My Wet Coast Life

It's another typical wet coast winter day with a heavy rainfall warning for 50 to 80 mm of the wet stuff. Mother Nature is making a concerted effort to turn my backyard into a temporary swimming pool and tempting me to go out lawn skimboarding. If it was only a bit warmer. Rather than go skimming, I am sitting here annoyed with the service I have received so far from Xbox Live's customer service and technical support department.

Today is day 11 since calling in to Xbox Live's support with my issue regarding a prepaid Xbox Live Gold card stating "invalid error" when trying to add it to my account. Time for me to explain what has happened so far since my last post and the interesting conversation I did have with an Xbox rep this week. Multiple lies were the theme. To me, customer service is key to many companies and I am aware it can be hard to train and retain staff. But by this point for any large company dealing in end user support, there should be an expected level of service delivered and I have not received that in the slightest from Xbox. Microsoft has pressed my small red button of annoyance by conveying epically poor customer service to me. Now for those unaware, you can read my first article here and the first update here to get up to speed. And now the saga continues....

Follow up:

After posting my update article on December 31st, I tweeted my dismay to the service I have received. Well @XboxSupport replied back offering assistance. Cool, no need to wait for a call or call in. So I send them a direct message with my support incident number asking for a status update. 2 hours go by and I see them helping others but no response to my direct message. Hmmm, maybe they only respond to tweets so I ask. They respond saying they "missed it" even though Direct messages (DM) go into a separate area as well and regardless, they cannot assist with ticket issues. I assumed that Xbox's twitter support was in the same group as email and phone support but apparently not. I replied back asking why offer support if do not see the DM's and cannot access ticket information. Don't you all play for the same team? Their response was an apology and asking for an explanation of my issue. Fine, I was trying to keep it private via DM but if you want all of twitter to see it, here it is summed up in 140 characters and their response. Clearly they did not read my article, not that I expected them to (but may have helped before asking the questions). They did not offer to get someone to call me or follow up with me. It just followed along the great service I've received so far, so what is the point of dealing with them in a 140 characters or less? Also, my issue at this point is with the lack of follow up and customer service. I decided to leave it at that and go enjoy some wobbly pops and bring in the New Year.

On Monday January 3rd, I finally got a message from Maria at Xbox support, left just after 7pm. This was the first contact from Microsoft since calling in 8.5 days prior. They didn't completely forget about me! If I was a kid, I would be pissed as school starts tomorrow. So much for being able to play online with friends this holidays. But at least they haven't completely forgot about me. But they have definitely passed the "follow up within 5 days, usually 2-3 days" time frame. The message was brief stating they have fixed whatever issue was with my card and to try re-entering it via Xbox or the website and that she will follow up with me the next day to ensure it is working. Hmmm...could I actually be dealing with a rep now that actually cares about customer service? She said she is going to follow up and make sure my issue is resolved. My faint and faded hope of better customer service slightly gets brighter, slightly.

So not wanting to call back and be on hold and go through one of the more annoying phone systems I have dealt with just to state it is working, I opted to wait for Maria's follow up. At this point my issue is with Microsoft's customer service level or lack there of and how they treat customers and make false promises. Don't offer time lines and promises if you're not going to go by them. You're just going to irritate your customer and make that follow up call that much harder as you will now need to explain your lack of follow through for the promise stated. Well, I was about to find out how much they really "CARE" about their valued customers.

On January 4th at 7:29pm, thinking i was forgotten again, my phone rang. Call display showed a Texas number, 512-681-5896 and the name Texas. Now I don't know anyone in Texas but it is the same number that called the night before when Maria left a message. Answering the phone, I was greeted pleasantly by Maria. She informed me it should be fixed. I asked her what the reason was that caused the issue and all she could say is the investigation team corrected it. Okay, fine. So now I want to know why have I been left in the dark for so long and why I did not receive any update to show my issue was being worked on? Just a quick message or email would have be sufficient.

Well, time for lie #1. I asked why I did not get an update call or even a simple email. Maria kindly informed me they do not email. WTF? In this day and age you do not use email to communicate with your customers? This has got to be a joke. I asked again and Maria confirmed phone calls only, no email. Do you not realize you make us sign up for a Microsoft Live account to register with Xbox? I informed Maria that Lawrence, the "specialist" I spoke to on December 26th confirmed my phone and email and advised me I would be contact by one of the 2 methods. She said he must have lied and was incorrect in advising me email would be a contact method. I pointed out this was a specialist and assume he knew communication protocols with customers and would assume email was a valid cost efficient and quick form of contact or why would he tell me. I am probably not the first customer he has had to deal with and can only assume he knows what he can offer in regards to contact methods. Alas, I was wrong and phone calls only.

