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> Their free services have no direct support channels, as expected Why is this "as expected"? Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon all have direct support ch

> Their free services have no direct support channels, as expected Why is this "as expected"? Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, and Amazon all have direct support channels for free tier customers. They aren't as prompt, but it's only Google who doesn't have these things at all.

chipperyman573 8y ago
Do they? * I don't believe Microsoft offers support for their free products to people who haven't bought an O365 licence, and instead you have to use their god-awful Microsoft Answers forum (they seem to change this up every few years though so this might not currently be the case). It's community support so if you're having an issue with your account this won't help you, but if you're confused about how to use a product Microsoft makes you might get a response. * Apple doesn't have any free products (even if you have only downloaded free apps and listen to free audiobooks, you have to run it on hardware you purchased from them). * Similarly, Amazon requires you to pay in one way or another (Buying an item, paying for prime to watch prime video, etc) to use any of their services. AFAIK AWS doesn't have free support. * Facebook has a "help center" that's marginally more useful than Microsoft's, but it has the same problem... it's all community support so nobody can "pull up" your account to fix any real issues (like being locked out).
- code_duck 8y ago
  Apple makes some software available for other platforms without charge, such as Safari for Windows.
  - chipperyman573 8y ago
    Do they offer support for it? I am really asking, I have no idea. I would assume they don't
    - code_duck 8y ago
      I have no clue. I don’t know what support people would think they need for a browser, but computer illiterate people expect some crazy things.
- B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
  > I don't believe Microsoft offers support for their free products to people who haven't bought an O365 licence Over a year ago I had a couple of polite email exchanges with MS support about a family member's free OneDrive account, using the email address they put front and center. (They were courteous but did not budge on MS unilaterally curtailing the 15 GB offer used to sell phones to consumers a few months prior.)

chipperyman573 8y ago

Do they? * I don't believe Microsoft offers support for their free products to people who haven't bought an O365 licence, and instead you have to use their god-awful Microsoft Answers forum (they seem to change this up every few years though so this might not currently be the case). It's community support so if you're having an issue with your account this won't help you, but if you're confused about how to use a product Microsoft makes you might get a response. * Apple doesn't have any free products (even if you have only downloaded free apps and listen to free audiobooks, you have to run it on hardware you purchased from them). * Similarly, Amazon requires you to pay in one way or another (Buying an item, paying for prime to watch prime video, etc) to use any of their services. AFAIK AWS doesn't have free support. * Facebook has a "help center" that's marginally more useful than Microsoft's, but it has the same problem... it's all community support so nobody can "pull up" your account to fix any real issues (like being locked out).

code_duck 8y ago
Apple makes some software available for other platforms without charge, such as Safari for Windows.
- chipperyman573 8y ago
  Do they offer support for it? I am really asking, I have no idea. I would assume they don't
  - code_duck 8y ago
    I have no clue. I don’t know what support people would think they need for a browser, but computer illiterate people expect some crazy things.
B1FF_PSUVM 8y ago
> I don't believe Microsoft offers support for their free products to people who haven't bought an O365 licence Over a year ago I had a couple of polite email exchanges with MS support about a family member's free OneDrive account, using the email address they put front and center. (They were courteous but did not budge on MS unilaterally curtailing the 15 GB offer used to sell phones to consumers a few months prior.)