Microsoft Support- Pile of Steaming Poo!

For months now I have been trying to get help from various Microsoft support entities. My Office Live email has never worked, I was sent a bad key for my Windows OneCare subscription, I have been trying to find out why Microsoft insists on checking my Tablet PC OS software with Windows Genuine Advantage when the only way you can get the Tablet PC OS is with a Tablet PC. Written requests for support on these issues have resulted in nothing but false information, unrelated information (do they actually READ the emails?), and excuses.

Finally, this morning I called Microsoft and asked if there was someone I could talk to who could address these problems. The receptionist told me I had to put my complaints in writing. Considering the written requests that I have sent over the last year, I started laughing. Surprisingly, she giggled a bit, too. I then asked if she had the phone number for Apple. She said no, but I wonder if I might be able to put in a written request for THAT?!

Open Letter to Congress and the President

I'm wondering how the administration and Congress continue to justify more migrant workers and H-1B workers when so many U.S. workers have been laid off over the past few years. I also see that strong efforts are made, even by organizations like CALTRANS, to avoid hiring qualified American workers. How do you justify this? Do you actually expect the American people to believe that you are not simply taking food from their mouths in order to support cheap labor for the already wealthy?

Additonally, I wonder why there is no effort, with all the extra workers that you want to import, to fix the infrastructure of this country. The roads are in shambles, cities are filled with abandoned slums, the electrical grid is broken, schools are falling apart, and sewer pipes are rotting in the ground. I hear that the states are supposed to take care of these projects, but then they are forced to spend money on unfunded federal mandates instead of necessary infrastructure repairs.

Millionaires and billionaires build bigger and bigger houses while the middle-class and the poor pay for tax cuts that are supposed to produce jobs that never materialize. Are you blind to these problems, or do you just think that the American people are stupid?

New job for FEMA?

The latest research says that treatment and management of H5N1 influenza, better know as Bird Flu must happen quickly and efficiently. Hmmmm...anybody out there think that the Bush administration can handle that? Sure, maybe they can put FEMA in charge of handling the crisis.

By the way, those who think private industry can get the job done, just think about how often, in the winter, you go to the store looking for salt for the driveway. Or, during the spring when the Japanese beetles are eating your trees. Can you find the needed traps or treatments at the store. Nah, they don't have them in stock.

Maybe there will be a customer support line that will be able to answer questions for you during an outbreak. I'm sure the people who answer the phone will read something off a script:

Caller - I think I have bird flu and I may be dying.

Support - Yes, I understand that you are giving thanks for your ability to roast a winged dinner. We commend you for your poultry choice. Knowing we have helped you in your work, please to baste the bird with butter and cook in hot oven.

CEO-Poo.

I always suspected that many corporate CEOs are not much more than overpaid cocktail party fluff and this article confirms my suspicions:

Lower Revenue Signals Trouble for AMD-ATI

So, he thought they would wait until after Christmas or something? Ironically, Orton sounds like a man who's just been laid-off by his employer. Maybe he should be!

I Don't Work For YOU!

It just amazes me how bad customer service has gotten. I remember when all the manufacturing jobs were sent overseas and we were told that we would now have a "service" economy. You'd think that would mean better service, with more people devoted to serving the needs of the customer. WRONG!

Yesterday, I got a call from T-Mobile confirming that they had messed up the rebate on one of the phones we bought. When I filled out the form, I put the phone number that T-Mobile had assigned and the number that was ported over. I also added a helpful note saying that the number on the bottom was the assigned number and the one on top was the ported number. Apparently Young America company, the rebate fulfillment center, is located in China, because they read the numbers from top to bottom instead of across and included numbers from BOTH telephone numbers! Of course, Young America could not simply correct the mistake; no, they had to wait for the rebate to be officially rejected and then redo the record. Initially this was supposed to take a week, but the rebate was not rejected in that time period. Finally, I got tired of having to follow this process and called T-Mobile with a suggestion.

My suggestion was simple; T-Mobile would credit my account with $50.00, the amount of the rebate, and then they, who are being paid to do these things, could go ahead and collect the money from Young America. Well, you would have thought I had asked for someone's first born child! I was told that I would have to contact Young America, that no one at T-Mobile could do this for me. Funny thing is someone from T-Mobile had already talked to Young America, that's how I knew that the mistake had been made. Finally, I asked to talk to a supervisor. The supervisor, Jose, parroted the same line about me contacting YA. I said, "No, I don't work for T-Mobile, I don't work for Young America, and I don't get paid to make phone calls correcting the mistakes of others." I suggested that if Jose did not want to help me with this problem, perhaps I should cancel my service. Jose quickly reminded me that, if I did cancel, T-Mobile would collect a $200.00 per line cancellation fee. I responded that T-Mobile would have to take me to court to collect that fee and that I doubted that a judge would allow them to steal any more money than the $50.00 they were already taking by failing to pay the rebate. I hung up and Jose cancelled my service.

Next, I called the corporate offices of T-Mobile and talked to Anthony in the "Executive Offices." I doubt that Anthony actually works in the Executive Offices, but rather he is probably part of an upper level support group that handles calls from customers dissatisfied enough to want to talk to someone who actually runs the company. Before we became a "service economy," these calls were rare and usually handled by a real executive assistant. There are far too many of these complaints now and a full department is required. Eventually, Anthony followed my suggestion, issued the credit and turned my service back on. Yes, that's right, Jose had already turned off the service. At least there is something T-Mobile does efficiently. Fortunately, they were able to turn it back on just as quickly.

I still don't understand why T-Mobile thinks I work for them. Can anyone out there explain to me why I would have to correct their mistake or why I would find this acceptable? Sounds like spongy-poo to me.