Fine, if it is only calls, I proceeded to ask them why I was not called within the max 5 days as promised and instead I am finally speaking to someone 9.5 days later (and only contacted 8.5 days after initial call). Time to get ready for lie #2. Maria stated that they follow up in 24-48 hours. WHAT? Less than the 5 days, usually 48-72 hours, I was promised? I advised Maria what I was promised by Lawrence and she said he was wrong. Another lie from the "specialist". Hmmmm, this is not looking good for Xbox or Lawrence. I then called Maria on it stating either she is not telling me the truth on call back times or Lawrence wasn't but either way, the customer has been lied to. She said she was correct and Lawrence was not. Okay, if that is the way you want to play this. I then informed her, if that was true, then my initial call back/follow up has gone from 3X longer than promised to 4X longer which makes the service level promised even worse! I am now irritated that I have caught them in 2 lies in under 5 minutes.

Irritated, I wanted to dig deeper and see what other lies were told to me. Now keep in mind, during this whole conversation I never raised my voice or used any derogatory words. Both myself and Maria kept the call civil during the whole conversation. I do give her credit for that as I was putting her service level to the test (which ultimately, found the breaking point). So up to this point, the lies I have confirmed so far was the fact I would never have been emailed and I should have been called sooner rather than later and the time line promised was incorrect. Okay, so lets find out why it did take so long?

Onto my next question and lie #3 for Maria. I asked her why then did it take so long for me to be contacted? Maria, probably not aware of the day I called in, kindly informed me that they had a "Microsoft directive" that from Christmas day to New Years day, they do inbound calls only and make NO outbound calls. Damn it, another lie. I then informed Maria to check the date on my initial call in and if she wanted to correct her statement. At this point I believe Maria has realized I am not an average customer and I have now called her out on a couple lies and just did again. She restated the X-mas to New Years inbound only statement. I then asked why would Lawrence then promise me a call back in that time frame when he should have known from the "directive" that he would not be able to call me. So once again, who is lying? Either the directive is complete bullshit and a canned excuse now blowing up on Maria or Lawrence lied to me. Maria is now quickly back stepping on her statement and getting the backhoe started to start digging a deeper hole of lies.

With the backhoe good to go, the hole starts to get deeper. Maria went to clarification mode and I had to bite my tongue from laughing with what I was about to be told next. She stated all reps are given daily instructions for inbound/outbound call rules for holidays. She continued to state no one knew if they would be doing inbound or outbound calls until they got in. The only time the reps knew what they were doing was when they were told when they got in. She said all staff had no knowledge before hand on what they were to do on any specific day. I then countered this statement with the fact the Lawrence should have known this then as informed when he gets in and not promised me a call back then in that time frame. She countered that stating "basically no one among them has foresight what type of calls we would be doing that week", so no way for Lawrence to know if by December 31st anyone would be able to make an outbound call.

I asked then if all the employees are mindless robots and not able to think less than a week ahead and account for a busier holiday season and certain rules being implemented? I informed her this was not the first Christmas Xbox support has had to go through and can only assume they had plans in place to accommodate the increased call volume and all staff were informed prior to the dates coming up. Even when I worked in support and we had heavy call volume, we still managed to email our customers an update even if it meant doing while on another call if required or informed them when we were speaking with them that the follow up may be a bit longer due to holidays. Lawrence made no mention that there would be no contact, only that I might be forgotten about which did happen.

Now even more irritated, I informed Maria, me as the customer, that is not my issue. On top of that, how would I be aware of this directive? As the customer, I was left in the dark after being promised a turnaround time. So based on the inbound only rule, I then asked Maria a rhetorical question. Who is more important? The customer that has already called in, opened a ticket and is waiting for resolution or to deal with the person calling in for the first time because they cannot figure out their Kinnect in the first 5 minutes of play and needs help? Diplomatically, she answered saying all customer are important. I informed her they have not shown that based on our conversation so far and information and lies I have been told.

At this point, I have had about enough and up to this point, I have yet to be offered anything to compensate me for my initial issue, the numerous lies I have been told and duration it took to resolve. Microsoft gives away 1 month Live gold trials so I see they should have no problem accommodating customers put out by the poor and/or delayed service received. Whether it be an extra month of Gold or some points to get a cheap game or something for the avatar. To me, it makes common sense to try and correct the wrongs of the staff and leave the customer happy. They all represent the company and so far, it has been an epically poor representation for such a large company. 1 happy customer tells 1 person. 1 unhappy customer blogs about their experience and tells everyone of the bad experience. Poor marketing decision Xbox.

Now not being offered anything yet, I decided to ask. I explained to Maria a summary of what has happened so far and asked for compensation, even in the smallest degree, to show me as a customer is still valued by Microsoft. Maria's response was she would like to give me something but has nothing to offer. Not knowing Maria's position, I asked so I can understand which level of support I am dealing with. Is she customer service, tech support, a specialist? She is an escalation supervisor. Okay then. Based on that, I asked again if there is anything she can do to see if I can get compensated. The answer was no. I then asked, based on my issues to be escalated to a supervisor or manager to express my dissatisfaction so far with dealing with Xbox Live's support department. I got another NO. I confirmed her position again as an escalation specialist and then asked her, if me the customer, has any way of then escalating my issue to someone higher up as clearly I was getting the run around and at this point want to express a formal complaint on service received. Plus that is what she "specialized" in.

