Exclusive to NWN, Iris Ophelia's ongoing take on etiquette and ethics in virtual spaces
Shopping etiquette is a massive topic to tackle, so this is the second part of a two-part shopping manners bonanza! You can find the first part here if you missed it, but otherwise let's cut right to the chase...
When am I NOT entitled to a refund for something?
This depends almost entirely on the store owner's policy. The vast majority of shops in SL will only offer refunds for transferable, no-copy items that you can physically return to the store owner. If you suspect that you may want to return something, check the store's policy or contact the owner for clarification before purchasing anything. The only thing you are really entitled to is to vote with your wallet-- if you don't agree with their policies, don't give them your money.
Keep reading for more shopping etiquette!
Shopping seen from a merchant point-of-view; What do you tell customers that request support after having just bought the product and not even unpacked it, leave alone reading the manual?
If you've included instructions with the item, ask them to unpack it and review the information that you've included, and tell them that if they have any further questions that you'll be glad to answer them afterwards. Of course many people will push you for more one-on-one guidance, and it can be tempting to be snippy with them, but try your best not to. If it's very clear that they are asking questions that would be answered in the instructions, consider excusing yourself to "go AFK" for a bit. It's not the most honest approach, but it will give them time to properly review to instructions, and it will give you a bit of a breather (since it sure won't help to lose your temper).
Is it really so bad to ask for L$ when I don't have enough for something I want? It's only a few cents so why do people get so bitchy?
The problem here is that if it really is only a few cents, you should have no problem providing it yourself. People get irritable at others begging for L$ for many reasons, but mainly it's the idea that someone who can afford a computer and an internet connection that are both capable of running Second Life should also be able to afford just a few cents. For some, it also speaks to how seriously you take Second Life, and generally people who take it seriously enough to invest their money into it will not be receptive to people who take it lightly enough to beg for others' money instead. Even if you aren't interested in spending real money on virtual goods there are more freebies, sales, hunts, and group gifts available now than ever before. Find a few good freebie groups and blogs and you'll get by easily without earning as much bitchy vitriol from fellow shoppers.
Submit your virtual etiquette dilemmas to ophelia.iris [at] gmail [dot] com, or submit anonymously to the Metaverse Manners Formspring. Be sure to include a pseudonym (i.e. "WTF from the Welcome Area") so you know when I'm addressing your query!
Iris Ophelia (Janine Hawkins IRL) has been featured in the New York Times and has spoken about SL-based design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan and with pop culture/fashion maven Johanna Blakley.
With business my personal business offers multiple layers such as a telephone number, twitter address, email and live chat support and for out of world customers ticket support. We offer refunds when we feel we have tried everything to resolve the problem or issue, we also offer a SLA for our products giving additional time for people to use the service.
Posted by: Oliver | Monday, February 21, 2011 at 03:06 AM