Tag: customer service

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Support sites: Zune on line, with info and assistance

I received an email today asking where they could find more information on some of their Zune questions. So I sent them a link to the support site for Zune, now up and running.


The site has how-to pages…



… and quick links on the site:



And some of the top items on quick help:


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FYI: Windows XP SP1 support ends on October 10, 2006

This from the Microsoft support pages on Windows XP SP1 support ending.

 

If you haven’t updated your system to Windows XP SP2, it’s a must have.

 

See these Top 10 reasons to upgrade to Windows XP SP2.


Final customer notifications about the end of Windows XP SP1 and SP1a support

Support for Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) and Service Pack 1a (SP1a) ends on October 10, 2006. Microsoft will end support on this date. This also includes security updates for these service packs. Microsoft is providing final notifications to customers regarding the end of support for these products.


Microsoft is ending support for these products as part of the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Service Pack support policy. We recommend that customers who are still running Windows XP SP1 or SP1a upgrade to Windows XP Service Pack 2 as soon as possible.


To determine whether you are running Windows XP SP1, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties. If “Service Pack 1” appears under System, you are running Windows XP SP1. We do not recommend that you install SP1a if you are already running SP1. We recommend that you install Windows XP SP2 if you are running Windows XP SP1 or SP1a.


Key dates:



  • Windows XP SP2 was released on September 17, 2004. According to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle Service Pack policy, Microsoft provided 24 months of support for Windows XP SP1 following the Windows XP SP2 release.
  • The original support end date for Windows XP SP1 was September 17, 2006.
  • In January 2006, Microsoft announced an adjustment to the Microsoft Support Lifecycle expiration dates, moving the end of support date for Windows XP SP1 to October 10, 2006. Details about this announcement can be found at http://support.microsoft.com/gp/lifean17/.

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MSN Tech: Be a Better Computer Caretaker

Today on MSN Tech & Gadgets, a good article on how to be a better computer caretaker” “You spent good money on your PC. You might as well take good care of it, too.”



  • Get your operating system on CD and create those recovery disks

  • Do a backup

  • Run your disk defragmenter

  • Remember these three words: uninterruptible power supply

  • Don’t cold reboot

  • Watch the environment

  • Take care of your peripherals

Certainly agree with all of these items.


We had to reinstall the OS on one of our machines at home, and finding the original OEM operating system CDs was relatively easy. If you have multiple PCs in your household, write on the CDs which PC they are paired, as many are specific not only to an OEM brand but model.


As for back ups, if you don’t archive with a utility (like OneCare) then do a drag copy of your important folders from “My Documents” on to a recordable CD or DVD, or an external hard disk: the prices of external USB 2.0 drives is cheap enough for everyone to have a back up drive. At a minimum, shoot for backing up once a month. 


If you live where the power is subject to weather impacts (we have trees that bring down the lines a couple of times in the winter) then an uninterruptible power supply is a must. Although we have laptops in the house, we also have a whole house surge supressor that installs on the mains into the home. And use fused and filtered power bars for your equipment, a standard feature on many uninterruptible power supplies.  


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On Channel9: Interview with Kathleen Hogan, VP of Customer Service & Support

On Channel9 is an inteview with Kathleen Hogan, corporate VP of Microsoft Customer Service and Support, and is responsible for the strategy and delivery of technical support for Microsoft. Kathleen is also one of our execs sponsoring the cross-company efforts to improve the customer and partner experience (aka CPE).


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Friday Link: buzzcustomer.com for customer service stories

Many thanks to my friend in support for the link to http://buzzcustomer.com/ which covers the good, the bad and the ugly of customer service:



“All customers have experiences. Some of them are good. Some of them are bad. All of them matter. BuzzCustomer.com organizes the world’s customer service stories.”


If you’ve ever wondered what the inside of an international call center looks like, you’re in luck. Also of interest on the site: the BuzzCustomer Rant of the Week.


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