3 ms·

HN is the only useful escalation mechanism at this point, so have an upvote.

TimTheTinker 4y ago
I somewhat doubt Google responds effectively anymore to bad PR on HN, because (a) they're so large and each group is acting in its own best interest, and (b) Google has for so long had a cultural belief in the fiction that better automation™ or at least mechanical turk-style automation (low-cost, powerless, script-following, outsourced support agents) is always preferable to personally serving people. In other words, the further they position themselves from the people they serve, the better and more "scalable" their business will be.
- jldugger 4y ago
  Im confident theres a few googlers watching things and happy to play the role of Harry Tuttle.
  - ergocoder 4y ago
    I'm an ex googler, and I am furious. If I was still at Google, I would have posted this shit on memegen making fun of the Play team all day. They should be ashamed for handling customers like this.
    - solardev 4y ago
      > They should be ashamed for handling customers like this. That's been the case with almost every Google service I've ever used =/ Even paid ones, like GCloud, Adwords, Workspace... even when you can get in touch with a human (which is hard enough on its own), they are usually not helpful at all. Customer service really isn't your ex-company's forte. I think the one exception to that has been Google Fi, the tiny wireless MVNO. For some reason their support has always been amazing, quick and helpful and to the point. No runarounds, they just do what it takes to solve your issues. I was astounded how much better they were not just compared to the rest of Google, but also compared to major carriers like Verizon and AT&T.
    - mcv 4y ago
      > They should be ashamed for handling customers like this. But is shame allowed by Play policy?
- iepathos 4y ago
  I've seen posts on HN within last year where Google screwed something up with censorship or app review. Posts get massively upvoted here and within a day or two Google fixes it. Could be coincidental, but highly probable that some Googlers read HN and act to fix high publicity problems or even just problems that they weren't really aware of until reading about it here.
  - jiggawatts 4y ago
    I ranted here about a YouTube app problem that only occurs on Google TV (Android-based), and within like two weeks it was fixed. Coincidence?

I somewhat doubt Google responds effectively anymore to bad PR on HN, because (a) they're so large and each group is acting in its own best interest, and (b) Google has for so long had a cultural belief in the fiction that better automation™ or at least mechanical turk-style automation (low-cost, powerless, script-following, outsourced support agents) is always preferable to personally serving people. In other words, the further they position themselves from the people they serve, the better and more "scalable" their business will be.

jldugger 4y ago
Im confident theres a few googlers watching things and happy to play the role of Harry Tuttle.
- ergocoder 4y ago
  I'm an ex googler, and I am furious. If I was still at Google, I would have posted this shit on memegen making fun of the Play team all day. They should be ashamed for handling customers like this.
  - solardev 4y ago
    > They should be ashamed for handling customers like this. That's been the case with almost every Google service I've ever used =/ Even paid ones, like GCloud, Adwords, Workspace... even when you can get in touch with a human (which is hard enough on its own), they are usually not helpful at all. Customer service really isn't your ex-company's forte. I think the one exception to that has been Google Fi, the tiny wireless MVNO. For some reason their support has always been amazing, quick and helpful and to the point. No runarounds, they just do what it takes to solve your issues. I was astounded how much better they were not just compared to the rest of Google, but also compared to major carriers like Verizon and AT&T.
  - mcv 4y ago
    > They should be ashamed for handling customers like this. But is shame allowed by Play policy?
iepathos 4y ago
I've seen posts on HN within last year where Google screwed something up with censorship or app review. Posts get massively upvoted here and within a day or two Google fixes it. Could be coincidental, but highly probable that some Googlers read HN and act to fix high publicity problems or even just problems that they weren't really aware of until reading about it here.
- jiggawatts 4y ago
  I ranted here about a YouTube app problem that only occurs on Google TV (Android-based), and within like two weeks it was fixed. Coincidence?