Microsoft’s Support Sets Us Apart

I’ve found that most customers think about the services and support offerings available for a product only when they truly need it. Support is often “out of sight, out of mind” for many customers. But, as the leader of Microsoft’s customer service and support team,  I know through my conversations with friends, family, and with many of our largest customers that once they do need help, they are glad that we are there. 

The launch of Office 2010 earlier this month reminded me just how much this makes us different.  When was the last time you called Google for help recovering a lost Google Doc?  Were you even able to find a number?  My guess is, no.  In my opinion and the opinion of others, Google simply does not provide that level of service.

We have a long history of working with customers to deliver services and support tools. Now we want to enable them to get the most out of their purchase of Office 2010 or SharePoint 2010. 

For consumer and small business customers, we provide traditional support through phone and email, as well as a variety of automated and online capabilities. After all, if you have a book report due at 8 a.m. the next day, you can’t afford to wait for your online applications to be available.

Here in one place is a reference list of many of our tools.

• Solutions through Microsoft Fix it that solve common software problems with the click of a button.
• Community support though Microsoft Answers, an online support forum that provides peer-to-peer help from Microsoft customer support experts, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs), and other community contributors.
• Broad social media support via Twitter and Facebook.
• Improved Online Support with an easily discoverable support tab on Office.com that is a one-stop support resource with access to Microsoft’s team of specialists there to help.

For our enterprise customers, Microsoft Services offers expertise straight from the source to ensure a successful deployment of Microsoft Office and SharePoint 2010. We do this through consulting offerings built on proven intellectual property for all phases of deployment, including:

• Desktop Optimization offerings that provide customers with best practices and tools to help with application compatibility, document conversion, and end-user trainings.
• Business productivity solutions that enable customers to simplify the way they communicate, share expertise, gain business insight, and access information.
• We also provide a variety of support options to our enterprise customers through our Premier Support and Professional Support offerings.

Every day, our goal is to improve our customers’ experience and ensure that they get help in the shortest amount of time possible. 

Ideally, customers would never even have to reach out for help when using our products. But since that is not yet a reality for any company, we want our customers to feel confident that Microsoft will provide the best service and support tools and capabilities, allowing us to deliver a much better support experience versus our competitors.

Posted by Barbara Gordon
CORPORATE VICE PRESIDENT, MICROSOFT CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT