Does Microsoft Have Multiple Personality Disorder?

Being able to meet customer satisfaction through customer support is one of the main reasons through which a company can garner success in the form of a loyal customer body. However, when said customers are being treated shoddily, it is more than likely that they will walk out the door with their revenue. Angering customers is such a rookie mistake for businesses that it comes as mildly surprising when more and more consumers are angered by Microsoft’s deficient customer support.

One Company, Various Products

More head scratching is the fact that the claims of bad customer support are not the result of the overall experience with Microsoft but is limited to certain products. For example: Some people can claim that they received amazing customer support for other products such as the Microsoft Office 365 where they were guided smoothly through the setup procedure and all other queries were dealt with as promptly as possible.

However, customers of Microsoft’s Windows 8 cannot claim to have enjoyed similar services. There have been complaints about the long procedure of getting the computer analyzed and then the occurrence of an error without any detailing of how to proceed further. Calls to the customer support helpline resulted in clients being referred to one person after another yet no one offering a suitable solution or knowing what to do.

Old Evidence

Nonetheless, disgruntled consumers can take heart in the fact that they are not being neglected in this manner for the first time. Microsoft has pulled a similar dupe on the consumer market with the launch of Xbox and its Kinect interface which was not consistently compatible with the Xbox as opposed to its marketing. Unfortunately, Kinect is not the only product that has been deficient in this way. The Zune, the Kin and the Surface are older Microsoft products which bombed out in the market due to the fact that Microsoft just lost interest.

Peeking Behind the Scenes

It is understood that with so many products and so many upgrades, new launches, soft launches etc going on, there are various wings or departments that look after these products. However, there seems to be a certain amount of lack of coordination between these departments which is becoming more and more evident. The varying points of view and the search to find a common ground often means a product is launched whose developmental points are not fine tuned or understood properly by either of the parties involved. This special mix of compromises, meeting deadlines and poor customer support often causes people to eye Microsoft apprehensively.

The Verdict

Although people have a right to be apprehensive, there is no guaranteeing that you will be taken for a ride every time you ask Microsoft to help you out. Sometimes, the stars might align and you will be able to get the proper help you require. Unfortunately, the unreliability of such a situation happening is often the reason why Microsoft comes off as having a Multiple Personality Disorder. Given the fact that they’ve received this diagnosis fairly recently owing to studying their history, let’s hope Microsoft finally takes notice and doesn’t skip on its meds anymore.

[Image via profoundideation]