Microsoft support sucks

Sure....you can get a number for 'your corner of the globe' but that won't do you any good. I dare you or anyone else to be able to get a live human being at Microsoft to talk to you. Microsoft has been going downhill for some time now and it's too bad because I prefer Windows over Apple any day of the week. But sadly, I've begun the transition to Apple - which means replacing 3 computers, a tablet and my smart phone. I'm an I.T. professional for over 30 years and I never thought I'd see the day where I'd switch to Apple - but here I am and here I go. The reason why is obvious: Apple supports its products. Unless you're a mega-corporate user, Microsoft doesn't want to talk to you. This is because they license their O/S to various manufacturers. Part of that licensing agreement is that the manufacturer has to give you support. But even in the case where one buys software from Microsoft directly - one still has a daunting task ahead of them to try and get someone from support on the phone. And don't be foolish enough to write this off to COVID because I've seen this downhill trend with Microsoft Support (an oxymoron) happening long before the pandemic started. Microsoft, like most American corporations, continue to fatten the pay grade and bonus structures of upper management while the peons (and customer) below suffer for those excesses.

I leave you with this thought: In recent history we've heard the term "too big to fail" - and now I've taken poetic license and rephrased that adage: Microsoft, like AT&T and many other over-sized conglomerates, have become "too big to succeed".

Is anyone at Microsoft listening? I highly doubt it. But as market share erodes and ground gets lost to Apple, the brain trusts in the hallowed halls of Microsoft will be sitting there scratching their heads like a bunch of Resus monkeys wondering how it happened - and then continuing on to dismiss it since they'll get their bonuses and golden parachute bail outs regardless of whether the business succeeds or fails.

Like everything else in America these days, the corporate 'culture' (if one could even call it that) is becoming increasingly dysfunctional by the second.

My father used to say that common sense isn't so common. As always dad, you were right.

I could not agree more and think that Microsoft just doesn’t care and is taking a calculated risk that they’ll gain more customers than they will lose by neglect. It strikes me that every other company that I use —including Apple, Amazon, Verizon, Google and all the streaming services — make it very easy to reach customer service by phone or chat. Microsoft is alone in providing no service whatsoever but taking your money gladly

Thanks paulabutler1 for taking the time to offer your opinion and insights. Yes, sadly, this seems to be the wave of the future with many large corporations. More and more companies are putting the onus on the customer to resolve their own problems. And being a retired I.T. person with many additional working years of experience in customer service, I can totally understand the need to shift the customer service paradigm towards the 'self service' realm as so many customer requests can truly be solved on one's own. Yet my situation with the Mail app in Windows 10, like so many other issues with Microsoft products, cannot be solved by me along - in spite of my best efforts.

I always tell people to make their opinions heard in the only way that most corporations will hear - via their checkbooks. This is why I do not intend to upgrade any of my 3 computers to windows 11. Nor will I be purchasing another Android phone (don't even get me started on Google's lack of customer service, who profits off the sharing of our information with advertisers but gives customers ZERO support).

So, I've already decided to reward good behavior by switching to Apple (they always answer their phones and NEVER do the tell you that your product is out of warranty - even when it is). So, sadly, it's so long to Microsoft and Android (Google) but the loss of my business is their own neglect. I wish more people would exercise their rights in this way. I cannot, with a good conscience, continue to reward (in the form of patronage) bad corporate behavior and policies. Apple will now get ALL my business - not so much out of spite but more because they deserve it as they offer easy-to-access support for ALL their products. Wish I'd made the switch sooner.

Thanks again for taking the time to weigh in on the subject. It's always nice to know that I'm not alone nor the only one who feels the pain of neglect when it comes to the lack of support on the part of these very-profitable corporations - who've become that way off the back of loyal customers. Well, my loyalty is about to shift.

As I've asked previously: Is anyone at Microsoft listening? Does anyone at Microsoft REALLY care? My answer to both is "I doubt it".

Mark

FYI Follow Up:

I am duty bound to report the good as well as the bad. So here's the good. My most recent Microsoft chat session of earlier this morning resolved my issue of newly added files not being put in alphabetical order. Existing files were in correct order but as of a week ago (after an update me thinks) any folders I'd add to any one of my 3 email accounts registerd in the Mail app would NOT get put into the correct alphabetical order. The chat representative I dealt with earlier today suggested a simple fix which worked: Uninstall, reboot, reinstall app. Simple fixes are my preferences for all of life's problems (big or little) and I am grateful to Tommy, my chat representative, for having the wherewithal to suggest this simple fix. As a retired I.T. professional I must admit that I feel more than just a little foolish for not thinking of this run-of-the-mill remedy. I am clearly getting rusty...

Anyway - gotta report it when something goes right - and it did today.

Cheers.

Come here to add my 2 cents. Bought Minecraft windows edition a year ago when I bought my vr headset and it still hasn't managed to install due to the terribly optimized microsoft store. And now on top of that I can't use the game pass I just bought because my pc keeps crashing during the windows update. The support is shocking. Yet I come on here and I'm having more products pushed my way. It's all about bloody money and then you're on your own