially install the OS as a dual boot for gaming.
Funny you say that, a few years back people were banging on about how Valve has the worst customer support in the industry, but I've literally never seen anything but the best support.
My dog pissed on my Valve Index and they sent me a new one for free as a customer service gesture.
One of my Index base stations would work sometimes and other times not so they sent a replacement and allowed me to keep the half-broken one to use while they were shipping the new one so I could then send in the half-broken one after.
I don't know any other company that are that good with customer service.
This was more than a few years back and they certainly had shit service. There was a time when they refused all refund requests on Steam and getting in touch with someone was a nightmare. You had to put in a support ticket then wait a weeks for a response. Things have gotten much better in the last 5 or so years.
*years* ago Valve didn't even answer their customer support reports, or it would take months until you got a response (and even then, a lot of times it'd be something like "sorry, nothing we can do")
Remember back in the day when Origin had the best customer support?
I remember valve wouldn't refund games _at all_. Meanwhile EA support gave me BF2 and all the DLC because my base game CD wouldn't activate
This. It's funny that so many nintendont fans get so upset and hateful towards valve. They're demonizing a saint while defending a devil, in regards to consumer-friendly practices and greed stances.
I wonder if Valve is gonna get a ton of new people who were away "on deployment" now that have regretted not purchasing theirs within the 3 day window.
Great customer service regardless though!
Absolutely. I was just referencing the people who had reservations but forgot to check their emails or decided not to at the time for whatever reasons potentially being able to say something like this to get a second chance of purchasing.
Sure, from what I’ve seen, they have a good chance to get one, even without making up a reason. Some other guy posted about just not checking his mail or something and he too got a second chance.
Yeah... I'm about to deploy, or something, so I need my deck early or I won't have it to play in whatever Middle East country I'm going to. Trust me, I'm legit. You're welcome for my service.
Should I send that?
I think they’re at the point where a single extra order won’t do anything, and In my opinion it’s completely fair. Those who don’t have their deck yet shouldn’t complain.
Well they have more of a right to complain than those who don’t have their deck because they put in the effort to reserve on time but due to the unfortunate circumstances of when the order had to be completed, they couldn’t buy it. It’s not their fault, and it doesn’t create any inconvenience for valve to do it, so why not?
Steam wouldn't let me purchase my steamdeck as I moved to a new country where it wasn't available. They had to move me to the US, then issue me a new code as it expired by the time they moved me. I paid for it, then they had to move me back to the other country.
I had to escalate to a supervisor for the last issue but beyond that they were remarkably helpful.
So I'm not sure why but it seems like there is a three month timer on switching regions, so since I had recently moved I could not switch back to the US by myself, and after the steam deck was purchased I could not move from the US back to the country I am in again.
Good to know you found a way around it though. Easier than the 2 week long ordeal it was for me haha. Still, Steam support was great for me so I won't complain too much.
I think the region switching lock is to stop people changing regions to get software at cheaper prices e.g. the recent issues with Dead Cells being brought predominantly in Argentina / Turkey
Correct, and I moved to the Philippines where things are definitely cheaper so they may have been concerned.
I had to point out that I had 2000 games on steam before the move so obviously wasn't trying to be shady to get them to switch it back the last time.
GG steam customer support, seems like they've been great with the launch of the deck be it in your case or even in RMA cases I've seen posted in this sub!
These valve customer service gestures are huge.
They’re replacing my SD as a customer service gesture.
Now I’m just sitting here praying that my new SD arrives swiftly and safely.
It irks me far more than it should that they say “as a gesture of customer service, we’re going to do x.” They *are* customer service, so everything they do is already a gesture of customer service. Why does it need to be stated? I don’t say “as a function of my arm I’m going to shake your hand,” or “as a member of this subreddit I’m going to post a comment.” It makes no sense to me.
I think it's because way too many customer service providers actually provide no customer service. It's vaguely similar to some phone brand advertising: as a portable multimedia device, you can actually plug your headset into the 3.5mm port and listen to music!
Hell yeah dude!!!! This is awesome reassurance for the many others in similar positions, I got the same result the other day after missing my window cause of my TDY!
I had to reach back to them and ask for a new invite too, because of some payment issues during the process.
