EA; the Worst Company in America

Credit do to DruscillaPenney on the forums for saying this in regards to EA's worst company in the USA status.

"EA will ignore this poll. They don't care about their customers one little bit. Never have, never will. But here's some things you should know. 

The Consumerist is a very popular well regarded web site associated with Consumer Reports and they mainly post articles about companies with little regards for their customers. Unlike some gaming sites that continually sing EA's praises, they accept no advertising. 

Some mention Bank of America should have won. Bank of America has won in previous years along with many other large companies. And I'm sure they will be there next year. EA has always managed to fly under the radar because they are "only a gaming company". This is despite the fact that they are one of the worst companies in the U.S. If any other company pulled some of the shenanigans that EA does, it would be front page news. 

Those who think this result was solely because of Sims Players are badly mistaken. As a matter of fact. On the other hand, some gamers have to share some of the blame for supporting companies with such horrendous business practices. I gave up on the Sims two expansion packs ago and haven't even installed the last one I bought. I will never buy another EA Game until they begin to show that they care about those who purchase their games. 

Their response to this award proves they have learned nothing. Most of this can be traced to the leader of the band so to speak. It's pretty bad when your only response is to point the finger elsewhere and say "but gee, those guys are worse." 

EA may be a gaming company, but their business practices have infected the whole gaming industry. Quality and Customer service are not in EA's vocabulary. 

And last, they can lock this thread. That's always their answer. But sooner or later this total disregard for consumers will catch up to them. 

And one last thing. The Consumerist actually does award the trophies. Only one company has accepted it with the attitude that they would improve. We'll see if EA is man enough to accept theirs when they send it out.  "

SnowyMist7 said this: 

"I find it ironic how we are using their forums to talk trash about them. But nevertheless, there's a reason why they won't take the forums down. No matter how tempting it may be to get rid of these things, they can't afford to. You know why? Because it's marketing. They need to keep up their image, as well. If they took the forums down, they would loose most of their base. Because EA is like a drug, and they know it. 

We can talk all we want on here, who cares, it's just that-talk! The internet hasn't actually done us any good, has it? Well, until now. We voted EA the worst company, but what's a gaming giant like them going to do about something that only a handful of people know about in the first place? They'll maybe put out a press release-maybe. But more likely they'll brush it off and go back to doing what they do best-selling you (us) stuff.

Because we are addicted. The game is cool- there's nothing really like it out there. They use it to reel you in. They include money and "free simpoints" to buy stuff on here... and then you discover the exchange and the forums and you're hooked. No-reeled in. You make friends and you're assimilated into the community. And that's why a lot of us don't leave- because we've made a second home here. We can't quit because we're addicted. We keep buying they're products because we still have a little bit of hope, that someday, any-day, EA will repent. Maybe it will be the next time? They never do.

So when one person actually manages to get off EA (as a drug), it doesn't make much of a difference because there will always be another 12 year old waiting to be sucked in. And that's why they don't care about us. When you're first starting out, you know that one customer could be the difference between success and failure. Well now EA's got millions, and they can afford to loose one or two...or fifty. 

The only thing that's going to get them off they're fat ****'s and into action is to bring them into the public eye. Yea, the people who don't give a **** about video games. When you're in the business to make money, the logical way to get back at them is to take their money away, right? Well, yes, eventually. But all we really need to do is to make them scared...and to make them think that we're going to take away they're money. We might actually succeed, but the point is to make an impact; to remind them that we're real people. 

We can't make them get off their high horses until we get off ours and protest what they're doing. Giving them the award for worst business isn't going to last long. 

Just look around: look at the occupy protests. Look at women's suffrage (though that was a rather long time ago). Look at, even, the Tea Party. They all got up off their ***** and did something: however small (or large). We can do something too. We need to show them that we're people. And we won't stand for this any longer. 

So go ahead, make a Twitter tag. Call it #DownWithEAGames. but go, yes-physically go- to one, or many, of EA's building's. Bring banners, shout: WE ARE PEOPLE, TOO! AND WE DO DESERVE SOME RESPECT. Maybe if we make news, or spread the word outside of our community, then maybe we can make a difference and bring change. 

There IS something else we can do besides not buying the games: WE CAN DO SOMETHING! WE CAN PROTEST! WE ARE WHAT THEY'VE GOT NOW, AND WE NEED TO SHOW THEM THAT WE MEAN BUSINESS!" 

Please Spread the Word! Please share this. We CAN do something! 

The Grace Lee Mansion

*To my other readers, this is something for a comp., so if you are uninterested, just keep scrolling :P*

The Grace Lee Mansion. Thats what the sign says.

I was a reporter, reporting for the Suney Post. My name? Julia Willows, and this was my first assignment. It was simple enough; interview the family in the Grace Lee Mansion, see what you can find out. If my report was good, It'd go to print. If not, well, lets just say I might not be working for the Suney Post in a couple of days.

