Why I No Longer Trust Microsoft
I am the CEO of an SMB. I recently purchased a new Lenovo ThinkPad with Windows 7 preinstalled. For more than 2 years I remained on Windows 7 amidst myriad pressures to upgrade to Windows 8. Windows 7 - as far as I could tell - was more aligned and more essential to my use of the Windows OS than was Windows 8. However, since I purchased my new laptop and since the subsequent release of Windows 10, I have received daily messages and advertisements from Microsoft encouraging me to upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10. After much deliberation and independent research, I finally decided that Windows 10 seemed stable and functional enough to deliver a user experience matched to my needs. Upon upgrading my machine to Windows 10 I immediately began experiencing an issue with my dual monitors - attached via my Lenovo laptop's docking station. My displays appeared to be shorting in and out at a high frequency - the on-screen images jumping between one another, visible and non-visible - basically making it impossible for me to use my computing station as I had done so in all the time prior to installing Windows 10. As I began to troubleshoot the issue, I conducted a few hours of research and then gained quick access to Lenovo's customer service to troubleshoot any potential hardware issues, ensuring that it was not their product causing the displays to malfunction. I certainly appreciated the 1-2 hours of service that Lenovo provided, even in spite of the fact that we agreed Windows 10 was the only ‘new’ variable that had been introduced into my computing environment before it began to malfunction and behave erratically. With confirmation that the hardware was not to blame, I shifted my attention to Microsoft's customer service to address potential software issues. After a 5-6 hour session, the Microsoft customer service rep identified that Windows 10 would not work with displays requiring 2 different drivers. According to the rep, this meant that my laptop would no longer be able to display to 2 monitors of differing brands or differing models (in a lot of cases). The rep then advised that I should purchase 2 monitors of the same make and model because the Windows 10 OS was configured to work properly with dual monitors using a single driver. I heeded the advice and proceeded to invest more than $250.00 in the suggested hardware solution I was lead to believe would eliminate the problem. However, installing two monitors of the same make/model did not correct the issue I was experiencing. As such, I attempted to reconnect with Microsoft's customer service to conduct more testing and troubleshooting until the issue was resolved. The ensuing customer service calls I have made to Microsoft, have taken an additional four or more hours of my time (beyond the previous 5-6 hour call from which I learned that an alleged driver issue was to blame to no avail). To date I have spent 10 or more hours combined on the phone with representatives from Microsoft. On the subsequent calls after I had been given what now appears to be misinformation about Windows 10’s capacity to handle dual monitors on a single driver, I have been told on an additional 2 separate occasions that my case would be escalated and that I would receive a customer service call from a "Tier Two Support Technician." In the first instance that I received this promise from Microsoft, they even called me back to assure me that the call would come from The Tier Two Support Technician as early as 7AM the following day. No one from Microsoft – Tier 2 or otherwise – placed a call to me on the next day as I had been promised they would. Furthermore, when I called Microsoft back to inquire why I had not received a call as promised they responded by attempting to solicit my credit card number in order to charge me for a service that they had already established Microsoft would be providing at no charge. When I refused to provide a credit card number, citing my overall irritation with their inconsistent information and failure to meet a commitment, I was told that the case would again be escalated and the rep again set an appointment and my expectations for a direct call from a Tier Two Support Technician at no charge. In the following days (10/27–11/1) this appointment was missed and reps from Microsoft set one additional appointment that was missed, bringing the total number of missed appointments to 3. After spending 10 hours and almost 3 weeks trying to have what by my estimation was a simple driver issue corrected, I've not received adequate service or even service as Microsoft has promised and committed to providing me. At this point I would not recommend use of Windows 10 or any Microsoft Product as the Microsoft Customer service organization seems to be in disrepair and run by a group not competent enough to service Microsoft's products; a group also easily characterized as caring too little about Microsoft's customers and Microsoft’s brand to keep the promises and to meet the commitments it makes to Microsoft’s paying customers in need of service. My case numbers with Microsoft customer service are 1310927985 and 1310592129; all the information I have disclosed is documented under case files associated with these case numbers.