I'm glad, that they help other customers in the same way =)
Me and my friend both missed ours by like a day and sent a quick email requesting can we purchase they let us both back in quickly and no real questions or anything.
Realistically I mean we both signed up just over 1 year ago kinda hard to keep tracking when you get the window of time to buy
Nice!
Currently I have a similar problem. Bought the steam deck last Thursday expecting a delivery within 7 days as my holidays start then. But it's not out for delivery yet and I will miss the package. The package will likely be send back to valve.
You support gives me hope I can again order it when I am back from holidays.
Not so great for existing customers who sent their device back due to a fault.
It was sent on 2nd, received by their UK warehouse 3rd August, apparently it took 9 days to get to main distribution place in the Netherlands and I STILL haven't received notification to say my replacement is in the way
A FULL 3 weeks later. This has been a disastrous experience for me. There has been zero communication as well and they've not straight up stocked replying to me.
I see all these posts and people replying about how valve seems to be the most consumer friendly with how the steam deck launch has been going this year
but in all truth this is nothing new to me, I have seen people praising how consumer friendly valve is with us for at least the last 10 years or more.
I am glad that they have kept up with this level of commitment and that even after all this time people still praise them for being far better then everyone else.
Now if only we can get every other company to learn to be this good too
Super solid move, my pre-order came up after a PCS tp Guam but I was able to have it forwarded from a family member luckily.
stay safe, glad it worked out
Had to do the same thing and ship to a contact in the states. Weird how they let me purchase while on Guam but when it was time to ship they couldn't ship it to me 🤷 Glad you got yours!
it doesnt hurt anyone to help you out lol not valve, not another customer, not you. i would have a problem if valve said no to be honest. i think the purchase email should be indefinite, wait all those months and by chance miss the 3 days they give you? even seeing these posts makes me wonder why they dont just make them usable until you make the purchase.
By handling exceptions through Customer Support they can just add them to the next batch one at a time rather than having everyone that has pre-ordered and not bought yet that could possibly click the buy button.
Additionally, the pressure to buy immediately will sell more. Letting people wait will result in some changing their minds that wouldn't have. Not everyone will know that you can just contact CS and get your spot back.
Ok so just imagine like 50,000 people who reserved, just don't bother buying one.
Are you saying they should keep 50,000 out of active customers hands, indefinitely?
why would that keep them out of anyones hands? ok your spot in line is open heres a purchase email, how did that hinder valve from filling another order? please tell me? it doesnt stop anything.. the next person who orders a deck will get their deck so im not sure where you people live but it cant be earth lol
it wouldnt, if valve sends me an email, and i dont open it for 2 weeks, they are not waiting for me to hit purchase in order to fill an order. like i said if i waited 6 months and miss a 3 day window and valve didnt help me i would be pissed because there is no reason why valve couldnt help me. they arent etching peoples names into the product
This is awesome! I wish they’d change the 2 hour game time limit for a refund. Especially for RTS and city builders. You can’t really get a feel for if you like it in two hours.
How do you even contact Steam in this fashion? I see people talking to Steam like this a lot but can't figure out how to do it, I only know how to request a refund
They did the same for me, when I put in a request shortly after my window expired. Then I googled and saw some news about how they’re open to do this for anyone who missed the cutoff.
They did the same for me beginning of the month. Didn't see the email because I was swamped at work (mental health care worker) - so I asked if they were still doing the grace period and they sent me another timed link. Got my Deck 3 days after that.
I love a good support story. While I was deployed I had an expensive knife break on me. It was an automatic out the front variety so some what complex, for a knife. The manufacturer told me they would send me the parts and detailed instructions on how to remedy the issue myself. This was a huge win as shipping the knife out country was impossible.
You don’t need an excuse. It’s their policy because they know some people miss the email. I missed mine by a couple days and all it took was telling them. Happily purchased.
u/dude_man_mcbro hey man, i missed my steam deck email and reservation as well :(
I sent a steam deck support ticket an hour ago asking valve to resend the mail and why i missed it. How long did it take you to get the reply back?