"The house was tudor style, built of stone and mortar, with wooded doors and window frames. " I decided that wasn't the best way to start off my article. No, it would be sure to get me fired. Revisions later, I decided, and kept writing. The rest is as follows:

Mrs. Lee, of the Lee family who resided in the Grace Lee Mansion, greeted me at the door. "Hello. I'm Maria Lee, and may I be the first to say; welcome to our abode." She was a kind person, with dark brown hair tied back in a pony tail and wearing a purple house dress. Her heels clacked on the pavement as she turned and held to door for me. I thanked her and she began the tour.

"So this here's our front hall, and if you could be mindful of dirt; I like to keep a clean house." She spoke with a slight southern accent that didn't seem out of place amid the soft browns and pastels of the house. Mrs. Lee was still talking, however, and I tuned back in just as she said, "Now, those stairs lead upstairs, where the bedrooms and some other things are, but first I'd like to show you the part of the house that I don't usually go into any detail with the guests. If you'll follow me through this archway..." And we turned the corner, loosing sight of the living room. 

"Now," she continued, "that there is the laundry hamper, but next to it is the door leading to the garage, and that first door is the guest bathroom. There's really nothing to see in there, but on the left we have the laundry room. Which is a bit more interesting, so lets go in there." 

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention, those bins are where we keep the trash and recycle."

"And- Oh, there's granny. You know what, I just remembered I forgot to put away some books, and I wouldn't have any of your photographs less than perfect. Grace, would you mind taking it from here and showing Miss. Willows around until I get back?"

The white haired lady spoke, "Well, Maria, you do realize I have things to do around the house too." She nodded pointedly at her laundry. 

"Thankyou, Grandma Grace!" And Mrs. Lee was gone. 

"And done." Said Grandma Grace, "Well, Miss. Willows, I see you have had the pleasure of meeting my daughter in law. She thinks she runs the place, but let me tell you, I'm the real person in charge. You don't keep a great big house like this going by yourself-unless your me, of course. I was here first, and don't you forget it. The house is even named after me! Grace Lee Mansion; thats me, Grace Lee. This," she gestured with her hands, "is all the work of my husband. And not just the laundry room, either-"

"Yes, thank you, Granny," interrupted Mrs. Lee, "I'm sure Mrs. Willows is a very busy person and we shouldn't keep her for too long. So, let me just get this in the hamper for you, Granny, and we'll be on our way." Grandma Grace closed the door to the laundry room with a hmph. 

"You can do that yourself."

"Well, I am sorry about that. As you may have realized we don't really get along. Granny didn't want me to marry Andrew, Mr. Lee, you see, but more on that later. I want to show you the better parts of the house, now." I followed her back out into the hall, and into the great room.

"So, this is the dinning room. And those pots were made by my husband, while he was away in Japan doing pottery. So, they're very treasured in our household. The vase behind me, aswel." She waved vaguely behind her, and turned her attention to a child at her feet. "Oh, and this is our daughter, Sara, Sara Lee. Do you want to say hi, Sara?" The little girl, who had been playing with a stuffed bunny, ducked behind the couch before I could completely snap a picture, and a muffled 'No' could be herd from under there. 

"Well, I guess not right now, but there'll be plenty of time for that in the interviews." She pointed at me. "Now, you're standing in the living room, right now, so If you'd like to switch places with me, you can get a better picture." 

"There you are. Well, I'd be lying if I said we spent a lot of time here. It's not much, even though I've done what I could with it; Granny insisted that we put up those paintings by her late husband. And while we've honored her wishes, I'm beginning to regret it." She pursed her lips for a moment, forgetting I was there, then suddenly spoke as if a new thought had occurred to her. "Andrew spends most of his time in the garage, working on his Prius, or at the studio working on his sculpting. When I'm not cooking or cleaning or keeping little Sara in order, I'm doing social things like this all day, and there's never been much time to find a use for this room. Anyway, lets go see the kitchen." 

"So, through here is the kitchen. It's really quite a lovely place to cook." 

"Ah, I needed that." She said after plopping herself down in a chair. "Now, this is really handy because I can cook and watch Sara do her homework, at the same time. It's also a really lovely place to just sit in the mornings and have a cup of coffee. Just relax before the day starts. 

*Sorry for this photo, I have a mac, so I have to do screenshots and my tab button wasn't working properly for half of these.* 

"The last thing on this floor would be the garage, and the porch, which is more of a back door, seeing as we haven't put anything in yet."

"Anyway, there's nothing really left to see down here, so why don't we go on upstairs and I can show you the second floor!"

"That sounds good!" I replied, and we returned to the front hall, where the stairs were located. 

