Huh, I'll remember the "take it to HN" option if I ever run into big problems with a high-tech company.
That's pretty much the lesson learned for everyone here today. People won't see that you have to complete 18 steps with their customer service beforehand. Instead, they'll see complain on HN = instant gratification.
Look for an increase in this kind of whinging in the very near future, and it won't be fun for anyone.
On the one hand, that kind of thing would probably bring the community down, but on the other, given how this site is such a tech company nexus, would that even be surprising?
Oh, totally. You'll notice over time that Hacker News is the only way to contact google support without spending thousands of dollars on adwords.
Ok, that would explain that. Thanks for the clarification.