Hacker News Reader

Comment by runjake | Hacker News Reader

In your blog post above, you repeatedly imply or directly state that we are its customers. I believe that's a huge error in your argument.

We are not Google's customers, we are Google's product. Google is an advertising business and we are the eyeballs it seeks. Android is merely meant as a pathway for those eyeballs. Same with Gmail, Youtube, etc.

Google giving us support is akin to a beef farm offering massages and a counseling hotline to their cattle.

View on HN

No - this is not universally true.

e.g. Google Apps for Business is a PAID product that is not advertising supported.

The sales literature says "Count on our 24/7 customer support" - http://www.google.com/intl/en/enterprise/apps/business/benef...

Unfortunately, per my post above, customer support is basically every bit as lousy for customers of paid products as it is for users of free ones.

I agree when we're talking about Gmail & YouTube.

But when I'm paying Google several hundred pounds to buy a Nexus device, I think that I am a customer.

You are a customer for the hardware, but not the software or services, where you are again the product.

Google Play, however, has customer support.

http://support.google.com/googleplay/bin/request.py?&p=p...

Returning my Nexus 4 was a traumatic experience. It took over a month, with far too many emails and phone calls. Sadly, the customer support staff are probably trying their best, but the information and systems they have are completely inadequate.

I had the exact same experience. I emailed to return the nexus, did not get a response. I called them and they said they would set up a return, then I didn't hear anything. I called them again and they told me I past the deadline to return the tablet so they couldn't accept it. I then spent an hour arguing with them that I had started the return process before the deadline and that it was their lousy support that put us past the deadline.

Finally I just had to be obstinate and say "I want to speak to your manager." over and over and over again until I got to someone who knew how to look up my support ticket and see that I had started the return process before the deadline. Eventually they sent me the info I needed to return the device, but by that time I was so scared I would send it to them and then not get a refund that I chose to sell it instead.

Google giving us support is akin to a beef farm offering massages and a counseling hotline to their cattle.

LOL! :)

Reply on news.ycombinator.com