3 ms·

As I have put it, the problem with Microsoft is that they have this huge HR bureaucracy which seems intent primarily on ensuring that people do not advance thei

As I have put it, the problem with Microsoft is that they have this huge HR bureaucracy which seems intent primarily on ensuring that people do not advance their careers too fast. The review process is one part of it, but also consider that when I worked at Product Support Services, I worked with people who should have been coding Microsoft software but weren't due to the tyranny of the levels system. Those who were A- eventually were hired to do this. Those who were FTE's either left to pursue technical work or ended up left to rot as things were moved overseas. I knew very talented people who never got a chance because to get a chance they would have had to quit first. I think the fundamental problem has always been bureaucracy and a mentality of loyalty to one's department over loyalty to the users. I could tell you stories about rules I broke in order to take care of users in line with what I saw as the interests of the company as a whole.

chris_wot 13y ago
I would be interested in hearing those stories!
- einhverfr 13y ago
  Ok, so here was one. There was a point where the Microsoft Office XP (or was it 2003?) advertised different qualifying products than it actually required. I felt that if we advertised it on the box, we needed to honor that. Our managers said, no, offer a refund. So I went ahead and I generated bypass keys allowing people to install the software without a qualifying product. I did so openly. My bosses were not happy. They said they were trying to solve the problem and we needed to do things their way. So finally after a few weeks of this frustration I broke the chain of command and talked with the general manager of my department instead. He agreed that this was totally unacceptable and got the manufacturing stopped, packaging re-done, and the like. My bosses were horrified that I would break the chain of command like this and I got reprimanded by them. Of course the word came down from the top not to generate bypass keys anymore but to offer the customers a free full version we would send to them at our cost. I looked at this, and offered it to the customers, but offered as an alternative a bypass key so they could just install the software they purchased, saving our company time and money. Honestly, I was surprised we weren't sued over the problem, but I was going to be darned sure it was not over someone calling in to my line. There were plenty of other things I did: For example, I actually delivered Linux tech support a few times (always very careful to set expectations that this could not be expected in the future). Needless to say, since my loyalties were to the company and the customers over my bosses, these never came out as positives in review.

chris_wot 13y ago

I would be interested in hearing those stories!

einhverfr 13y ago
Ok, so here was one. There was a point where the Microsoft Office XP (or was it 2003?) advertised different qualifying products than it actually required. I felt that if we advertised it on the box, we needed to honor that. Our managers said, no, offer a refund. So I went ahead and I generated bypass keys allowing people to install the software without a qualifying product. I did so openly. My bosses were not happy. They said they were trying to solve the problem and we needed to do things their way. So finally after a few weeks of this frustration I broke the chain of command and talked with the general manager of my department instead. He agreed that this was totally unacceptable and got the manufacturing stopped, packaging re-done, and the like. My bosses were horrified that I would break the chain of command like this and I got reprimanded by them. Of course the word came down from the top not to generate bypass keys anymore but to offer the customers a free full version we would send to them at our cost. I looked at this, and offered it to the customers, but offered as an alternative a bypass key so they could just install the software they purchased, saving our company time and money. Honestly, I was surprised we weren't sued over the problem, but I was going to be darned sure it was not over someone calling in to my line. There were plenty of other things I did: For example, I actually delivered Linux tech support a few times (always very careful to set expectations that this could not be expected in the future). Needless to say, since my loyalties were to the company and the customers over my bosses, these never came out as positives in review.