Talking To A Box Of Rocks

Then, this morning, Feb. 26, (Day 17), I found this waiting in my inbox when I logged on:

From: jxx@microsoft.com (Jxx Gxx)
Date: Sun, Feb 25, 2001, 11:05pm
To: fxx@webtv.net
Subject: FW: POP3 access

Fxx, did you receive any assistance on this yet? Please let me know so we can get you the right help to address/resolve the problem.

Look fwd to hearing from you.

Jxx Gxx

J. G. is the recently appointed Customer Communication And Retention Manager I mentioned earlier. He works at Microsoft, in Redmond, WA, and oversees various aspects of WebTV©'s customer relations, among other duties.

I responded to him:

From: fxx@webtv.net
Date: Tue, Feb 27, 2001, 10:38am
To: jxx@microsoft.com (Jxx Gxx)
Subject: Re: FW: POP3 access

Thanks for your interest, Mr. Gxx. As a matter of fact, no, the issue hasn't yet been resolved. The last communication I received prior to yours was this one:

=====================
From: wecare@webtv.net (WebTV Customer Care)
Date: Fri, Feb 23, 2001, 5:42pm
To: fxx@webtv.net
Subject: Re: Re: POP3 access

Dear fxx

Thank you for contacting WebTV email support. Unfortunately I wasn't able to duplicate the isse that you are having. Your email has been forwarded to our escalation team, who will investigate this issue, and call you back.
=====================

I spent some time yesterday re-tracing my original troubleshooting steps, to no avail. I don't know what is meant by "...call you back." I assume they mean they'll write.

The truth be known, my intention at this point would more likely be to determine if I am the only one having this problem, or if others have, or might have, and whether something needs to be fixed so it won't happen in the future.

I really have no idea how many have taken advantage of this feature up till now, or how many may need to.

I wonder, too, if I might have had better results had I called 1-800-GOWEBTV instead of using the Help Center, but this is a good test of the system.

Thank you again,
fxx

On the 27th of February, John put this in the hands of one of WebTV©'s Senior Techs for resolution. This is the last written communication to date, March 4, 2001. He wrote:

From: jxx@microsoft.com (Jxx Gxx)
Date: Tue, Feb 27, 2001, 10:49am
To: mxx@corp.webtv.net (Mxx Cxx)
Cc: fxx@webtv.net
Subject: Help w/ POP3 Access

Mxx, would you mind helping Fxx w/ these problems?

The rest of this mail was QTE (Quoted Text Edit) from my previous mails.

On Friday, March 2, I had a telephone conversation with John, about a number of WebTV© service-related issues, including this one. His goal is to improve communication and service, and I'm awaiting the outcome of this. I will let you know the minute I know anything more.

Saturday, March 10, 2001... My confidence in a swiftly forthcoming resolution was ill-placed. Still nothing, and not a word since my phone conversation with J. G. on March 5. I will give it 5 more days, because I am either generous or a fool. My current month's subscription to WebTV expires March 18, and I will be canceling my account on the 15th, whether or not this situation is resolved. If anything happens between now and then, I'll put it right here.

In the meantime, after four years (on and off) with WebTV©, I've drawn some conclusions. I also have an example of how this whole thing could have been handled from the start. Take your pick: