IMVU Customer Service Issues?

Lately, there is a new trend: people are getting absorbed by 3D Chat programs. One popular such program is called IMVU, developed by a company named IMVU. At the time of this writing, there are serious customer service issues that need to be addressed, but it seems that IMVU Administration prefers to roll out new features rather than fix existing problems. Many people who use the IMVU system believe that the company's future hangs in the balance. Proposed solutions to IMVU's problems could become a new happy beginning for users and the company, or in a worst case scenario: mark the end of the website's popularity. I am hoping to touch on a few of these issues in this article with the hope of bringing forth a positive change.

I've had the pleasure of being one of the users that absolutely adored IMVU. I was first introduced to it by a good friend of mine. I found it to be quite interesting and enticingly addictive. New users are given free credits to start off in the world of IMVU, to purchase virtual clothes for their avatar, or to purchase virtual rooms and furniture from the ever-growing IMVU catalog which is filled with interesting products made by the Developers -- IMVU's user-based content providers. My initial free credits, also known as Promotional credits ("Predits" for short), got used up quickly and as many new IMVU users have experienced, I became Predit-hungry! I tried like mad to get promotional credits from left and right. My avatar needed things and I loved shopping for those things! I found that I could obtain free Predits in various ways; however, they were much harder to obtain than purchased credits.

As time went by, I came to learn that the Developers were spending their own full-valued, hard-earned credits to submit their products to the IMVU catalog. IMVU charges Developers a 500 credit fee to submit new items to the IMVU catalog, and that's not counting the "retail markup" fee and other developer expenses. I also learned that products purchased with Predits didn't help Developers much. Instead of getting their fair share in sales, Developers earn Dev Tokens for any of their wares that are purchased with Predits. In this way, IMVU forces their Developer base to share the burden of the company's marketing costs. This situation made me feel very sympathetic toward the Developers and I ceased buying things with Predits. As unfair as the system seemed, I decided to become a Developer to earn my own credits and see what I could learn.

Along the way, I became aware of something called the Access Pass. This is a special pass sold by IMVU to adults 18 years of age or older. The Access Pass, often referred to by users as the "Adult Pass", gives the adult user access to items sold in the restricted section of the catalog, items that IMVU deems unsuitable for people under 18. I learned that many products of an explicit sexual nature were offered from the restricted section of the catalog. Personally, I was reluctant to purchase the $20 Access Pass; I didn't see a need for it, but I clearly understood what was attracting other users to it. Then I learned that users with the Access Pass could perform sexual actions on my avatar without my permission and without my knowing it! Worse still, these users could utilize the system's Snapshot feature to take pics of my avatar being molested, and then post the pics for all to see in their public access galleries. I couldn't see such actions because I lacked the Access Pass. I did not like this situation, so as the passive person I can sometimes be, instead of arguing, I just bought the pass. But I thought: oh, what a dirty trick IMVU uses to get people like me to buy the Access Pass!

Months after I had purchased the Access Pass, IMVU administration decided that sexually-oriented products were no longer allowed in their system. They disabled all the adults-only sexually oriented products, products made by my Developer peers back when it was understood that such products were allowable under the AP system. These were items purchased by thousands of people using credits paid for with real money. As one user sarcastically put it: "Isn't it comforting to know that a company can sell you items only to take them back from you after you've purchased them? That is some Grade A customer service right there!" Overnight, the adult themed products were effectively taken from users' inventories. This sparked outrage among the adult user base who cried foul and screamed for IMVU to reverse their decision. IMVU Administration stood firm in their anti-sex stance, refusing to give in. The customers demanded refunds for many days until finally IMVU caved-in and offered a refund of... PREDITS! Customers really started howling then, so IMVU reversed that plan and finally began giving full credit refunds. These refunds are still incomplete at the time of this writing. Worse still, for those users who want their money back, the resale value of credits is approximately one-third of the original value of credits purchased directly from IMVU.

Amazingly, IMVU Administation still actively and vigorously sells their Access Pass to new users. Newbies don't know that the company has gutted the adult content from the system. When anyone uses IMVU's search engine to find adult sexually-oriented products in the IMVU catalog, a page is displayed that offers the Access Pass for $19.95. That's very misleading to users. "It's false advertising and it's blatant fraud," said one disgruntled customer.

The IMVU community has come out in the forums and voiced their objections. Many members of the community have suggested abolishing the Access Pass entirely, since IMVU is not delivering to customers what the customers were led to believe was being offered. Some customers have suggested that the site be split in two; one for adults and one for teens, such as IMVU's competitor Second Life has done. Many viable suggestions have been made, but the company doesn't seem to care. They dismiss all the good ideas and continue to sell the Access Pass. The IMVU forum has become a hot spot for many users. Normally, the IMVU forum is a great place to meet people, participate in contests, get the latest IMVU information, ask questions and get assistance, etc. There's even an Access Pass section of the forum that allows Access Pass holders to talk and express any concerns they may have. Most company forums are used to offset customer service requests and unburden costumer service personnel. But IMVU's forums are now more like a Spin Zone where the company defends its draconian edicts by locking threads, removing threads, banning users and silencing all dissenting voices. One of the company's managers even went on record to state that IMVU's customers are not afforded free speech on IMVU's website.

There are pros and cons to being part of the IMVU community, but many members are becoming frustrated with IMVU's continued corporate greed and their harsh treatment of the same customers and developers that are ultimately keeping the IMVU website going and their business afloat.