Surface shipping - worst MS customer support ever!

[mapexvenus]

Background:

I ordered a 32 GB surface (without touch cover) and a type cover. I received confirmation along with notification of shipment for the type cover. The 32 GB Surface showed up as "will ship in 3 weeks)

First call to CS to inquire about my Surface shipping:

- I was told that the Surface would be shipped to reach me on 10/26 even though there was no tracking number and status change on orders status.

Second call:

- I was told that the Surface would ship in 3 weeks. I specifically argued that this was NOT the information I was provided in the previous call and was told very clearly that I would NOT receive my Surface tomorrow. I even threatened to cancel to no avail.

Third call:

- I was told that the Surface would be delivered on 10/26. I argued (again) that I was given conflicting information the past two times. The rep apologized and said that they were doing their best but reiterated that I would receive my device tomorrow. I specifically asked the customer rep whether I should go to the MS store and buy a surface and she told me that my order would deliver tomorrow.

I am certain that if I call back, someone will tell me that my Surface will deliver in three weeks.

WTF??

 

[Tomerunlocks]

I stated this somewhere, but I'll state it again.

They really need to give the most up-to-date info to their customer reps on the live chat and phone. When 3 reps all give you different answers, you know something is wrong or somebody isn't following the rules. There needs to be constant update to the reps so they know what to tell customers who are mad or just generally interested.

 

[badMojo69]

Face it, you're not going to get it until next week. Go to work.

 

[Tomerunlocks]

Face it, you're not going to get it until next week. Go to work.

Why the attitude? We've all poured $500+ into a device that was promised and guaranteed to us by a certain date. Why should we settle for anything less? If other companies can do it, why can't Microsoft? Having an overflow of pre-orders isn't an excuse. They should of prepared for something like this.

 

[toekramp]

Why the attitude? We've all poured $500+ into a device that was promised and guaranteed to us by a certain date. Why should we settle for anything less? If other companies can do it, why can't Microsoft? Having an overflow of pre-orders isn't an excuse. They should of prepared for something like this.

Flip side of this is they have a huge demand, which means a huge audience, which means a huge motivator for developers to get to work on the apps

 

[crystal_planet]

Why the attitude? We've all poured $500+ into a device that was promised and guaranteed to us by a certain date. Why should we settle for anything less? If other companies can do it, why can't Microsoft? Having an overflow of pre-orders isn't an excuse. They should of prepared for something like this.

Relax dude. That was funny. A lucky few got theirs early. Some will get theirs on time. And the rest were sold a bill of goods that may or may not come on Monday.

Who knows? All you can do is laugh at this point.

 

[Tomerunlocks]

Flip side of this is they have a huge demand, which means a huge audience, which means a huge motivator for developers to get to work on the apps

Completely agree

Relax dude. That was funny. A lucky few got theirs early. Some will get theirs on time. And the rest were sold a bill of goods that may or may not come on Monday.

Who knows? All you can do is laugh at this point.

They still should of had their **** together

 

[wpguy]

It's possible the huge number of orders are making a mess of tracking numbers. More than once I have ordered product and been given a tracking number that doesn't give reliable shipping progress until after I have received the product. (Various vendors and carriers.)

 

[independentvolume]

Honestly, lifes to short to blow a fuse because of a late toy. Have a martini and relax. Also, not to sound smug, but if your worried about 500 dollars maybe you shouldn't of bought a 500 dollar tablet. #spendresponsiblemyfriend

 

[conanheath]

I was in the same situation until about 15 min ago. Got confirmation email and tracking # matched what was given on the "wpcentral shipping work around". Still confirmed for tomorrow delivery. MS reps have been worthless during entire process. This is first and last time I will order from MS Store. It wouldn't take 10 min to update the site with some general info on shipping and clarification on order status. But what can you do, MS has fu money.

 

[Tomerunlocks]

Honestly, lifes to short to blow a fuse because of a late toy. Have a martini and relax. Also, not to sound smug, but if your worried about 500 dollars maybe you shouldn't of bought a 500 dollar tablet. #spendresponsiblemyfriend

Even if I bought a $50 item, I'd still be worried if it wasn't delivered on time..
If something is promised at a certain time or date, I expect it to be here. Just my 2 cents about this whole situation.

 

[mapexvenus]

Why the attitude? We've all poured $500+ into a device that was promised and guaranteed to us by a certain date. Why should we settle for anything less? If other companies can do it, why can't Microsoft? Having an overflow of pre-orders isn't an excuse. They should of prepared for something like this.

Completely agree! Faithfully buying a device that many 'pundits' have written is a demonstration of loyalty. The least Microsoft can do is get its act together to support its customers.

 

[berty6294]

I was in the same situation until about 15 min ago. Got confirmation email and tracking # matched what was given on the "wpcentral shipping work around". Still confirmed for tomorrow delivery. MS reps have been worthless during entire process. This is first and last time I will order from MS Store. It wouldn't take 10 min to update the site with some general info on shipping and clarification on order status. But what can you do, MS has fu money.

