Shafted by Microsoft (Microsoft Xbox)

Member Name: guybrush

Product:	Microsoft Xbox
Date:	07/07/04 (655 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Able to play online with other people around the globe, Excellent network performance (using a 512k broadband)., Features such as voice messaging, voice communication and scorecards

Disadvantages: Pompous Customer Service Supervisors, Unfair customer service, Only care for the revenues

Alright children! Continuing with our narration of customer service by excellence, here is the next company to join the hall of shame: Microsoft.

I have acquired a Microsoft X-Box on the 24 of March 2004 - This is, one week after the official release in the UK. I must say that to play on X-Box live is quite a fun thing to do, and I have been doing so for the past two years. In fact, I was one of the X-Box live early adopters that start using the service prior to its release in 2003.

I was quite satisfied with the console, until I received a very annoying email yesterday afternoon:

You're receiving this e-mail because your Xbox Live? Gamertag is almost identical to another subscriber's Gamertag.

To make sure all your stats, hits, tackles and wins are counted; we'd need you to create a new Gamertag. Within the next 10 days, you will be prompted to change your Gamertag when you go to your dash. Simply follow the directions to change your Gamertag and you will be up and running again in no time ready to play.

And as a show of appreciation for making the switch, we'll send you a free copy of Project Gotham Racing® 2. You must call 0800 587 1102 before 31 July 2004 to receive your free copy. Let them know that you received this e-mail about changing your Gamertag and they will take care of the rest.

We apologise for the inconvenience-but with your new Gamertag, the other 1 million players worldwide will have no problem finding you on your Friends List.

Happy Gaming

The Xbox Live Team

Well, here is a newsflash: all my friends can actually find myself because of my current gamertag. I've been using this tag since the Counterstrike revolution, and many friends and gamers managed to "find" myself because of my gamertag.

Ok, for this hassle I would get a copy of Project Gotham Racing 2. Wow! That would be nice, if I didn't had this game already!


So I spoke with a X-Box support representative called Mark, and he explained that this is something that I would have to submit myself into. Well, this is not enough justification for me. Why me? And what if someone else have a similar gamertag? I don't care! People can find me and I am sure the other guy's friends can find him. What a bunch of totalitarianism nonsense.

Ok, I'm not the only one going to be affected by this - fine. But I am sure I am not the only one going to be pi*s*d off by this as well! So, here are the offers: I either get Project Gotham Racing 2 (which I already have), Amped 2 (which I already have), or Brute Force (which I hate). I told Mark that I already have these two games, and that I am not interested in Brute Force, therefore I am only loosing in this deal. So, since I will have to loose my dear gamertag, I asked mark if I could at least get another game that I don't have, and I told him that I would accept Rally Sport Challenge 2.

The answer that I got (from Mike's supervisors) was a bold and snooty "NO" with the bonus catchphrase: "If you want to cancel your subscription, then that's fine".

Well done, Microsoft! What an excellence in customer service! Being involved in customer service for the past two an a half years (curiously, working for Microsoft partners) I could say that I have seen people getting shafted by such haughty attitude.

Well, it seems that the only person shafted here was me. But guess out, I am out of the X-Box live service, and I will make sure to post this message in every single X-Box forum that I find around.

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