4 ms·

Since they are ignoring your online requests, have you considered simply visiting them in person? I understand that's not an option for many people but your pro

by meritt 9y ago

Since they are ignoring your online requests, have you considered simply visiting them in person? I understand that's not an option for many people but your profile indicates you're geographically close. Bring a lawyer for good measure.

benbreen 9y ago
I thought about this but decided it could be construed as creepy, or even harassment. I have to imagine that there are some crazy people out there who are mad at Coinbase and it could be taken the wrong way. I have tried to be as polite and understanding as possible and not get mad throughout this whole process - even when the customer service rep I waited two hours to talk to told me that the mere act of replying to an open ticket causes a new ticket to be created, and then demotes the old ticket to the bottom of the priority list! (That was absolutely Kafkaesque). But honestly, I have been so disappointed by the utter lack of concern or sympathy among Coinbase's employees. I can follow them on Twitter and watch them gloating about the enormous profits they and their company are making. Meanwhile hundreds, probably even thousands of people are waiting for weeks and months for basic help. It has been a source of significant anxiety and stress for me to be honest.
- aphextron 9y ago
  You're being taken for a ride. This company's entire business model is predicated upon holding your money as long as physically possible. They have zero incentive to help you, and there is pretty much zero legal recourse beyond small claims court. I would be standing in their stupid shiny SOMA lobby harassing every single employee I could find until someone got off their ass and made the two keystrokes it takes to fix your problem. This dystopic world of casting humans off as liabilities to be queued in a chatbot ticketing system once you've received their money is really getting old.
  - benbreen 9y ago
    I mean, I kind of agree with you, but honestly, would you really want to be the crazy guy yelling in a lobby? Or the employee getting yelled at for something you didn't do? I'm not a confrontational or angry person and would far prefer someone who reads this and works for Coinbase to just reach out to me and make it right. Then again, if another month goes by with no action, I really might end up being the guy marching around with a sign in lobby, who knows...
    - ridgeguy 9y ago
      Take a lawyer with you. Mutter "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and a few other phrases s/he may give you. To me, it sounds like you're treating Coinbase as a friend who's hit a tough patch, rather than as a business. Requiring them to perform as a business does not make you "the crazy guy yelling in a lobby". It makes you a customer.
      - aphextron 9y ago
        >Requiring them to perform as a business does not make you "the crazy guy yelling in a lobby". It makes you a customer. Precisely. The inculcation of the former attitude among the masses has been a huge victory for this wave of monopolistic industries. Companies like Google have effectively trained humans to act like software bugs.
        benbreen 9y ago
        Huh, food for thought. I may end up writing a blog post about this whole ordeal, and I think that's an interesting takeaway from it. "Training humans to act like software bugs" in particular is an interesting turn of phrase. Thanks. Anyway, to be honest -- and this reflects not so much my unfamiliarity with the law but my quasi-familiarity with it, having worked as a legal assistant -- I was actually afraid of bringing lawyers into the mix. At some level, I feared that this newly monopolistic, venture-backed company would be more than willing to see me in court and would somehow manage to win, leaving me with crazy lawyer fees. It's sad that this was my train of thought, but in retrospect, it's why I took such a weirdly friendly, almost abject tone with them throughout the whole process. I have known and worked for enough lawyers to know that once you open that Pandora's box with a well-funded adversary, things can get unpredictable.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]

by meritt 9y ago

benbreen 9y ago

I thought about this but decided it could be construed as creepy, or even harassment. I have to imagine that there are some crazy people out there who are mad at Coinbase and it could be taken the wrong way. I have tried to be as polite and understanding as possible and not get mad throughout this whole process - even when the customer service rep I waited two hours to talk to told me that the mere act of replying to an open ticket causes a new ticket to be created, and then demotes the old ticket to the bottom of the priority list! (That was absolutely Kafkaesque). But honestly, I have been so disappointed by the utter lack of concern or sympathy among Coinbase's employees. I can follow them on Twitter and watch them gloating about the enormous profits they and their company are making. Meanwhile hundreds, probably even thousands of people are waiting for weeks and months for basic help. It has been a source of significant anxiety and stress for me to be honest.

aphextron 9y ago
You're being taken for a ride. This company's entire business model is predicated upon holding your money as long as physically possible. They have zero incentive to help you, and there is pretty much zero legal recourse beyond small claims court. I would be standing in their stupid shiny SOMA lobby harassing every single employee I could find until someone got off their ass and made the two keystrokes it takes to fix your problem. This dystopic world of casting humans off as liabilities to be queued in a chatbot ticketing system once you've received their money is really getting old.
- benbreen 9y ago
  I mean, I kind of agree with you, but honestly, would you really want to be the crazy guy yelling in a lobby? Or the employee getting yelled at for something you didn't do? I'm not a confrontational or angry person and would far prefer someone who reads this and works for Coinbase to just reach out to me and make it right. Then again, if another month goes by with no action, I really might end up being the guy marching around with a sign in lobby, who knows...
  - ridgeguy 9y ago
    Take a lawyer with you. Mutter "intentional infliction of emotional distress" and a few other phrases s/he may give you. To me, it sounds like you're treating Coinbase as a friend who's hit a tough patch, rather than as a business. Requiring them to perform as a business does not make you "the crazy guy yelling in a lobby". It makes you a customer.
    - aphextron 9y ago
      >Requiring them to perform as a business does not make you "the crazy guy yelling in a lobby". It makes you a customer. Precisely. The inculcation of the former attitude among the masses has been a huge victory for this wave of monopolistic industries. Companies like Google have effectively trained humans to act like software bugs.
      - benbreen 9y ago
        Huh, food for thought. I may end up writing a blog post about this whole ordeal, and I think that's an interesting takeaway from it. "Training humans to act like software bugs" in particular is an interesting turn of phrase. Thanks. Anyway, to be honest -- and this reflects not so much my unfamiliarity with the law but my quasi-familiarity with it, having worked as a legal assistant -- I was actually afraid of bringing lawyers into the mix. At some level, I feared that this newly monopolistic, venture-backed company would be more than willing to see me in court and would somehow manage to win, leaving me with crazy lawyer fees. It's sad that this was my train of thought, but in retrospect, it's why I took such a weirdly friendly, almost abject tone with them throughout the whole process. I have known and worked for enough lawyers to know that once you open that Pandora's box with a well-funded adversary, things can get unpredictable.
deleted 9y ago
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