Google Has Forgotten The Customer

I'm trying not to get angry. I'm trying not to rant on about how one company has gotten so big that it has forgotten how to take care of the people who use and love their products. I'm trying to remain calm. But, the truth is that with every minute I'm losing faith in Google. Tuesday night was the last time I was able to get into anything Google. Since then I've been completely locked out of all services.

• gMail is my primary e-mail account. I've been using it since the days when you had to nearly give a blood sample to get an account.
• Calendar keeps me and my family in sync and allows me to keep everything organized from meetings to lacrosse games.
• Reader is what keeps me tapped into what is going on in the world and what my friends are writing.
• Buzz filters up the best stuff on the web and allows me an outlet to share with others.
• Wave allows me to work on projects with people around the world and in the past few weeks has become a critical part of my life.

In a world where I advocate for the web, the cloud and everyone embracing technology, this has made me question all of it.

I guess I never thought about how the tentacles of Google had wrapped around every corner of my life. How much I depend on the services to make it through the day. Plain and simple is that Google makes my life easier.

But, the fact that an account (and I wasn't the only one so I know something must have happened) can be completely turned off and no matter what I try to do, I can't get a hold of a human to get it fixed is wrong. I tried the SMS verification and the codes were denied ever time. I filled out the proper support form. After 24 hours with no response I filled out another one. I've been polite and patient because I do know that they are a huge company and I'm just one random guy with a problem. But, I also know that to fix this is just a click of a few buttons and a password reset.

To everyone that says, "You are C.C. Chapman, don't they know who you are?" That is NOT the point. I am no one. I am one guy out of millions who use their services. I don't deserve any special treatment or attention. But, looking at this now I see just how bad they treat everyone. I've read so many posts from people who have had similar things happen to them and every time the common thread is that Google never pays attention to them.

I don't care how big or small a business is. You must pay attention to the customers. To those who would scream about it being free, then start charging me because I'd pay for it. I already pay for extra mail server space and would pay gladly more if I knew I'd get customer support when I needed it. Plus, when a brand builds it's billions on the back of the free platform, that no longer becomes an excuse for poor service. Google is not some garage based start-up where hiccups are expected, but one of the largest companies in the world.

I hope to use Google again sometime. Even after all this I know there is not a better option out there right now and I know I want to continue to use Google. But, in my heart I want to hate them. I want to hate them in the most vile of ways because this is piss poor business.