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Gmail has become unusably slow

gabrielweinberg.com

61–70 of 138 posts

Re: Gmail has become unusably slow

#62
post #43
post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Y'know, this article isn't about Gmail performance nearly as much as it is another article about Google's utter disdain for our quaint notions of customer service and transparency. Somebody who goes to a conference might get something like feedback and disseminate it to the masses - but that's it. Google is not interested in hearing about problems, and if they themselves are affected by a problem, well, boy howdy, th…

Don't mistake lack of customer service for 'disdain'. For every issue related to Googles free products and services when have you ever really, and I mean really needed a traditional customer service rep? Maybe once? Not at all? I would hate Gmail never to have happened becuase they felt it would require a call center and they were not prepared to do that... And as for 'transparency'... um, they're a private company.…

Does google consider gmail users to have value? Be it via ad views or good will, etc. If so, then is it in their interest to provide a commensurate level of support to their users? Sure there's no legal binding contract, but at what point does it cross from being benign to being bad business.

The fact is that this is a common complaint that Google seems content to ignore. Which is their right, but is it the best choice from a business perspective? I don't know.

Re: Gmail has become unusably slow

#63
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Out of curiosity, why? Does your cost calculation include opportunity cost of time? If Google does it well, why would you want to spend your time on duplicating that instead of spending your time on your own original skill?

Mostly because I want to see how it works. That and I can't shake the fear that one day my Google account will be locked for some mysterious reason and I'll be stuck without any of my email until I can figure out how to get it turned back on. I don't have the advantage of being a blogger, and that seems to be the only reliable way to get customer service from Google.

I recommend using Gmail (ideally, Google Apps for Your Domain) as your primary, and using an IMAP sync tool to back it up to something not owned by Google.

With some a hundred employee accounts in Gmail for the past several years, I'd say it's been more reliable than the local electric company. We've never needed customer service from Google for Gmail.

We're all engineers, but we have better things to do than run email servers. Email is a problem we can happily consider "solved".

Re: Gmail has become unusably slow

#65
I definitely think there is room in the market for a new, online, paid email client. One that can connect to multiple outside accounts like Outlook, "infinite" storage, emphasis on privacy, gmail-style user interface, regular backups, and solid customer support. Email is extremely important to people and they don't want to worry about it. I wouldn't mind paying for a reliable and secure email client in the cloud.

Re: Gmail has become unusably slow

#66
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm sorry, but even though I've never needed Google support for Gmail, that doesn't excuse their lack of it. If they want to be taken seriously, or considered at all for real enterprise app replacement with Gmail or Google docs, they need to have a real live phone support, 1-800 number that lusers can call to get someone that will try to help them. Let me give you a terrible example: I sync my Exchange calendar with…

If you are running Gmail through google apps for enterprises, then you do have customer support options. Of course, then you also pay.

E-mail support is only for "select administrative issues", and phone support is only for reporting "a service unusable issue caused by a Google server error"[1].

It doesn't sound like the GP's issue would fall into either of those categories.

[1]: http://www.google.com/support/a/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answ...

Re: Gmail has become unusably slow

#67
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no way Google can scale customer service to be profitable for free services. Gmail at the end of the day is a free service, and you should either (a) pick a different email provider or (b) setup shop yourself if you need that kind of service.

or (c) pay for a Premier Apps account and get customer service guarantees. http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/index.html

Their customer service for Premier amounts to "only call us if we're down", and "e-mail us if you have problems administering your domain".

For problems like "mailboxes are slow" or features being buggy, they direct you to the same Google Help forums everybody else uses.

Re: Gmail has become unusably slow

#68
In a last ditch effort, I bought some extra storage from Google thinking maybe I'd get some kind of premium level service. So far, no.

Ah, to be Google! Your competitors, when frustrated by your poor service and unclear communications, send you more money in the vain hope it might help.

Re: Gmail has become unusably slow

#70

I definitely think there is room in the market for a new, online, paid email client. One that can connect to multiple outside accounts like Outlook, "infinite" storage, emphasis on privacy, gmail-style user interface, regular backups, and solid customer support. Email is extremely important to people and they don't want to worry about it. I wouldn't mind paying for a reliable and secure email client in the cloud.

FWIW, we used hosted Exchange from MS: http://microsoft.com/online/

Its $5/user/month, 25GB storage, great webmail client, and hands down the best support I've ever gotten.

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