Recently, I had a great experience with Microsoft, which I wanted to share with everyone.
Presently, I am working on a project which involves another company, another website, and Microsoft Outlook managed email. This not an email address that I use very often, so sure enough I had an issue where I forgot the password. The way Microsoft works when attempting to retrieve your password is all processed automatically, so I had to reply to an email with answers to their questions, in order to verify that the account belonged to me. At some point, a representative would look at the information I provide, and decide whether this account had belonged to me, or whether it is just a spam.
Since I didn’t use the email too often, I didn’t have the information the automatic emails were requesting, and started to worry about gaining access to the accounts. In a last ditch attempt to get the work back on track, I decided to call Microsoft Canada, directly, to see if they could assist me over the phone. Surprisingly, I managed to connect to a real, live voice at the head office switchboard. The fellow who answered the phone was pleasant to deal with, and after I explained my challenge, he connected me to someone else, who he felt could assist me. Since this was not successful, I returned to the switchboard, at which time, he took some details about my situation, and indicated that he would have someone contact me as soon as possible. Within a day, someone had emailed me back, asked me a few questions about my account, and a day later I was back, up and running, with access to my email. The very next day this same employee managed to get me access to a second email address.
For a large company, that is technology focused, Microsoft was a pleasure to work with. Unlike many other websites, and tech companies, that only seem communicate with their customers, online, it was nice to receive that one on one customer interaction, over the phone, rather than dealing with a crisis situation through an automated voice recording or email. They provided great customer service and delivered results quickly and effectively during a stressful time. It is truly reassuring to know that a large company, such as Microsoft, is available, accessible and truly willing to help out when a customer is in need.
