Plan
Free
Country
USA
Device
Samsung Galaxy S9
Operating System
Windows 7
My Question or Issue
I am so incredibly enraged with all of the issues I have had with this app, and the incopetent "support" I got from the Twitter account. Seriously, change the twitter account to "SpotifyDoesntCare" and be done with it.
I have worked in customer service for years, so I try not to be the angry customer biting off the head of an innocent employee trying to help. But when the agent does not make any effort to actually read and understand the situation when I've already expressed my utter frustration and anger at the situation, it's a slap in the face.
I've been using spotify for a few years, and I'm noticing more and more features being stripped from Free accounts, and I considered going back to premium to get them back (which I cancelled because songs would stop, and I couldn't get anything to play for days after -- songs not playing on a music app kinda makes it a useless app, so why should I pay for it?) but I couldn't even get the subscription process to work properly.
As I told the Twitter agent, we already have Hulu (and I absolutely hate it) and don't want the package that includes it. I've tried on both PC and Android to change the plan, but changing to one of the "one-time payment" options you end up being forced to use a service called paysafecard. I don't know this payment service, and want nothing to do with it and it's 16-digit codes. It looks like every single other option allows CC/Paypal, why not this one? Again, I've tried this on two different platforms. The Twitter agent urged using an incognito browsing session, but if it doesn't work on two completely different systems (PC and Android), it's not a browser error, and unless I'm extremely confused about how the internet works, suggesting going incognito will fix this is just incredibly stupid.
I don't share spotify with anyone else, so don't need a family plan. I'm no longer a student, so I don't even know what that plan's payment methods are. I don't know that premium is going to behave and there are no partial refunds, so I'm sure as **bleep** not paying for a year blindly. And again, I HATE Hulu, and don't want it, even if it's free, and shouldn't have to get it. Why is this so difficult?!
Now I'm not even sure I'd want Spotify even if someone fixed this issue, because in the recent month or so more and more things seem to stop working, and while the issues I previously faced with premium could possibly be fixed by now, there are a bunch of new issues/inconsistencies between platforms (PC/Android) make it just as frustrating and therefore not worth paying for.
Issues I've been having are as follows:
On the phone, I can't just search a song, listen to make sure it's the right one, and add it to my favorites. I get launched into an "inspired by" playlist. I understand not letting people abuse the system and letting them just hand-pick songs to listen to, but it should be like skips, where you get a certain number of these per hour.
I don't even get any control over the playlist I create! I made one for Fall Out Boy/Panic!/other similar songs, and the only option on the app is to listen to it on "shuffle." I want this playlist shuffled, that's why I made it, to hear all of the artists, not just 20 songs by one, followed by 20 of another. However, "shuffle play" doesn't even properly shuffle the playlist. I was trying to listen to it and literally nothing but Panic! songs played. I had to go onto the pc and MANUALLY shuffle the tracks, and even then when I try to use the Spotify "shuffle" I have the same 10-15 Panic! or FOB songs in a row in about the same spot every time I tell it to "shuffle." I understand with so few artists that there will be bunching, but that's an entire album's length plus with no break. And at least half of those bunched songs were the same every single time I re-shuffled. Now, shuffle doesn't even work at all! Literally the only change in the program when I click the Shuffle button is the color of the button changing between grey and green. None of the tracks are moving in the queue.
I can't even try to do this on the Android app because there is no option to un/re-shuffle, you're stuck with whatever it gives you. There isn't even an option to look at the queue to make sure it is shuffling -- I don't think it actually is. I've even tried moving between playlists/radio/platforms, and every time I'm on the app it'll go straight back to the last song that was playing, from the exact spot it left off. I understand you're in it to make money, but it's getting to the point of money-grubbing.
I used to look at the recommended for me playlist, but half of them are in Tagolog now. I never added a single Tagolog song to favorites from my memory, and I don't think I've listened to a single Tagolog song all the way through when it's come up. A song by a Filipino artist that was fully in English, yes, and that's enough to swamp my feeds with music I have no interest in? The Twitter agent told "recommended songs are based on what you're listening to, we'd suggest listening to more of your favorite music and it'll eventually improve." The vast majority of music I listen to IS my favorited music, and lately especially I've almost exclusively listend to Panic!/FOB. The only non-English music I've listened to outside of recommended are extremely limited (a couple K-pop groups, one/two J-pop, and Despasito), and I haven't even listened to those enough to have those pop up in recommended anywhere near as often as the Tagolog songs have.
I told all of these things to the Twitter agent, and all I got in response was pushing for me to upgrade to premium, try getting premium in an incognito browser, and a couple off-handed things about the other issues, with no apparent interest in fixing them.
Maybe I'm totally insane for this, but I'm NOT paying for a service that can't even properly address, let alone fix pre-existing issues.
This experience has made me want to just totally blacklist Spotify entirely, but I'm a soft-hearted person who gives chances, and would genuinely like for these things to be fixed, as when it actually worked, I did enjoy the service. This, for me is the deciding factor on whether I continue to use the service, or look elsewhere.
Staff / Moderator/ 3 years ago in Social & Random