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Comment by NoZebra120vClip | Hacker News Reader

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I paid 400 USD per month for their support and this is completely untrue. Google has a culture of unhelpful support. They might have someone that answers the phone. But they will NEVER help you. It's against the Google DNA to help individuals.

We have AdWords accounts that spend 6-7 figures a year and it takes 3 weeks to escalate a ticket correctly.

Except we see this all the time on HN. Google support is yelling loudly into HN/Twitter and hoping a Googler picks up your case internally.

The way Google has proven to work, is you have support until the AI/ML model says terminate the account. Essentially, support exists until you need it most. There's no warning, no explanation, just one day you're done, locked out. You can't even export your content off the platform once terminated. I don't see how Google One is expected to help users when developers for Android/Stadia which pay Google a heck of a lot more end up the same creek [0] [1] etc. You even concede it probably won't be helpful.

[0] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37224391

[1] https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26061935

They eventually get reinstated (looks like d4rken got reinstated last night), but not before they take to social media and Google gets requests for comment from a handful of news outlets. And still, they usually have no idea what they did/didn't do to cause it. They're left guessing but ultimately could have the rug pulled again at anytime.

Your description is pretty on point. It was eerily casual in relation to how much turmoil it creates for me. One day it was gone, another day, it was back. I have no idea why anything happened.

I also think that social-media reach has helped my case.

It feels very dystopian that this is de-facto way to approach these issues with mega-corps.

It's ridiculously dystopian. At a whim they can end a person's livelihood, and depending on how integrated one is in their ecosystem, just erase their whole interface with the world. Unless you get a personal comment from a Googler on social media, there isn't a drop of humanity in the whole thing. Heck, it's almost ritualistic, like how some religions pray/yell out to the God's and craft offerings to appease them. Instead of rain, we pray for access.

How do you subscribe to Google One if you can't sign onto your account?

Create a new account just to give Google some money and pray that they'll give you support about another account?

Not to mention, google is the flakiest company ever. Even if you paid for supoort, the second you tried to use it, you'd likely find it canceled, google having moved on, distracted by some new shiny.

Oh, that support was for google video, but we transitioned your account to Android TV and then Play Video and that support isn't valid, because I'm a vapid airhead called google!

Jesus Google, the average person doesn't want a soap opera and drama, just to use core services.

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