I just got ripped off by Microsoft's paid support group

[linazelle]

I have been struggling to put an excel spreadsheet together for weeks--so much so, that I bit the bullet yesterday and signed up with Microsoft's Excel support group for paid help. I talked to one guy whose thick accent I couldn't understand so I was given a ticket for a callback. "Mike" called--in hindsight what a fitting name. Mike also had a heavy accent but I was able to communicate with him. I emailed my spreadsheet to him. He told me he'd call me back by noon. At 12:15 he called to tell me he didn't understand the formulas in my worksheet--all MS formulas, no Visual Basic or anything. He didn't understand the VLOOKUP links. I explained them to him. He said he would try to figure out the solution and get back to me Sunday or Monday morning but he would email me a response by Saturday night as to his progress.

I returned home this evening before the 5PM support line closed to call him because I had not gotten an email. He told me he had turned the problem over to the professional group to do some programming for it or something.

I asked when they'd be done, or when I would hear back. He said he'd call back. Never did.

Of course I can and will call them tomorrow to complain and perhaps get a refund, but the thing is, I have wasted precious time with them thinking I would have a solution and this is what I get.

This is a rant, more than anything. But if you're ever thinking about calling MS's support people, beware.

On Edit: If there are any Excel experts here, HELLLLPPP!!

[mainegreen]

1. MS tech support is often incompitent.

I spent 3 days working with a SQL Server support 'guru' over tech support, and in the end I felt like they should pay me as I knew more than Veejay, the tech, and actually spent a lot of time explaining to him how SQL server really works, below the veneer of the wizards.

*sigh*

Out of curiosity, what are you attempting to do with Excel?

[linazelle]

2. I have a workbook with about 2 pages--20 of the pages are for

various work units. I am trying to tie the daily data for each of the units together in various tables, so that I can chart and analyze the data. For instance, Unit A has about 10 different measures that I can pull up through a vlookup formula which is for one day only. I need to be able to review the data not just by day, but by week or month to track cumulative performance.

At this point, I must resort to manual cut and pastes for massive amounts of data to do this. I know it can be automated--anything that you have to do over and over can be automated. But how is the question.

[demosincebirth]

3. I signed up with MS support a few month ago.

I couldn't understand anyone clearly and did not solve any problems because of it, so I canceled and got a refund on my cc.