Microsoft support is comically bad
The other day I tried to install a copy of Windows XP. I had bought a copy (no, not the recovery disk that came with my computer, but a separate shrink-wrapped copy) years ago. It was installed on my old computer but I had gotten rid of that computer last time I moved and wanted to try it on a newer one.
The install worked great until it was time to enter the product key. It said it was invalid. I tried it again - no luck. I choose to go ahead and use Windows unactivated for 30 days. To Microsoft’s credit, this is a useful feature - I could run the OS and even download updates (including, crucially, security updates) before getting this issue resolved.
A few days later, I decided to try again. I figured it still wouldn’t work, but I could try activating over the phone. Since I knew my product key was a legal, valid one, so I assumed that when I talked to a person, I could explain my situation.
My guess was that having installed that copy of Windows on other machines, it wouldn’t let me install it on an “additional” one. No problem - I would just let Microsoft know those old computers had been trashed and they could revoke the license for them.
So, I tried the phone option for phone activation. They had me put in my product key, which of course still didn’t work. They then gave me a toll-free number to give as well as a string of roughly 36 numbers, grouped into sets of 6.
When I called the number, the recorded message asked me to input all 36 digits. This was pretty tedious. When I was done, the message informed me that my key was invalid (yep, I already knew that) and that I had to contact whoever sold me the disk. Great. I bought the disk from my campus software store almost five years ago. Plus, I’d already used the product key several times in the past - I knew it was valid (at least it was at some point in time).
Was there any option to talk to an operator? Nope. But the message did offer this tantalizing option (and now I’m paraphrasing from memory): “If you’d like, we can give you some steps that can help you resolve this on your own.”
Sounds great, right? Here are the steps given (again, paraphrasing):
1. “Locate your product key on your packaging”
2. “Open the Windows Activation tool”
3. “Clear out the old values and type them in”
4. “Hit enter”
Simply amazing. I really can’t imagine what set of customers got to the point of listening to that recording and hadn’t tried those steps.
Again, of course there was no option to talk to a representative. The recording just told me to talk to the vendor that sold me Windows and hung up.
Situations like this - where a paying customer (one who has worked for Microsoft and defends them against unfair criticism) can’t use the software they paid for - are but one reason open source software is more attractive year after year.