Im sure its not on purpose. I mean when else has Microsoft had such a huge product release and preorder! They just arent used to working this way and i think they are spending the energy they have to make sure the products are arriving on the launch date first, and then update the online status for each. They are just in over their head, something they arent used to.

 

[anon(5335877)]

I'm not entirely sure about this, but the reps you may be talking to might not be MS reps but CSRs from Digital River.

Because I know Digital River hosts and manages the Microsoft Online Store for Microsoft. In fact, one time I actually contacted the online customer support hoping they could give me information (I think on stock or something of a certain Windows Phone) and they told me they couldn't because they're totally separate and not associated with the B&M Microsoft Stores.

This leads me to believe that while B&M Microsoft Stores are run by Microsoft, the online Microsoft Store and their customer service aren't.

I also heard that Digital River's customer service is pretty terrible.

 

[stephen_az]

Background:

I ordered a 32 GB surface (without touch cover) and a type cover. I received confirmation along with notification of shipment for the type cover. The 32 GB Surface showed up as "will ship in 3 weeks)

First call to CS to inquire about my Surface shipping:

- I was told that the Surface would be shipped to reach me on 10/26 even though there was no tracking number and status change on orders status.

Second call:

- I was told that the Surface would ship in 3 weeks. I specifically argued that this was NOT the information I was provided in the previous call and was told very clearly that I would NOT receive my Surface tomorrow. I even threatened to cancel to no avail.

Third call:

- I was told that the Surface would be delivered on 10/26. I argued (again) that I was given conflicting information the past two times. The rep apologized and said that they were doing their best but reiterated that I would receive my device tomorrow. I specifically asked the customer rep whether I should go to the MS store and buy a surface and she told me that my order would deliver tomorrow.

I am certain that if I call back, someone will tell me that my Surface will deliver in three weeks.

WTF??

There is no point in cancelling simply because they will have already billed before they process the cancellation. I did cancel well before the window closed after it became clear it was not going to arrive this week, in fact the product is still just listed as in process, but the tablet is now sitting in Anchorage in route to Arizona for delivery next week. As such, they not only didn't cancel it, but it also will not arrive on schedule. I only seem to have gotten their attention when I informed them that I had instructed FedEx to classify the package as "customer refused delivery" and that they were going to intercept it at a future transit point and re-route back to China. I also informed them that I had already contacted my back and that the charge will be flagged as disputed the moment it posts. The joke is that the product is half way here and they still haven't charged me and still couch everything with language about them not being sure it shipped.

BTW, I am picking one up tomorrow since I am still interested and live near a store. I am, however, not intending to deal with the online store in the future. This is not as bad a Google by what I have been told, but it is a lot closer to that than either Apple or Amazon....

 

[anon(5335877)]

Haha, also interesting was I was on the sales and support contact us page and there's a little banner on the bottom saying Stella Service has reviewed over 4000 online stores and ranked them as being in the top 5%.

Microsoft Store Online

Then if you click on the banner, it'll take you to Stella's site where one of the "outstanding areas" was "great call support."

Microsoft Store - Store.Microsoft.com Customer Service Ratings at STELLAService

 

[stephen_az]

I'm not entirely sure about this, but the reps you may be talking to might not be MS reps but CSRs from Digital River.

Because I know Digital River hosts and manages the Microsoft Online Store for Microsoft. In fact, one time I actually contacted the online customer support hoping they could give me information (I think on stock or something of a certain Windows Phone) and they told me they couldn't because they're totally separate and not associated with the B&M Microsoft Stores.

This leads me to believe that while B&M Microsoft Stores are run by Microsoft, the online Microsoft Store and their customer service aren't.

I also heard that Digital River's customer service is pretty terrible.

You are correct. Digital River is the intermediary and that is part of the problem. I have never had a smooth transaction with them unless it was just a piece of downloadable software. They just read scripts and do not know what to do if something doesn't fit neatly into those scripts....

 

[anon(5335877)]

You are correct. Digital River is the intermediary and that is part of the problem. I have never had a smooth transaction with them unless it was just a piece of downloadable software. They just read scripts and do not know what to do if something doesn't fit neatly into those scripts....

Well bad news, a few months back Microsoft extended an e-commerce deal with Digital River to March 1, 2014.

Digital River extends distribution deal with Microsoft - Business - US business - Earnings | NBC News

Seriously, Microsoft should find a better e-commerce outsourcing company or just do it themselves.

 

[stephen_az]

Im sure its not on purpose. I mean when else has Microsoft had such a huge product release and preorder! They just arent used to working this way and i think they are spending the energy they have to make sure the products are arriving on the launch date first, and then update the online status for each. They are just in over their head, something they arent used to.

You are correct but is still does not excuse poor planning, virtually nonexistent tracking, and service reps who can only read a script.

 

[crystal_planet]

Honestly, lifes to short to blow a fuse because of a late toy. Have a martini and relax. Also, not to sound smug, but if your worried about 500 dollars maybe you shouldn't of bought a 500 dollar tablet. #spendresponsiblemyfriend

The cost of the item is irrelevant. If I told a client "it will get there when it gets there - or you may not get it at all", my sorry *** would be handed to me tout suite.
#stopbeingasmugasshat