7 ms·

It is not an exaggeration. It has happened to me - I lost everything, calendar, email, g+ (which I had not ever updated and had no ToS violations on), absolute

It is not an exaggeration. It has happened to me - I lost everything, calendar, email, g+ (which I had not ever updated and had no ToS violations on), absolutely everything. In the next two days I googled (yes, I did) for answers while receiving automated messages that seemed to indicate I was never getting my accounts back (submitted the form they asked me to, but nothing came of it). I lost my appointments, contacts, and had business people doubt my veracity, as I'd just given my gmail to several new contacts and their initial emails all bounced. If I hadn't had multiple friends inside of google I might never have gotten my accounts back, and I heard they weren't even sure what exactly happened other than a confluence of events. I then learned how very very common it is to lose a google account and never know why, and never be able get back anything on them (family pictures, phone numbers stored in contact lists...) I'm now mostly divested from google and the things I still have there I now have backups and redundancies for.

vaksel 14y ago
yeah you shouldn't need to have friends inside Google to get basic customer service
GFischer 14y ago
My mother had her account hacked.. she never got it back, despite trying repeatedly. And she had all of her digital life in there. She made for herself another Gmail account which she has safeguarded a lot more, but it's still chilling to know that you have no recourse. Gmail is so convenient, that it's hard not to use it, but I'd pay for customer service.
- maratd 14y ago
  > but I'd pay for customer service. So pay for it? I'm not saying that it's right for Google to do this, but they do offer that option. With a Google Apps subscription, you get support.
  - ubernostrum 14y ago
    Many, many times we've heard these stories from even paying customers of Google. Generally, if it can't be implemented by an algorithm, Google's not going to do it, ever.
    - aperrien 14y ago
      With paying customers? That will continue until they face their first lawsuit...
      - ubernostrum 14y ago
        Lawsuit for what? Google's terms are set up such that "we algorithmically decide to provide you with nothing whatsoever in exchange for your money" is perfectly within their rights.
        mattmanser 14y ago
        Not in many countries, there are consumer protection laws.
    - alexqgb 14y ago
      Confirmed. When I say Google supplied me with the single worst customer service I've ever had, I do mean customer. Not user. Customer. e.g. "24/7 Support" meant I was free to sent them an e-mail anytime, day or night. Or I could call the 800 line and leave a message ("Calls are usually returned within two business days!"). When I did get through this way, I had to run a gauntlet to convince the asshole (and he was an asshole) that I'd exhausted every imaginable self service option before having the audacity to call for help directly - even though this was the exact service I was paying for. Seriously, you'd think I'd called 911 to report that I was running out of milk and eggs. In reality, my accounts had vanished completely. Business accounts, I might add. Not that it mattered to Google. Like an earlier commenter noted - if you use Google for anything that matters, you'll probably be okay. After all, the odds are in your favor. But if you do get screwed, you get screwed completely, suddenly, and without warning. And that's true of customers and users alike.
- sireat 14y ago
  Your mother didn't have multiple friends inside Google. This is the story we hear again and again - you CAN get customer service from Google if you have contacts inside or you can raise a big stink at some forum that Googlers read.
abraham 14y ago
It sounds more like your Google account was disabled for some reason and it had nothing to do with your G+ profile.

vaksel 14y ago

yeah you shouldn't need to have friends inside Google to get basic customer service

GFischer 14y ago

My mother had her account hacked.. she never got it back, despite trying repeatedly. And she had all of her digital life in there. She made for herself another Gmail account which she has safeguarded a lot more, but it's still chilling to know that you have no recourse. Gmail is so convenient, that it's hard not to use it, but I'd pay for customer service.

maratd 14y ago
> but I'd pay for customer service. So pay for it? I'm not saying that it's right for Google to do this, but they do offer that option. With a Google Apps subscription, you get support.
- ubernostrum 14y ago
  Many, many times we've heard these stories from even paying customers of Google. Generally, if it can't be implemented by an algorithm, Google's not going to do it, ever.
  - aperrien 14y ago
    With paying customers? That will continue until they face their first lawsuit...
    - ubernostrum 14y ago
      Lawsuit for what? Google's terms are set up such that "we algorithmically decide to provide you with nothing whatsoever in exchange for your money" is perfectly within their rights.
      - mattmanser 14y ago
        Not in many countries, there are consumer protection laws.
  - alexqgb 14y ago
    Confirmed. When I say Google supplied me with the single worst customer service I've ever had, I do mean customer. Not user. Customer. e.g. "24/7 Support" meant I was free to sent them an e-mail anytime, day or night. Or I could call the 800 line and leave a message ("Calls are usually returned within two business days!"). When I did get through this way, I had to run a gauntlet to convince the asshole (and he was an asshole) that I'd exhausted every imaginable self service option before having the audacity to call for help directly - even though this was the exact service I was paying for. Seriously, you'd think I'd called 911 to report that I was running out of milk and eggs. In reality, my accounts had vanished completely. Business accounts, I might add. Not that it mattered to Google. Like an earlier commenter noted - if you use Google for anything that matters, you'll probably be okay. After all, the odds are in your favor. But if you do get screwed, you get screwed completely, suddenly, and without warning. And that's true of customers and users alike.
sireat 14y ago
Your mother didn't have multiple friends inside Google. This is the story we hear again and again - you CAN get customer service from Google if you have contacts inside or you can raise a big stink at some forum that Googlers read.

abraham 14y ago

It sounds more like your Google account was disabled for some reason and it had nothing to do with your G+ profile.