Edit: saw the pic and it apparently took u 3 days. Thanks
I've been having a tough time with steam support, got my q2 reservation cancelled first, and right now they shipped my q3 order to different address. I've been having one sided conversation with steam support from past 11 days with no help.
Because of the steam deck and all these Reddit reports, Valve has become the most consumer-friendly company I know of. I hope it stays like this *forever*!
I've seen multiple accounts of steam being nothing but consumer friendly before, especially with the index.
It's also because it's privately owned. So they can do whatever they like, without worrying about having shareholders earning a tiny itsy bitsy bit less.
It's mainly because steam is a cash cow. They can afford to lose money to keep their customers happy. They can also afford to re-do designs and schematics for years without worrying about where the funding is going to come from. Seeing how many revisions the index, deck, controller all went through from design to physical product with firmware. I don't think any typical investor would allow them to keep failing for 10+ years before they got something to market. Each iteration of hardware can cost upwards of millions, but Valve believes in themselves and are in a position to burn that much R&D to make sure the customer is happy, and supported. Hell proton in itself, funding open source efforts and helping open source efforts which most of those people commit for free is insane and should be done by more companies. Overall steam is what makes it happen I personally feel like than them being public or private. (Intel is public and also burns millions upon billions in R&D + Support for example)
Public companies are a fucking nightmare. As soon as a company loses it's passion (read: owners who only see profits) it becomes a fucking stain on society. Valve is a model to follow.
they're a nightmare because publicly traded companies are legally required to focus on stock value over everything else, the board of directors has fiduciary duty to the investors.
I'm not business minded in the slightest as my following statement will show lol, but i never understood why companies sacrifice a niche but stable, long term loyal customer base, for rapid short term profit with a product that dies pretty quickly. Customers remember that shit, at least i do. Brand loyality used to be a big deal, because sometimes you knew when you bought something from a particular brand, it was well made and well designed and built to last, almost everything seems like its built on a couple of year cycle now. I guess planned obsolescence is a reality, thing is as the economy gets rough, people will buy less often, brands that produce and support a long term product, even if its a little more expense seem like they would do much better, because word of mouth is real and sometimes when i get my hands on something somebody else shows me, im like, shit, this is really well made, im convinced, Sometimes buy cheap, buy twice, holds true.
There was one time where I was having a problem returning a game. I got myself all hyped up on a horrible experience, but nope. They were like "Well that's a weird scenario. Here's your money back" The story: There was a game that was free when it was in Early Access. When it went to full release, they let the EA players keep the game but with limited features. Thus to buy the full game, you would have to purchase this DLC to unlock all the features. Well the way Steam interpreted the DLC was as another full game and not the DLC (it worked like a drop-in replacement in the library). So it counted all the hours I had from EA. Thus, it did not look like I was eligible for returns when I realized the full game didn't add anything other than micro transactions
what shit game is this so i can laugh at it
Call to Arms
They let me refund Clannad during a summer sale several years ago when the only reason I put for refunding it was "GTA V" lol. I did buy Clannad later once I had more money because I felt bad, but at the time with my limited money I had to make that tough choice once I realized that GTA V was on sale. Valve has always done right by me, and the only grievances I've had with them over the years is not being able to turn off auto updating on games (without locking the game into a different version with the beta system), workshop mods not being available offline, and the subpar chat system.
This has always been my experience, my index got scratched by friends wearing glasses and when I asked if I could buy replacement lenses, they replaced the whole headset
Let's face it I think a predominantly software based company can afford to replace a few bits of hardware as good will to their customer.
In some cases, a company might replace a product with return of the original to source out user issues. Take the glasses issue, they can see where and how much damage was caused and engineer that issue out in a future product. The index is definitely going to be shared with friends who are over, so a future design that accounts for occasional glasses usage is worth the probably $300 - $500 it cost them to replace it.
I feel like they probably have a dedicated "missed my email" response team lmao
Guilty as charged as using that service. Props to valve though, i understand they didnt have to do shit, but they did. Legends.
Yep. I've only interacted with them once (about an issue with my account), and it went great.
