Google isn't the only one. Last time I tried to get help for something wrong in Instagram the only thing I could find was a "help yourself" faq, it kinda makes the product unusable. It's also quite alarming given the level of commerce running on Instagram
It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
81–90 of 94 posts
Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#82Earlier quoted context omitted.
> I'm a little sympathetic to Google here, because there's no way that they can offer real customer service to the entire Internet. I run some small businesses and get dumb phone calls all of the time from confused people thinking that my random shop has anything to do with their phone plan or email issues or a problem with their cable bill or anything else under the sun because they ended up at my store after puttin…
> In part I want to agree with you because I get the same version of random calls but for different reasons. But the truth is the difference between what we (or anyone) is doing and what google is doing is google makes plenty of money that they can use to throw at the problem. This line of thinking is based on a fundamentally flawed view of google. In almost all cases, you are _not_ the customer. You are the product.…
> This line of thinking is based on a fundamentally flawed view of google. In almost all cases, you are _not_ the customer. You are the product. A business does not provide service to it's product.
Who is the product when a musician plays at an arena? Great you quoted a saying that came up post internet but that in no way absolves them of any behavior they might do. I can't believe in all seriousness you will compare people humans to either animals or 'products'. Absurd.
> They have a massive pile of money in no small part because they do not build massive service centers staffed with thousands of people who each need health care and computers.
No issue with people making money. And as I said doesn't matter if they make money or not anyway. The fact is you should not have a service free or otherwise that people use that causes as much anxiety and pain.
Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#83Earlier quoted context omitted.
> The fact that you give something away at no charge (but actually make money or even if you don't make money) is not a reason you can then walk away and not have any responsibility at all for anything and everything. (Or shouldn't be). I'm very sympathetic to OP's situation, I have also lost an account with years of irreplaceable emails to Google's finicky algorithms. But this right here is a slippery slope I would…
> > The fact that you give something away at no charge (but actually make money or even if you don't make money) is not a reason you can then walk away and not have any responsibility at all for anything and everything. (Or shouldn't be). > I'm very sympathetic to OP's situation, I have also lost an account with years of irreplaceable emails to Google's finicky algorithms. But this right here is a slippery slope I wo…
> I argue there is a big difference between giving something away as open source and giving something away and indirectly making money through e.g. advertising.
True. But OP's reply misses the point which is 'causes pain'.
Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#84Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Google's average employees aren't quite as smart as public perception portrays. Intelligence is a funny thing. People can be the world’s foremost expert in whatever the heck, don’t matter for my point, and be utterly incompetent in every other area of their life if someone else is picking up for them. Think of career scientists giving humiliating public speeches for the first time since high school (industry confere…
I disagree. The service is free; they aren't obligated to do anything. If you want support, pay for it, via Fastmail or the like. People think they are entitled to not only a free email provider, but also free drive storage, free google docs, free search, free SSO, free calendar, and now free support. You're not entitled to any of that.
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Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#85They have competitors who provide support. As you said you chose them knowing this was a risk.
Can you list a couple? I’m interested in moving my email, document storage, and document manipulation (word and sheet stuff) to one nice solution somewhere else.
This just showed up in my feed: These G Suite Alternatives Are Cheaper or Free https://lifehacker.com/these-g-suite-alternatives-are-cheape...
Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#86Support has largely been relegated to FAQs, but if your problem is not in the FAQ then you are in trouble. I only have a Google account for using the Play store and don’t have anything important on my account. I assume some algo will flag my account and get it irrecoverably banned with no recourse.
I think Google Play has human support, I had two problems resolved in the last 5 years. One time a representative spent an hour with stupid me).
Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#87Knowing they offer no support and then getting mad when you need it is kinda of on you. There business model doesn't include support..take your business elsewhere.
Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#88> I already knew Google didnt offer email or telephone support For those who still haven't moved off of Google for important work, let this person's story serve as your final warning and get migrated to another platform with good support.
Which one would you recommend?
I use Zoho for email with my own domain, it's free and the UI is quite clean.
They also offer calendars office etc but I don't use it.
Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#89Earlier quoted context omitted.
>Google's average employees aren't quite as smart as public perception portrays. Intelligence is a funny thing. People can be the world’s foremost expert in whatever the heck, don’t matter for my point, and be utterly incompetent in every other area of their life if someone else is picking up for them. Think of career scientists giving humiliating public speeches for the first time since high school (industry confere…
>Providing support should be required by law. If you run a service that people depend on for any of the requirements of modern life then you should provide real live human support 24/7/365 or be liable for treble damages and equal fines for all harm this corner cutting costs. Yes, exactly this! Unfortunately many people will see this as socialism and reject this kind of regulation.
A lot of people also believe the unintended consequences would either take away many things people love, or that it would be so commonly violated as to be toothless and become legislative tech debt.
Re: It's not acceptable that Google does not offer support to users
#90Earlier quoted context omitted.
Which one would you recommend?
I use Zoho for email with my own domain, it's free and the UI is quite clean. They also offer calendars office etc but I don't use it.
I also use Zoho, as well.
I am thinking about using Fastmail for quite some time, and now migadu has entered th race.
Zoho has one of the most no-nonsense set of products.
Unrelated: I have heard that Zoho also does not care about degrees when they hire, and they have mentored and trained people from very disadvantaged backgrounds into capable SWEs and hired them.