April 22, 2005

• That guy wasted so much energy.
• Yeah, I started to lose sympathy for him around about the 20th email. I mean, give up already; why are people surprised when Microsoft treats them like shit? Then also, people who insist that they be addressed a certain way - call me Mr. Goldin! - tend to get on my nerves. I remember sending a form letter out one time from work, addressed to Ms. so & so - the default - and getting a furious letter back from some old lady who announced that she was NOT a manuscript!
• Um... not to come out in support of the Evil Corporate Overlords, or anything, but... Hotmail accounts are free, right? I've never used Hotmail, so correct me if I'm wrong. But the righteous fire of this guy's indignation at the poor customer service he's receiving in connection with his free email account seems a bit ridiculous to me.
• Oh yeah- and spelling 'Microsoft' with a dollar sign is one of your feebler revolutionary gestures...
• "Carl" is a douche bag. I'd send him an email telling him so, but I don't feel like reading all of his obnoxious emails to determine if he would receive it.
• Some are paid accounts. I think for more storage (I bet they want free gmail accounts now though) I'm nearly tempted to see if carldgoldin@hotmail.com works. Write and tell him he's both bigotted and brainless. Why oh why doesn't he simply get another a/c? (umm....that's if this IS actually true - my b.s. detector came up a bit while reading it)
• The guy seems like a prick. Oh, I'm sorry MISTER Prick... It is so obvious that the responses are automatic responses, if he doesn't realize that he's a moron. It's like arguing with voicemail. Lots of companies are like that unfortunately. If he doesn't like the service, take his business elswhere, don't make it a huge case.
• Self-important bigot threatens to take free account elsewhere.
• I thought hotmail was dead years ago? Hotmail does offer a pay service (which this idiot probably paid for) Geez, give it up already!
• Microsoft is located in Washington state. Why are all the "support" emails originating in India? Why do you insist on rudely addressing customers by their first name, and especially after they have repeatedly complained about it? THE PROPER METHOD OF ADDRESS IS "MR. GOLDIN". ANYTHING ELSE IS VERY INSULTING! If neither your language instructor nor your employer has informed you of this, shame on them! Microsoft will NOT be receiving any of my future business. You can take your predatory policies, and attempts to control rather than serve your customers rather than serve them, and sell it to some one in the Kashmir. Jesus, what a dick!
• i've used hotmail literally from its inception. i've always understood it was free and you get what you pay for. it's good for basic, basic email and storage. and what the_bone said.
• I love the 'threat' to use a different free e-mail account! Ooooohh, we're so scared now! He won't take our free stuff anymore! Scary! On the other hand, hotmail does suck, but this guy just needs to vote with his feet.
• spelling 'Microsoft' with a dollar sign is one of your feebler revolutionary gestures Comrade Stan is right - it's "Mi¢ro$o£t". Fucking amateurs.
• Dear bigot Carl dee dee Goldin, bastard. It has been my cringing experience to witness the fatuous exchange of emails you have chosen to endure with the mighty mighty microsoft. Someone has put up a website with the whole transcript. May I firstly take this opportunity to inform you that there are many companies based in America and other western countries who avail themselves of the cheap labor provided by India in relation to staffing call centres and support teams. Your uncouth and repetitive wailings in the face of both pro forma responses and admittedly frustrating inertia are worthy of sociological study. Your seemingly limitless vitriolic outpourings go beyond all reason and understanding and would be worthy no doubt of inclusion in the Guinness Book of Records for intractable masochism. 10 times would be frustrating and probably suggest a phonecall be made. 20 times would be heartwrenching and prompt a change of account and a physical letter of complaint to microsoft. But you've stayed in the action for 40 fucking emails Carl !!! That's insane endurance for no discernible reason you fool. What is wrong with you? Is the onset of senility insufficent? Are you planning on retiring early to that great customer survey in the sky through having a stroke or a heart attack? Are the nurses bringing you incorrect medication? Do you hear voices telling you to smash your head against a brickwall until you pop a major artery? Were it in my power Carl, I would be the first one there on the hustings with you, cheering support and throwing rocks at the big bad bogieman, microsoft. However, in that my faculties have not yet been deranged by tertiary syphilis and a full frontal lobotomy to reduce my temper tantrums has thus far been unnecessary, I think I'll just sit this one out on the sidelines and watch your thick cranium explode with vitriol across the hyperspace continuum. Thank you for your continued entertainment and please enjoy your shallow 15 minutes of fame. Yours vituperatively,
• Well played, peacay.