"Now, this is the upstairs hall, and behind you is a reading nook, but we'll get to that later. For now, lets start in the room farthest from the stairs, which got cut out of your picture, I see." She gave me a disapproving look as she opened the door for me.

"Yes, well, this is Granny's room. You can see that she's a bit old fashioned, but I suppose that all comes with being from a different century."

"It's a good thing she's still doing laundry too, or she wouldn't have let me in here in the first place. She'd have insisted on showing you around herself; fancies herself the mistress of the house, you know...."

The room was, as Mrs. Lee said, old fashioned and sparsly decorated, it was the oldest part of the house, however, and seemed to hold the most secrets. 

"She does like to pen novels occasionally at her desk, but other than that, the room doesn't get used much. Well, lets move on to the next room."

"Right, so this is the upstairs bathroom, Granny and Sara share it, and Grace manages to keep it pretty clean, despite Sara. A fun fact: the tiles in this bathroom are from Romania and they're very rare; handcut too."

"Now, this is Sara's room. And she's been going through sort of a pirate theme, and we thought we'd indulge her just a little bit, so we got her a new bed that's like a ship - but pink, because she loves the color pink. 

"Now, we've only got one more official room to go through, and that's the master suite, which brings us to the final door in the hallway." 

"Ah, this bed has been my pride as joy! Custom made, with all the right colors and woods; all the way from Romania as well. It came as a set with the dresser, nightstands, and mirror. Uhg, I was so glad to see the horrible thing Grandma Grace called a bed. She threw a fit, but is was worth it. The pillows are changed every year; we bring in new pillows, but with the same cases, which as silk, by the way."

"Same as the coverlet, but the sheets, however, are the softest cotton and cashmeir anyone could find. It is just the best falling asleep in them, like laying on a floating cloud. Enough about the bed, though-" BEEP BEEP BEEP 

"Oh, lord, that must be the dryer! I don't know where Grace is, but I suppose I'll have to take the clothes out. Can't leave these things for too long, you know, my sheets will get wrinkly. Anyway, there's Andrew, my husband, and he'll show you the rest of the way through." 

"Hello, Mr. Lee, I'm Julia Willows. Your wife has been showing me the house for the post."

"Ah yes, Miss Willows, I'm Mr. Lee, but you can call me Andrew. I think the only thing left is the bathroom. Now, my wife can go on and on about the curtains, and the porcelain, and the counters, but I think and sometimes just looking at it for a minute or two is enough, don't you agree?" 

"Of course," I said.

"I was about to head out for a round of golf with my mates, so I can't stay and show you the rest, but if you look down the hall, there's the reading nook, and there's probably something for you to read while your waiting. 

"Thanks, I hope your game of golf goes well..."

...And he was gone; down the stairs, the sound of the garage door slamming echoing throughout the house.

*And last but not least, before the interviews, here are some arial pics of the house.* 

I sat down with the family of Grace Mansion later that day. Up first in the interviews was Grace Lee, or Grandma Grace. 

"So, you were telling me something before; about the house." 

"Ah yes," Said Grace, getting into the swing of things again, "Legend has it, that when my Husband, Manning Lee, built this house, he built it over an ancient caverns, that rumbled from time to time and caused earthquakes. They said the spirits were upset, and they had to calm down. Luckily, Manning built the house here, out of the very stone the caverns were made of, and that appeased them. So now, the spirits live within the walls of this house, and it is forever more protected against bad luck, and bad spirits. Of course, it's just a legend." She winked at me. "Anyway, About me, now. I own this house, and did you know I can't go a day without exercising? Well I can't, even though I'm 75 years old. Lets see, I believe in saving the environment, but not wasting money, which is partly why us Lee's still have our fortune today, and I'm very neat. I can't stand to have anything out of place. Now, I don't think this part's true, but everyone says I snore. I don't know where they get this, because I can't hear a thing once my head hits the pillow, but I thought I'd put that out there if anyone wants to comment on it. Oh, and I love me a good fried peanut butter and banana sandwich." 

"My name is Andrew Lee, and I like to golf."

"I sense you're a man of few words, Mr. Lee. Am I right?"

"You are. I like to go to my studio and paint. I also like sculpting and pottery. I want a larger family, but we'll have to wait until Mum dies so we can use her bedroom. Just joking. I've never really been goog at it, but I enjoy playing the guitar."

"Favorite food, color, anything?"

"My wife's pancakes are the best. She makes a mean grape sauce. Other than that, I suppose I like playing latin music on the guitar, and the color yellow has always struck me as majestic." 

"What do you do for a living?" 

"I sculpt, mostly. Some painting, too. I like to tinker with my Prius; trying my hand at inventing. It's not much, but our family fortune doesn't need it to be much."

