Can't use MS gift cards at online Microsoft store

[Somerichs]

I have two Microsoft gift cards totaling $150. I was all set to use them to purchase the ASUS Vivotab 8, when I discovered there's no way to use gift cards towards your online purchase. I confirmed as much via a live chat and then later talking to a MS customer service rep.

I still can't get over what a ridiculous policy this is. I can't think of any other online retailer that wouldn't let you use a gift card to make purchases. Amazon? Apple? Forget about it!

Now I'll have to go into a physical store if I want to use my gift cards, at least an hours drive for me. Hoping I can call a physical store and order thru them and have them ship it.

Anyway, just had to vent how dumb this is... Back to your regularly scheduled programming!

 

[Somerichs]

Sorry to bump my own topic, but I continue to be incredibly annoyed by not being able to use MS store gift cards on the online MS store.

I'm newly annoyed because I visited a brick and mortar store yesterday to buy a specific tablet, but as it turns out they didn't have it, nor could they order it for me from the online store so that I could use my gift cards. ��

The only explanation I could get--and it was like pulling teeth to get it-- is that they are on two different systems that don't talk to each other so they can't apply a gift card in the store to an order on the online store, even if they do it.

So, I'm looking for some feedback please. Am I way off base in being super annoyed by this?

I keep hearing stories about how great their customer service is; shouldn't they be bending over backwards to try to solve this problem for me? I don't feel like my request is that extraordinary: I want to use MICROSOFT gift cards that people were kind enough to give me to purchase goods from them.

I want to be a customer, and I want to evangelize for Microsoft to everyone I know, but they are making it oh so hard to do so....

 

[psiu_glen]

About a year ago they had the Lumia 520 plus a year of XBox Music Pass for $99 deal. I figured it was about time to give up my old Zune Pass with the 10 song credits, and figured a little backup device wouldn't be bad.

What an absolute nightmare. I saw that there were at least a few others who had problems (on here, Slickdeals iirc, Anandtech) and eventually I emailed BenThePCGuy to see if he could help!

The MS Store reps are polite but they are completely useless -- I don't know how much is crappy systems, how much is crap policy (and low pay so you don't trust your workers with electronics). Ended up getting help from a higher up outsourced support tech.

There is absolutely NO way I would ever recommend them to anyone I like!

(the continuing stories don't help the cause either)