• Hold the presses. This just in: New Pope condemns Spain gay bill
• It must be his son/daughter's site.... this is not the only complaint it seems... goldin
• Dammit. Wrong thread.
• Jesus, make a phone call. If I knew how to spoof emails, I'd send Carl a lot of 'em from customerservice@hotmail and customerservice@microsoft.com. "Dear Carl, We are having trouble determining what the issue is. Perhaps if you could explain it more clearly, Satpal Ram" Heh.
• I tried the logical email addi's js....they didn't work. And I couldn't find an addi on the son's site - not that I read through all the 'pet peeves'. Ahh...maybe it's just as well. If that IS the son, then carl must be pretty old.
• Wow there's a whole litany of complaints on peacay's site. I take it this is what they do for a living? I wonder if any of these companies actually care?
• Wow. I had to stop reading once HE STARTED E-MAILING IN ALL CAPS.
• /\/\1cr050|=t 1s th3 Sux0r. I am cool and a revolutionary now.
• In his defense, I also would demand that Microsoft called me Mr., not out of any need to be called it, but just because "fuck Microsoft", that's why. But I did enjoy watching his head explode continuously for so long. That guy can sure sustain a hate boner.
• Ummm... Microsoft never asks you for your account information. This problem started when the idiot responded to a spammer trying to commit identity theft.
• I am still not convinced any of that was real. Come on, "Deepak?" "Poonam?" A wine-making site? It's clearly an elaborate hoax. And peacay, you make me burst out laughing, which startled everyone on the bus.
• I think the guy just wanted a penpal.
• I'll bet Yahoo is shaking in their boots, hoping that MR. GOLDIN will be taking his free e-mail account some where else.
• Wow there's a whole litany of complaints on peacay's site. Umm...that would be GOLDIN'S site. And peacay, you make me burst out laughing, which startled everyone on the bus. *brushes 'dust' from flattened palms* My work here is done. ;- ) cynngood tomorrow
• My job requires that I sometimes email customers. I always address them by their first names. No complaints so far. Also, I want to know where all the hostility towards South Asian phone reps comes from. I hear a lot if at work. My colleagues frequently complain of not being able to speak with anyone who "speaks English" at the insurance companies we call daily. But they DO speak English. Sometimes better than people in my office. And they're a damn sight more polite than their American counterparts. I understand that people are irritated about them for-ners getting our phone-monkey jobs, but jeez.
• What a cock.
• I've contacted MSN Internet online help numerous times, and never gotten anyone with a name that wasn't Middle Eastern. That said, they were never that helpful, but I think that's 'cuz they work for Microsnot, not because of their lineage. Apis, they didn't call him Carl, but "Hello Customer".
• I don't like Microsoft much but I don't like Mr Carl D. Goldin even more. What's dumber than doing something stupid? Doing something stupid and then boasting about it on your own website. Way to go Carl.
• People still use hotmail?!
• Wow. This man needs to be dipped in acid a few times to remove the hardened layers of "angry" coating him. When your first message you send is filled with insults and condesention, why would he expect any different treatment?
• You did very poorly, so poorly that it cannot be expressed without use of an obscene expletive. Is there another kind of expletive?
• Syntactic expletive.
• Mickey: Yes. "Ow!" is one. Or, "Stop it, Carl!" Or perhaps, in Carl's mind, a nice Wrath-of-Kahn-esque "NIKKKKHIIIIILLLLL" will do. Someone please tell me this site's a hoax, by the way. -Kimothy
• I'm thinking it can't be an actual exchange between Microsoft and this Carl person. Nobody is that raging and has that much time on his hands unless he's incarcerated or institutionalized. But if this is real, just imagine all the spittle on his monitor screen. Gross.