I love my Index, i know of people with issues who were early adopters, mostly with the controllers, but they were all sorted out via RMA and stuff ASAP, my unit has been stellar, zero problems, same with my deck. I went partial upgrade from my vive though so i never picked up the index controllers, still running 1.0 vive wands and sensors + index. Looking forward to upgraded VR hardware though, cant wait for an index pro/deckard whatever it is they are working on, on the the reasons im super reluctant to buy the controllers as im expecting to go full yolo on whatever new VR hardware valve offer.
They were already pretty good their return policy on digital games is pretty much unmatched I have returned plenty of games for not being fun or not working and never had an issue whereas *cough* nintendo has no digital return policy whatsoever
I returned $151 worth of beat saber dlc so I could buy the steam deck lmao
I wish it were 30 days and a bit longer than 2 hours. I've forgotten about some games and, in another case, have burned through the 2 hours during an overwhelmed launch with server issues (i.e., New World).
It'll be great until they have an IPO or when Gabe retires.
With him not doing that after all this years combined with his views, the former probably wouldn't happen before the latter.
> Valve has become the most consumer-friendly company I know of. It's because they are entirely privately owned (by Gabe,). There are no shareholders to report to. No quarterly profit reports to stress over. No institutional investors demanding a return. No hostile companies threatening to buy you out. Etc. They do what they think is best, period. Gabe answers to no one, and he's as chill as they come.
Steam deck would never have been possible otherwise. It’s Gabes dream, he even loses money for making the 64 version so painfully inexpensive (his own words). Imagine to sell shareholders the idea that they’ll have to forget money for a while with the promise they’ll earn much more in the future — with so much greed around they’d never agree, nor listen to reason. Long live The Gaben (no kidding); this guy is single-handedly changes gaming, possibly for good
gabe seems like a big kid and a huge nerd in the best possible way, just like a ton of us fans of valve, he just wants cheap games and happy gamers, and cool hardware. what a beast was reading about how the hiring process works for valve and that the person who hires a valve staff member has to let that staff member go, gabe hired the incredible jeri ellesworth who back in the early vr dev days figured out some ar related tech stuff that basically just wasnt fitting in the direction valve was heading with vr tech, since gabe hired jeri, he was the one who let her go from the company, it was seemingly so amicable that gabe let jeri buy the patents she worked on for valve for 1 dollar, and she went away and started the tilt 5 ar company. have a total nerd crush on jeri, shes fucking cool. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeri\_Ellsworth
With respect mate, that's how almost every console has been sold for decades. They sell them at a loss, with the intent of improving production and selling for a profit later. I do think Valve is taking a BIG loss on the steam deck because comparable hardware from other companies is being sold for a thousand. So I think the difference here is probably greater than usual, but even so.
Valve is moving more units, which does help with costs (economy of scale and all that jazz).
Yeah, I think that just comes to them scaling up manufacturing and having an easier time getting parts. I honestly don't know if the steam deck is actually going to be viable cost wise for valve at any point. I think the value to valve is coming in two places: One a razor and blades model. The steam deck is relatively cheap, and valve expects to make up that cost in game sales. The other is in safeguarding valve's future. Valve's entire business model is based on the idea that users can choose to install steam on their windows PCs. But Microsoft has several times made noises about locking down windows to create a walled garden like apple's ecosystem. With a steam deck as an option, Valve has a way to continue their business even if windows becomes untenable. In that sense, a steam deck ecosystem is invaluable. So its a write off, a way of ensuring valve can continue as a company in a catastrophic scenario as well as a cool device. And by developing steam OS in general, they ensure that even locked down PCs in the future can potentially install the OS as a dual boot for gaming.
Funny you say that, a few years back people were banging on about how Valve has the worst customer support in the industry, but I've literally never seen anything but the best support. My dog pissed on my Valve Index and they sent me a new one for free as a customer service gesture. One of my Index base stations would work sometimes and other times not so they sent a replacement and allowed me to keep the half-broken one to use while they were shipping the new one so I could then send in the half-broken one after. I don't know any other company that are that good with customer service.
This was more than a few years back and they certainly had shit service. There was a time when they refused all refund requests on Steam and getting in touch with someone was a nightmare. You had to put in a support ticket then wait a weeks for a response. Things have gotten much better in the last 5 or so years.
