Availability of Live Chat announcement, and the definition of "policy violations"

[cindylouwho2]

In case you missed it, Etsy supposedly has rolled out Live Chat to every seller who has at least one sale & no policy violations.

https://community.etsy.com/t5/Announcements/Seller-Support-Updates/m-p/139462195/thread-id/1748

Of course, when I first checked to see it, Help was down (the darn "Whoopsie" page yet again), and now that I can access Help, I only get email options. No Chat anywhere. I definitely do not have any policy violations. 

Is anyone else seeing Chat when they didn't see it before? 

Also, as I mentioned in the other thread, it seems that a lot of Etsy services and tools are now only available to sellers without policy violations. E.g.s include Etsy Explore, Seller Protection, payment accounts without reserves, and live Chat. It seems there should be a better explanation of what a policy violation is, how long they count against you, etc. With how buggy Etsy is all the time, it's easy to imagine the algorithms thinking a shop had violations when they really didn't, but we have no way to know this and therefore no way to correct this. 

Thoughts?

[moonbeamgifts]

I don't see a chat option nor did I before.

I wholeheartedly concur - for everything else that's spelled out in detail for the seller handbook, there needs to be a clarification - especially now that bots seem to be in the mix and incorrectly identifying issues.     Just as the Star Seller program displays your percentages, what about something on the dashboard to see "shop health"?

[JMOldeVintage]

IMO there are real violations & then there are the mysterious bot deactivations that can trigger a tidal wave of issues. So I'm not sure how to judge that restriction.
As for Chat being available 24/7, will they have the ability to act? Or as others describe them, will they be "script readers" who will need to refer issues up the chain of command?

[moonbeamgifts]

@JMOldeVintage 

But if a bot deactivation counts, I'd rather address it sooner than later.

If a company doesn't offer 24x7 chat, there are usually posted hours with it not available if it's in the offer period - the option doesn't bounce in and out.

I think the big thing which is Etsy's consistent downfall ~ communication.   Most people are willing to play the game within the hours but it's a case of knowing the clear rules, not this whack-a-mole version.

[BirdsongEmporium]

I agree that a definition of what a policy violation is should be well defined.

• Are take down notices considered policy violations? That would be quite problematic since there have been many that were mistaken and some used by competitors to hurt their competition.
• Are prohibited items mistakenly removed by bots considered policy violations? There are just so many sellers who have had items taken down for using the word amber or ivory as a color description rather than the material. If those are counted as policy violations, is the violation removed once someone in Etsy reviews and restores an item to active status?

ETA that it is quite disturbing to read that Etsy will limit a support option when all sellers, even those with policy violations, are paying the new increased fees that was supposed to include better support. This hardly seems fair or better. I'm not saying this in any sour grapes way either as to my knowledge, we have never had a policy violation of any sort.

[bradgoodell]

Since Etsy's policies have often changed without warning, or the change is announced the same day it goes into effect, any and all of us could suddenly be guilty of a policy violation.  

Just ask anyone named Amber or Chanel.  

[BirdsongEmporium]

Exactly so @bradgoodell  we have not received any violations I am aware of but that would be due to good fortune at this point since Etsy does change things so quickly without notice and then catches lots of sellers unaware. Who knows what might become the next prohibited item?

[cindylouwho2]

Nowhere in Etsy's policies does it say you can't have items taken down by bots then reinstated, so those by definition are not policy violations - but I completely agree that this is the type of thing which Etsy will screw up. 

[BirdsongEmporium]

That is my concern @cindylouwho2  without a clear definition of what Etsy considers a policy violation, how do we know what the programmers have used? There have just been so many times that it seems the right and left hands at Etsy are not working together.

[GrandmaSeedsandGifts]

I have been here since 2017. Customer service is now almost non existent for sellers. Real service .... not an answer to an email 3 days later by a BOT. 

[Adorabilities]

What if you need support chat because they just told you you had a policy violation? (And it was unjustified.)

[BirdsongEmporium]

@Adorabilities  I was wondering this too but I'm guessing the chat could be staffed with people who are outsourced, not actual Etsy employees. In that case, the chat would be of no use to the seller since they would end up just being referred to going through the other longer wait support anyway since only the Etsy employees would likely handle such issues.

[Adorabilities]

It would still be extremely frustrating to be denied chat help because you had a violation that you didn't actually have. Ugh.

[bycinbyhand]

I'm in the same boat and have emailed. NO reply in 3 weeks.

[TheLastKult]

In regards to the chat, I've had the little chat tab on my dashboard in both shops for the past few weeks.

[cindylouwho2]

@TheLastKult can you please send me a screenshot? I'd like to post it here & on Twitter. 

[bradgoodell]

I've never had a violation, and I can't find a chat link on my dashboard.  Where is it located?

[UppNorthCo]

@bradgoodell- it has been down on the bottom right corner on your dashboard for a few weeks if you are a star seller.

[Adorabilities]

@UppNorthCo 
Not for every Star Seller. I haven't seen any chat box on my dashboard ever. (Unless you count an e-mail icon that clicked into nothingness for one day.)

And I have looked during business hours Etsy time (which is also my time zone,) so that's not why it wasn't there.

[UppNorthCo]

oh.  weird.  there was an announcement on the dashboard and there it was.  it comes and goes, like now and weekends. 

[TheLastKult]

@cindylouwho2 

How curious. It seems to have suddenly disappeared. Not available outside Etsy hours?

[TreeTreasuresCanada]

I'm a Star Seller this month (probably the only month I'll ever qualify) and I don't have the Chat option, bottom right or anywhere.

[cindylouwho2]

@TheLastKult @UppNorthCo the announcement says "24/7 chat", but hey, they can't even keep the Help page up half the time lately, so who knows? 

[UppNorthCo]

@cindylouwho2  - lol, that's just so etsy. 

[bradgoodell]

@UppNorthCo  Star Seller for months now, no violations, no chat on the bottom right corner.