"Mmmm, speaking of fortunes...care to elaborate on how your family made yours?"

"Well, My father was the one who hit it big- Gold - in the Sunset Valley Gold Rush. That was before I was born, though. Mum says that when they first came here from Riverview they lived in what was just barely a shack, which is why she keeps everything so clean now; so she won't be reminded of it. Anyway, Dad's company found a vein of gold, and we got rich. You've heard the story about the house, right. Well, I always thought it has some merit; when I was a kid, I thought I heard whispering from the walls. But I guess we all have to grow up, and I did. I met the love of my life, which I never thought would happen because I'm just an artist, with rich parents, and who would want to love somebody like that?"

"I think you've been very lucky, Mr. Lee.

"Andrew, please. It's Andrew."

"Well," I said, "It's only your daughter after this, Mrs. Lee! Besides, I feel like I already know you from the tour."

"Hahaha, yes, me too. I'm so glad you came. We've been delighted with the opportunity to share our heritage with the folks in Sunset Valley."

"So can you tell me a bit about yourself?" 

"Yes. Um, lets see. I was born and raised in Starlight Shores, but I went abroad for college, which is where I met Andrew." She smiled. "I promise I didn't go for him because of his fortune, I didn't even know he had one at the time. All I saw was a tall, handsome boy with dark hair that hid his eyes. And you could say that I gave him a haircut," She laughed, "and made him see the world in an entirely different way." 

"That's a very touching story, Mrs. Lee. So when did your little girl come around?"

"It was just after we'd gotten back from Champs de la Sims on our 7 year anniversary, and we decided that we wanted a little boy or girl - just one, and about a year later, we found ourselves with little Sara! Of course, now she's not so little, and we had to bring Granny round to the idea of sharing a bathroom, but I think it's the best thing that's happened to our little family. If you ask me, I'd say she's even glad to have the girl around." 

"Yes, the elder Mrs. Lee may seem a little harsh on the outside, but off the record, I can tell she has a good heart." I told Maria Lee confidently. "So, tell me a little more about your interests."

"I originally went to school to be a business woman, maybe go into sales or something, because I always knew that's what I wanted to be. But after I met Andrew, well, and he says I am a bit dramatic, I just lost that purpose in life, that I had had before. And he filled that gap; became my new purpose. So now, as I told you before, I take social calls a keep the house clean. Or help granny keep the house clean. I absolutely love classical music - and the color violet, although Grandma Grace likes green, and she chose our color scheme. Anyway, I can't stand the way she snores at night, it's like sirens are going off and it's a wonder she doesn't wake the whole neighborhood up. Anyway, I do like to cook, although my favorite is breakfast because I get to serve Fruit Parafait. "

"I can tell you two are very much in love, even though you don't see each other much."

"Yes," said Mr. Lee, "I think that she's beautiful, and wonderful, and always know what to do in sticky situations."

"Oh, well, I wouldn't -"

"Shh! And I love her very, very, much." 

"How 'bout a kiss for the camera?"

"What do you say, love?" Said Mr. Lee, "A kiss?" 

They obliged, and I moved onto Sara Lee, for the next interview. 

"Sara Lee, is it?"

"Yes it is. I already know what you're going to say. You're going to ask me about what I like and to tell you about myself." She said with a little proud smirk.

"That's very good. You're right, I was going to ask you those things. So, would you like to answer them?"

"My name is Sara Lee, and one day this house will be named after me. Also Grandma, but her name can come last. I want to get a dog, and name it lucille, but Mom and Dad won't let me. They say that it's too much of a bother, and that one child is enough. Personally, I'd like to have a bigger family, and one that only eats vegitarian food - because we don't want to hurt the animals. Daddy agrees, but Mom is happy with just me- and her friends." Sara said matter-o-factly. "Between you and me, I think mommy can't wait for grandma to die, only because she wants to use the spare bedroom to start a business or something, but Grandma Grace doesn't look like she's going anywhere anytime soon. And that's the way I like it."

"So, what's your favorite color? Your Mom said you like pink."

"Oh I don't just like pink, I LOVE pink! Pink and country music and I won't be going anywhere. No, no, nope!" She added, shaking her head with each 'no'. 

"Haha, alright, well, we'd better bring your parents back in here."

"You have a lovely family, Mr. and Mrs. Lee." I said, in parting, "I enjoyed touring your house and getting to know you very much, and you can be sure that a good story on it all will be out very soon. That, or I'll loose my job, but considering what I've seen here today, I think that's very unlikely."

And that's how I left them, Grace still cleaning, Sara playing on the couch, and the two lovebirds wrapped in each others embrace. They may have money, but that doesn't make them any less human. 

-This has been Julia Willows, thank you for reading.

*Brought to you by SnowyMist7

I added some additional pictures at the top, there.