Well, I think Maria was being worn down by this point as she admitted they have a process for escalation. Ohh...really? Please go on.

She continued to explain escalation is done through the computer system and there was no one I could speak with at that time. I asked then if she was working in a call center with no immediate supervisor, manager, flag person I could speak with at that time saving another phone call or possible voice mail tag. Another NO. I said it was odd to have a lot of workers with no leadership present on the floor but that could be saved for another call. I advised Maria to put herself in my shoes and then tell me honestly if I received good customer service and it did not warrant speaking with management. Maria finally gave in and said she is going to escalate my request and I would have a Manager call me back in 24-48 hours.

About to concede to waiting again for a follow up call (based on time lines promised to what was received, may take a week), Maria began to speak or think out loud. Probably worn down by days of verbally abusive, not as patient customers and the rush of holidays, Maria tried to defend the wrongs to me and show me that Xbox's customer service was good and I should appreciate it. Taken back by this valiant effort to defend Xbox's customer service levels, I asked Maria to continue and was about to get something I did not expect. So as Maria so eloquently put it, "I need to explain the situation's totality to give you a better appreciation of call back." Totality you say? Big words are being used. Okay Maria, you've got my attention, I'm sitting down, lay it out for me.

Ready for it?

Can you guess without reading ahead?

After a brief pause, Maria informed me she was working overtime for free and should have been off her shift at 7pm, it was now close to 8pm. Instead she was staying late to call customer's back and it should be appreciated she is calling without being paid, only to then call me. In one aspect, I was sympathetic for Maria as no one really wants to stay late and she is now almost an hour into OT and did call me. So from that point of view, I was appreciative she did not make me wait another day. Now onto the flip side of that statement. I advised Maria how ever nice the gesture is to me, the customer, it should not be the customer's issue if your employer wants you to work OT without pay. That is between the employee and employer. Customers do not need to know this, especially from Microsoft of all companies. Get up and leave then if your shift is over and you're not gonna get OT but do not use it as a way of garnering sympathy to the customer. I advised her she could have gone home and gotten someone else to call me, make me wait and call me the next day or get paid OT. Simple as that but NOT MY ISSUE.

Maria has now realized with her latest statement that my issue should now get more immediate attention and escalation. She made it clear no promise of compensation but would get one of the managers or supervisors to call me the next day, January 5th. I would get a call from either Sam or Grace. If Sam called, it would be after 10am. If Grace calls, it will be early to late afternoon, Pacific time. Good, we are getting somewhere and now somewhat satisfied I will be speaking with management within 24 hours. Maria confirmed my information again including my email address. I clearly stated I have no issue with them emailing me either but suspect it would be a call if not it would violate the no email rule.

We ended the call and hopefully I did not completely ruin Maria's night. Sadly, it is past noon on January 6th and no call or email. Just another lie and/or false promise. I guess Maria was not clear enough in her escalation that it would be in their best interest to ensure a call back to me on the 5th. Hopefully, I will get a call today and better hope they are willing to offer a gesture of good faith for this. I know I am not the only one based on my previous 2 articles on the terribad customer service, explaining what had initially caused this and then an New Years update showing the Xbox's customer service is cold as ice for lack of follow up. The number of search hits for same or similar reasons I have encountered and lack of follow up by Xbox's support department shows this is apparently a common issue. Xbox's rating on CustomerServiceScoreboard.com is at disappointing level (45.5 out of 200 rating). No shock here. Sadly, there is an anonymous employee comment from June 2010 trying to defend Xbox support and a portion of the comment contradicts what I have received so far. It states "And one thing that might help, just supe up if the agent is not understanding/resolving your issue...Just ask to talk to their supervisor and you will get someone who has a little more power to get things done for you.". I guess that may have been the case in June but may have switched since as I requested escalation numerous times and have yet to speak to be escalated.

It will not be long Microsoft before the number of customers irritated by poor support begin to take more drastic actions or just move away from your products. Right now, you have lost a customer due to your craptacular service. I still have a faint hope of being won back by the manager or supervisor that calls me and demonstrated how Xbox will make it up. But I may also have a better odds at winning the lottery or being eaten by a shark lawn skimming. We will have to see.

If you have been put out by Xbox's stellar service, leave a message here to show another end user has been negatively affected by Xbox's stellar support or go voice your issues on CustomerServiceScoreboard.com. Either way, they need to hear about it to institute change or the cycle will continue.

My next step, if I do not get called by midnight tonight to resolve this (giving the full 24-48 hour call back rule), will be writing a letter, not email, to every upper level management at Xbox to inform them of my experience with their minions that work under them. They may never hear of what occurs in the trenches or could hear of it all the time. Regardless, I will bring it to there attention. Myself, as a PAYING customer for their services or any other Gold member should be getting better service and treatment. Is that not one of the reasons why we pay?

I'll end this with some Randy Glasbergen and hopefully Microsoft doesn't take tips from his support comics. Enjoy.

* UPDATE January 18, 2011: Read the next update to this here and then the final conclusion to this HERE