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From: del@pilchuck.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Microsoft customer "support", why it is.
Message-ID: <599@pilchuck.Data-IO.COM>
Date: Sun, 8-Feb-87 18:59:01 EST
Article-I.D.: pilchuck.599
Posted: Sun Feb  8 18:59:01 1987
Date-Received: Tue, 10-Feb-87 02:29:37 EST
References: <216700006@orstcs.UUCP> <384@ttidca.UUCP>
Reply-To: del@pilchuck.UUCP (Erik Lindberg)
Organization: Data I/O - FutureNet Corp.; Redmond, WA
Lines: 34


This explanation has been posted before, guess it's my turn. I saw
someone from Microsoft post something similar to this once a long time
ago, I guess they have given up trying to reason with people.

Microsoft does not have the best customer support in the world, but it
is at least reasonable. It is unreasonable for you to expect them to
support MS-DOS! MS-DOS is an OEM product only, Microsoft does not sell
it (retail). PC-DOS is only MS-DOS with IBM PC drivers in it, OEM'ed to IBM.

Whoever the OEM that purchases the MS-DOS is expected to provide their
own support for it. Or they could probably pay Microsoft to provide
support, but I suppose they would rather pay less money and not get the
added service, why should they? If it doesn't increase their revenue more
than the cost of the support, it is wasted money.

I have no doubt that it is a real pain for Microsoft to have all these
people running around pissed off because MS doesn't support "their"
product. In actuality, you should be pissed off at the OEM that is the
"sponsor" of your particular version of MS-DOS. I actually had one guy,
that was so ignorant that he didn't know PC-DOS and MS-DOS were one and
the same, tell me he would never buy another product from Microsoft because
they don't support their customers, and HE bought his DOS from IBM because
theirs was better, had fewer bugs, and IBM supported their customers (!?!).

I don't work for Microsoft, don't particularly like them, and have no
association with them that is not absolutely necessary. But I support
free enterprise and their right to run their business in a manner that
will make a fair profit. And I respect them for doing an exceedingly good
job at the latter.

-- 
del (Erik Lindberg) 
uw-beaver!tikal!pilchuck!del