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Believe it or not, customers want to talk to real people when they need assistance

Richard J. Dalton reports in Newsday this past Sunday that customer service industry experts report the “inability to reach a live representative is one of the top complaints of consumers calling customer-service centers.”

I’m sure that it’s right up there with “I waited for I-don’t-know-how-long on the phone to get a problem solved or get an answer to a question and I didn’t.”

Reports Mr. Dalton…

“Norma Freedman received notification in May that a movie from the Columbia House mail-order DVD company would be sent, but she didn’t receive the usual code used to cancel the order. So she did what many people would do: She called the company.

“And, like many consumers calling a customer-service number, she reached an automated service that couldn’t resolve her problem and wouldn’t provide a agent.”

I’ve run into a couple of similar circumstances where I’ve placed a customer service call and not once spoken to a live person. In such cases, I’m doubly sure to note any confirmation numbers I may receive as a result of the call (particularly if I am completing a transaction), as well as the time and date.

For more on contacting support at Microsoft, see this past post. And to contact Microsoft Customer Service, visit http://support.microsoft.com/.

Other support options:

  • Contact your PC manufacturer first if you’re having an issue with your PC. Similarly, contact your peripheral manufacturer for support with one of your computer peripherals (such as a printer, camera, router) if you purchased it separately from your PC. I’ve had great support from Dell and HP as well as other manufacturers. But not, so far, had good success with Samsung’s customer support in the States (‘though I have found that Samsung monitors perform very well).
  • Contact Microsoft – Phone Numbers, Support Options and Pricing, Online Help, and more.
  • Customer Service – For non-technical assistance with product purchases, subscriptions, online services, events, training courses, corporate sales, piracy issues, and more.
  • Newsgroups – Pose a question to other users. Discussion groups and Forums about specific Microsoft products, technologies, and services.

If one of these links don’t address your issue, please visit the Microsoft Online Support Page to start an email support incident.

Tags: Customer service, customer feedback

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