J
Just Tired
My computer broke down recently to the point it was barely functional, so I bought a new motherboard, and put in my SSD with Windows 10 installed. This was apparently my first mistake of many.
Windows was not working, and when I tried to activate it using the included options about changed hardware, nothing happened. So I called technical support. Bigger mistake.
I spoke to Kumar, who was affable enough. He didn't know what was going wrong, and asked what my product key. Eager beaver I am, I'd had to look online to find out how to locate the key. I found the key, wrote it down, and was ready for Kumar's question. Even Bigger mistake.
What followed between Kumar, Kumar's supervisor, and the next two days, was a nightmare.
Kumar simply kept repeating the scripted information, telling me the key I'd given was one online, and not a valid key. Since I'd upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 8, I no longer had the original key, and I've since learned that when upgrading, my old key was erased and replaced with a standard key identical to everyone else in my situation. Apparently, Microsoft could not access the information showing I'd upgrade, as Kumar "helpfully" explained that Microsoft "valued my privacy" and could not access my purchase or activation history for "privacy reasons."
So I asked for a supervisor. Worst mistake yet.
The supervisor proceeded to accuse me of lying, stating I had taken a key from online and was lying about having upgraded from Windows 8. Like some kind of bad cop from a TV drama, he told me that the "owner" of that key was going to sue me for trying to use that key. When I confronted these accusations, the supervisor pulled the oldest phone trick in the book. He experienced critical phone "failure" on his end.
"I'm sorry" he said, "I can't hear you anymore." He then proceeded to repeat that phrase, adding "if I do not hear from you, I will terminate the call." This repeated multiple times, no matter what I said, until he hung up on me.
Perplexed, I went online and tried to research this "online key" they'd mentioned, and learned the info above. Regardless, I did not appreciate threats, but I decided to try again, one more time, and see if I could find someone who was either A) knowledgeable or B) would not threaten me with a fake lawsuit and pretend to be going through a tunnel.
The next hours were spent with a number of support helpers, including Aryan, Upasana, and Aleem, each one repeating the same steps over and over again in a perfect imitation of the definition of insanity. I was told to show the email where I upgraded from Windows 8, I was told to show my Amazon order history to prove I'd bought a new motherboard. I was told to reinstall the harddrive on my old computer, requiring me to jury rig monitors and old graphics cards in order to even see the screen. They tried and failed to find the windows key no matter which computer it was, and each time a new helper arrived in the session, the process repeated. For hours. Until I had to leave or risk being late to a meeting.
The next day, fed up and finished with this endless loop of nonsense, I went to the online store, forked over my $130.31, and accepted bitter defeat.
As a final act, I thought I'd at least leave a review, so that people like me who decided to upgrade computers might have a bit of warning of the storm about to be unleashed.
But when I opened the store page from my order history, scrolled down to the reviews, and looked for the button to post, I received a most appropriate message:
"You are unable to rate or review as you do not own this product."
You win again, Microsoft. You. Win.
Continue reading...
Windows was not working, and when I tried to activate it using the included options about changed hardware, nothing happened. So I called technical support. Bigger mistake.
I spoke to Kumar, who was affable enough. He didn't know what was going wrong, and asked what my product key. Eager beaver I am, I'd had to look online to find out how to locate the key. I found the key, wrote it down, and was ready for Kumar's question. Even Bigger mistake.
What followed between Kumar, Kumar's supervisor, and the next two days, was a nightmare.
Kumar simply kept repeating the scripted information, telling me the key I'd given was one online, and not a valid key. Since I'd upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 8, I no longer had the original key, and I've since learned that when upgrading, my old key was erased and replaced with a standard key identical to everyone else in my situation. Apparently, Microsoft could not access the information showing I'd upgrade, as Kumar "helpfully" explained that Microsoft "valued my privacy" and could not access my purchase or activation history for "privacy reasons."
So I asked for a supervisor. Worst mistake yet.
The supervisor proceeded to accuse me of lying, stating I had taken a key from online and was lying about having upgraded from Windows 8. Like some kind of bad cop from a TV drama, he told me that the "owner" of that key was going to sue me for trying to use that key. When I confronted these accusations, the supervisor pulled the oldest phone trick in the book. He experienced critical phone "failure" on his end.
"I'm sorry" he said, "I can't hear you anymore." He then proceeded to repeat that phrase, adding "if I do not hear from you, I will terminate the call." This repeated multiple times, no matter what I said, until he hung up on me.
Perplexed, I went online and tried to research this "online key" they'd mentioned, and learned the info above. Regardless, I did not appreciate threats, but I decided to try again, one more time, and see if I could find someone who was either A) knowledgeable or B) would not threaten me with a fake lawsuit and pretend to be going through a tunnel.
The next hours were spent with a number of support helpers, including Aryan, Upasana, and Aleem, each one repeating the same steps over and over again in a perfect imitation of the definition of insanity. I was told to show the email where I upgraded from Windows 8, I was told to show my Amazon order history to prove I'd bought a new motherboard. I was told to reinstall the harddrive on my old computer, requiring me to jury rig monitors and old graphics cards in order to even see the screen. They tried and failed to find the windows key no matter which computer it was, and each time a new helper arrived in the session, the process repeated. For hours. Until I had to leave or risk being late to a meeting.
The next day, fed up and finished with this endless loop of nonsense, I went to the online store, forked over my $130.31, and accepted bitter defeat.
As a final act, I thought I'd at least leave a review, so that people like me who decided to upgrade computers might have a bit of warning of the storm about to be unleashed.
But when I opened the store page from my order history, scrolled down to the reviews, and looked for the button to post, I received a most appropriate message:
"You are unable to rate or review as you do not own this product."
You win again, Microsoft. You. Win.
Continue reading...