• hillarious
• What mygothlaundry, Stan the bat, peacay, jccalhoun, Armitage Shanks etc said.
• I have a confession to make. I sent a letter like this to aol a long time ago. It wasn't racist like this guy, but it was filled name calling. I believe it began with "Dear moronic bastards," and got only better from there. Their reply back was pretty awesome. It began with "We understand from your last missive that you're upset with your service." I still called them up and cancelled, but I did think that was pretty funny. Not only that but it acknowledges everything I said without admitting its true yet without being defensive. It was pretty dang tactful.
• All I can say is, that Micro$oft thing has been a real eye-opener to me. Now that I understand what really motivates them, I am switching to an OS built by unicorns in a gumdrop house and powered by love.
• Isn't everything powered by love? BWAAAAAAA!
• What's love got to do with it? It's just a second-hand emotion.
• The power of love is a force from above, which doesn't suit the architecture of a more stable OS.
• Alls I know is a heartbeat, it's a lovebeat, And a lovebeat is a good vibration, Oh, a heartbeat it's a lovebeat, And when we meet , it's a good sensation, Listen to my heart pound, Listen to my love sound.
• I'm not sure what Hotmail being "free" has to do with anything. Hotmail may not cost the user any money (unless you're on Hotmail Pro 2000 or whatever), but Microsoft isn't just giving away this service out of the goodness of its heart; it's demanding your attention for advertisements in return. Clearly, MS has an interest in attracting and retaining users; thus, MS has an interest in help those users to use the service and to find it continually useful. Whatever the merits of this guy's case (which appear to be nil), there's no reason to expect a service should be shoddy or incomplete just because it doesn't have a monetary cost.
• At one point-in-time, my best friend worked across the hall from the "hotmail" team's office (i.e., the original hotmail staff strung along after MS took over). The 2 offices shared the sole bathroom on that particular floor, so they often had a lot of "restroom chat." Even a couple years after the fact, my friend told me how down-to-earth the "hotmail" people were, and that they operated as if they had no association with MS [and tended to resent any suggestions of such]. At the time they were pretty much given free reign, but I think those days are looong gone...
• Friend of mine used to be the senior UNIX systems administrator for Hotmail, before and during their transition to run everything on Windows (a large portion of its infrastructure used to be Solaris and FreeBSD).
• Oh, and it looks like this guy likes to complain about things a lot.
• Actually, I hate to be called by my first name unless I have introduced myself as such. I always send letters or emails addressed to Mr or Ms (unless I know their preference for Mrs or Ms) or (if appropriate) Dr or Prof. It's just a good habit. If they wish, they will respond with a "please call me ___". It's the safest way too - no one who likes being called by their first name will be offended, and you won't offend those who prefer that formal distance and politeness.
• Actually, I hate to be called by my first name unless I have introduced myself as such Yeah, me too. Do I know you or something?
• Why - did I offend you by calling you by your first name? :) Actually, in less formal situations, such as emailing someone you know from a blog, I am still reluctent to use their first name, because it feels like it is too intimate. Instead, I will use a cheery "Hi" and go on with the email - I sign with my first name (which I don't on formal emails - then I use my whole name), and don't mind being called it back, now that the initial introduction is over.
• I don't normally address someone by their first name in email unless they've emailed me first and signed their email with their first name. Generally if it's MoFi-related (which is the only time this issue comes up for me) I address people by their MoFi nicks because that's what I've gotten to know them as. For example, I know both Wolof's and jb's real names but they're Wolof and jb to me and I will call them such unless they ask otherwise. I think on the odd occasion I've addressed someone by both names, ie. "Hi Tracy/tracicle..."
• Er, that was a generic "you".
• Dear j and Wol, What, you're too good fer us or sump'in? Love, Blue