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Pokemon GO has had a rough few days since the release of its #RediscoverGO campaign, as backlash has grown against the overhauled visuals, particularly those concerning player avatars. u/TheLiterateCat recently shared on the game's subreddit that they sought support to fix an avatar issue, but they did not receive an appropriate response. In fact, they were ultimately sent a message mentioning they had violated the game's Terms of Service.
"In-game support doesn't answer anymore and won't close convo. I contacted in-game support on April 18 to ask for a refund for the now ugly looking Power Pose. Of course that was denied, instead I got told to "use the sliders", which didn't solve the issue at all... 5 days have passed since First Contact. I have tried several times to get support's attention to close the convo properly. They don't answer but won't close the convo either. And as it's is still open, l'm now unable to report any other issue." - u/TheLiterateCat, r/PokemonGO, April 24, 2024
u/TheLiterateCat stated that after sending multiple reports of their issue with the appearance of the avatar Power Pose customization, Pokemon GO sent little more than automated responses, but didn't close the reports either so the player couldn't make additional reports. The player eventually received a notification that they had violated the Terms of Service for "using unapproved methods of gameplay."
Automated bots are far from uncommon for in-game support across a wide variety of video games, but the fact that Niantic's support would not close the report and instead leveled u/TheLiterateCat with a Terms of Service violation is deeply frustrating for them and likely other players as well. All in all, it appears to be another blow to Niantic's credibility in a litany of PR blows in recent months.
Pokemon GO players in the comments shared their condolences, but couldn't offer any solid solutions. Many remarked that they had run into issues with chatbots giving canned responses from the in-game support function, and some said they had given up on expecting any form of assistance. Considering the recent Niantic backlashes, a dysfunctional support feature is the last thing the game needs.
With seemingly no resolution in sight, it's understandable that u/TheLiterateCat doesn't want to pursue the issue further for fear of getting banned from Pokemon GO. Most Redditors on u/TheLiterateCat's thread agree that the lack of communication from Niantic beyond automated responses is a bad look.
Automated and overall lack of support responses continue to upset Pokemon GO players
While u/TheLiterateCat's issue with Pokemon GO support is undoubtedly frustrating, players have been leveling criticism toward the game's overall quality of customer support for quite some time now. This includes a lack of adequate response to unintended Pokemon GO bans, an inability to address specific issues, and generalized blanket responses from AI chatbots.
While Niantic likely has real human beings answering some support tickets, it's no surprise that the company also employs AI due to the size of its player base and the resulting volume of reports and ban appeals. However, when it comes to very specific issues that players need help with, these chatbots often fall short of expectations, which leads to trainers becoming frustrated with the support process.
A lack of response and inability to close support tickets is likely even more aggravating, as players can't open additional reports or support tickets if they need to, and based on u/TheLiterateCat's experience, the support chatbots seem unable to close tickets in some cases. As much as some players criticize Pokemon GO's gameplay changes, functioning support is the bedrock of a game.
It's unclear as to why the in-game support has ended up in this state, but it doesn't reflect well on the developer overall. Even if Niantic is dealing with a large volume of reports due to the recent Pokemon GO avatar graphics update backlash, the amount of revenue the mobile title generates is more than enough to ensure a serviceable support system. To that end, Niantic may need to re-examine its processes.