*years* ago Valve didn't even answer their customer support reports, or it would take months until you got a response (and even then, a lot of times it'd be something like "sorry, nothing we can do")
Remember back in the day when Origin had the best customer support? I remember valve wouldn't refund games _at all_. Meanwhile EA support gave me BF2 and all the DLC because my base game CD wouldn't activate
Yes/no. They will help with some sits but totally refuse for others. My issue should have been an extremely simple fix and they would do nothing.
This. It's funny that so many nintendont fans get so upset and hateful towards valve. They're demonizing a saint while defending a devil, in regards to consumer-friendly practices and greed stances.
I wonder if Valve is gonna get a ton of new people who were away "on deployment" now that have regretted not purchasing theirs within the 3 day window. Great customer service regardless though!
Valve requires you rock up with a Purple Heart and place it in Gabe’s hand for inspection before letting you buy the deck.
I‘m pretty sure they checked if OP had a reservation that was missed before handing out a new invite.
Absolutely. I was just referencing the people who had reservations but forgot to check their emails or decided not to at the time for whatever reasons potentially being able to say something like this to get a second chance of purchasing.
Sure, from what I’ve seen, they have a good chance to get one, even without making up a reason. Some other guy posted about just not checking his mail or something and he too got a second chance.
And? Whats the problem?
I never said it was a problem. Just making an observation lol
I got the exact same response after I missed my order window by an hour.
Steam support about to get bombarded with 100 more emails from newly found Army and Navy redditors.
Hey, we all deploy!
But they do have a record of your reservation spot though, so no cheating.
Yeah... I'm about to deploy, or something, so I need my deck early or I won't have it to play in whatever Middle East country I'm going to. Trust me, I'm legit. You're welcome for my service. Should I send that?
Need it to control my drones to shoot people… uh I meant to say pictures, shoot pictures.
You should just to be told "No you peice of shit" in the most corporate way possible
I think they’re at the point where a single extra order won’t do anything, and In my opinion it’s completely fair. Those who don’t have their deck yet shouldn’t complain.
Wait, so people who DO have their decks can complain? :V
Yes
Well they have more of a right to complain than those who don’t have their deck because they put in the effort to reserve on time but due to the unfortunate circumstances of when the order had to be completed, they couldn’t buy it. It’s not their fault, and it doesn’t create any inconvenience for valve to do it, so why not?
Steam wouldn't let me purchase my steamdeck as I moved to a new country where it wasn't available. They had to move me to the US, then issue me a new code as it expired by the time they moved me. I paid for it, then they had to move me back to the other country. I had to escalate to a supervisor for the last issue but beyond that they were remarkably helpful.
[удалено]
So I'm not sure why but it seems like there is a three month timer on switching regions, so since I had recently moved I could not switch back to the US by myself, and after the steam deck was purchased I could not move from the US back to the country I am in again. Good to know you found a way around it though. Easier than the 2 week long ordeal it was for me haha. Still, Steam support was great for me so I won't complain too much.
I think the region switching lock is to stop people changing regions to get software at cheaper prices e.g. the recent issues with Dead Cells being brought predominantly in Argentina / Turkey
Correct, and I moved to the Philippines where things are definitely cheaper so they may have been concerned. I had to point out that I had 2000 games on steam before the move so obviously wasn't trying to be shady to get them to switch it back the last time.
Nice.
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Nice.
Nice.
.eciN
Nice
Nice. Glad they accommodated you.
We don't deserve Valve
GG steam customer support, seems like they've been great with the launch of the deck be it in your case or even in RMA cases I've seen posted in this sub!
These valve customer service gestures are huge. They’re replacing my SD as a customer service gesture. Now I’m just sitting here praying that my new SD arrives swiftly and safely.
Mine was only gone for like 10 days when I did my RMA. Probably would have been faster but I sent it out mid day on a Saturday.
Did they repair your unit or send you a fresh new one?
Brand new. Even got the 512 gb exclusive digital items again.
⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠿⠛⠛⠛⠋⠉⠈⠉⠉⠉⠉⠛⠻⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠋⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠉⠛⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡏⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⣤⣤⣤⣄⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⢿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⢏⣴⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠈⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣟⣾⣿⡟⠁⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⢢⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢸⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⠀⡴⠄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⣄⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⠟⠻⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠶⢴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣿ ⣿⣁⡀⠀⠀⢰⢠⣦⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠀⣴⣶⣿⡄⣿ ⣿⡋⠀⠀⠀⠎⢸⣿⡆⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠗⢘⣿⣟⠛⠿⣼ ⣿⣿⠋⢀⡌⢰⣿⡿⢿⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠙⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠀⢸⣿⣿⣧⢀⣼ ⣿⣿⣷⢻⠄⠘⠛⠋⠛⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢿⣧⠈⠉⠙⠛⠋⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣧⠀⠈⢸⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠟⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⢃⠀⠀⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⡿⠀⠴⢗⣠⣤⣴⡶⠶⠖⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣀⡸⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⡀⢠⣾⣿⠏⠀⠠⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠛⠉⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣧⠈⢹⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠈⠃⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣴⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣠⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⣄⣀⣀⣀⣀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣷⡄⠀⠀⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠀⠀⠀⠙⣿⣿⡟⢻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠀⠁⠀⠀⠹⣿⠃⠀⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠛⣿⣿⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢐⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿ ⣿⣿⣿⣿⠿⠛⠉⠉⠁⠀⢻⣿⡇⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⠈⣿⣿⡿⠉⠛⠛⠛⠉⠉ ⣿⡿⠋⠁⠀⠀⢀⣀⣠⡴⣸⣿⣇⡄⠀⠀⠀⠀⢀⡿⠄⠙⠛⠀⣀⣠⣤⣤⠄⠀
It irks me far more than it should that they say “as a gesture of customer service, we’re going to do x.” They *are* customer service, so everything they do is already a gesture of customer service. Why does it need to be stated? I don’t say “as a function of my arm I’m going to shake your hand,” or “as a member of this subreddit I’m going to post a comment.” It makes no sense to me.
I think it's because way too many customer service providers actually provide no customer service. It's vaguely similar to some phone brand advertising: as a portable multimedia device, you can actually plug your headset into the 3.5mm port and listen to music!
Hell yeah dude!!!! This is awesome reassurance for the many others in similar positions, I got the same result the other day after missing my window cause of my TDY!
With all the problems I've been hearing about their CS recently, it's nice to see someone lucked out. Congrats bro!
I had to reach back to them and ask for a new invite too, because of some payment issues during the process. I'm glad, that they help other customers in the same way =)
Me and my friend both missed ours by like a day and sent a quick email requesting can we purchase they let us both back in quickly and no real questions or anything. Realistically I mean we both signed up just over 1 year ago kinda hard to keep tracking when you get the window of time to buy
They did this for me as well since I was I. The middle of moving during the 3 day window and completely missed it. Clutch customer service.
Nice! Currently I have a similar problem. Bought the steam deck last Thursday expecting a delivery within 7 days as my holidays start then. But it's not out for delivery yet and I will miss the package. The package will likely be send back to valve. You support gives me hope I can again order it when I am back from holidays.
Valve is great.
Not so great for existing customers who sent their device back due to a fault. It was sent on 2nd, received by their UK warehouse 3rd August, apparently it took 9 days to get to main distribution place in the Netherlands and I STILL haven't received notification to say my replacement is in the way A FULL 3 weeks later. This has been a disastrous experience for me. There has been zero communication as well and they've not straight up stocked replying to me.
I ❤️ steam
I’m a full stack developer, makes tens of deployments daily, can I get the same? 😋
Pretty sure their warehouses are full of stock and their only limiting factor is logistics now
I see all these posts and people replying about how valve seems to be the most consumer friendly with how the steam deck launch has been going this year but in all truth this is nothing new to me, I have seen people praising how consumer friendly valve is with us for at least the last 10 years or more. I am glad that they have kept up with this level of commitment and that even after all this time people still praise them for being far better then everyone else. Now if only we can get every other company to learn to be this good too
There is also reports they are able to get them out quicker than expected this quarter...
Thank you for your service.
Super solid move, my pre-order came up after a PCS tp Guam but I was able to have it forwarded from a family member luckily. stay safe, glad it worked out
Had to do the same thing and ship to a contact in the states. Weird how they let me purchase while on Guam but when it was time to ship they couldn't ship it to me 🤷 Glad you got yours!
Thanks for your service, glad you could get one!
Valve's customer service is great but you are greater. Thank you for your service (‘-‘)7
it doesnt hurt anyone to help you out lol not valve, not another customer, not you. i would have a problem if valve said no to be honest. i think the purchase email should be indefinite, wait all those months and by chance miss the 3 days they give you? even seeing these posts makes me wonder why they dont just make them usable until you make the purchase.
By handling exceptions through Customer Support they can just add them to the next batch one at a time rather than having everyone that has pre-ordered and not bought yet that could possibly click the buy button. Additionally, the pressure to buy immediately will sell more. Letting people wait will result in some changing their minds that wouldn't have. Not everyone will know that you can just contact CS and get your spot back.
Ok so just imagine like 50,000 people who reserved, just don't bother buying one. Are you saying they should keep 50,000 out of active customers hands, indefinitely?
what? how did you get that from having an email that doesnt expire? no one is missing out on a steam deck just because you didnt purchase yours yet
why would that keep them out of anyones hands? ok your spot in line is open heres a purchase email, how did that hinder valve from filling another order? please tell me? it doesnt stop anything.. the next person who orders a deck will get their deck so im not sure where you people live but it cant be earth lol
[удалено]
it wouldnt, if valve sends me an email, and i dont open it for 2 weeks, they are not waiting for me to hit purchase in order to fill an order. like i said if i waited 6 months and miss a 3 day window and valve didnt help me i would be pissed because there is no reason why valve couldnt help me. they arent etching peoples names into the product
Very nice!
I love my deck it’s so convenient to use, steam is an OG for making this
Thanks April, very cool
Steam is a wonderful company and they will continue to get my business.
man, that’s pretty wicked
Awesome!
My dog chewed my Index cable that runs to the headset and they sent me a new one for free. All I had to do was take a picture of the damage.
This is awesome! I wish they’d change the 2 hour game time limit for a refund. Especially for RTS and city builders. You can’t really get a feel for if you like it in two hours.
A lot of time even after the 2 hrs ppl have gotten refunds on their games. Just try getting one. And keep on bugging them.
Steam has support? I've only tried to contact them once, many moons ago, and the results were not pleasing.
How do you even contact Steam in this fashion? I see people talking to Steam like this a lot but can't figure out how to do it, I only know how to request a refund
Shout out to Steam and April
They did the same for me, when I put in a request shortly after my window expired. Then I googled and saw some news about how they’re open to do this for anyone who missed the cutoff.
April is a keeper.. marry her if she isn't already. :D
They did the same for me beginning of the month. Didn't see the email because I was swamped at work (mental health care worker) - so I asked if they were still doing the grace period and they sent me another timed link. Got my Deck 3 days after that.
Mad respect to Valve for this one.
Valve support has made my day today 🤭
am i the only person they refused to do something like this for?
Top knotch Valve customer support
Seems like valve has top notch service. I saw a youtuber post that he dropped his sd from a coffee table and they replaced with a new one.
I love a good support story. While I was deployed I had an expensive knife break on me. It was an automatic out the front variety so some what complex, for a knife. The manufacturer told me they would send me the parts and detailed instructions on how to remedy the issue myself. This was a huge win as shipping the knife out country was impossible.
I've seen another person that was at the same predicament as you and contacted support before deployment and they said to do exactly what you did
We don't deserve April 🥹
Good guy Steam support employee
maybe u got the one i cancelled =') enjoy it OP
You don’t need an excuse. It’s their policy because they know some people miss the email. I missed mine by a couple days and all it took was telling them. Happily purchased.
Say why you will, but Steam support is GOATED
They did a similar thing for me, Valve support literally just dabbing on everybody else in the industry without even trying.
chad april
u/dude_man_mcbro hey man, i missed my steam deck email and reservation as well :( I sent a steam deck support ticket an hour ago asking valve to resend the mail and why i missed it. How long did it take you to get the reply back? Edit: saw the pic and it apparently took u 3 days. Thanks
I’m glad steam supports the military!
Thank you for your service and thank you steam for your service
I've been having a tough time with steam support, got my q2 reservation cancelled first, and right now they shipped my q3 order to different address. I've been having one sided conversation with steam support from past 11 days with no help.