Beware of Microsoft Office Live Small Business

For the past year I have used Microsoft Office Live Small Business for my own small business needs. Being an independent travel agent I needed a way to reach a large volume of potential clients and I was able to do so through creating a website. Each of my independent agents, five in all, were able to create their own websites and do the same.

Although the product itself was average; no major complaints to date, their customer service is appalling. The customer service is actually what made me decide to cancel my six accounts that I have with them.

Whenever you have a problem they always send you through a loop stating "we are sorry for your inconvenience, but..." You are sent into this proverbial sphere of nothing regardless of your complaint. It is like they are trained robots that fear any confrontation so instead of really caring they blurt out the same phrase all the time. What goes on with their training? I understand that many companies have the motto "customers are always right", but come on at least give your employees two or three different phrases to chose from. This is where I knew that they really did not have any concern regarding my problems. They used form lettered emails and just switched the name on the top before they sent them out.

After fighting with them for nearly two weeks they finally refunded the fees for one of my domain names (it was a charge that should of never occurred in the first place). I was excited; finally a small victory for the little guy. However my victory was short lived because they refunded it to the wrong card. In fact it was a card that I had on my account but disabled it nearly a year ago due to the fact that I downsized my credit cards. So they finally grant me this refund and they put it on my MasterCard (which is no longer in my possession and has not been used in at least a year). The renewal amount was charged on my VISA.

When I contacted them this is the reply I got back, "I understand that you want the refund on your VISA credit card. I realize the importance of your concern. As the domain renewal charge has been refunded to the MasterCard, I would request you to contact your bank for this, as we will not be able to provide you with the refund again." Once again they sound all nice and sweet but give you the run around.

When I asked them if this was something they can legally do, refund an amount on a credit card that was never charged, they now have choose to end all contact with me. Now I am left with a bitter taste in my mouth. It took me nearly two weeks to get someone to acknowledge my complaint and rectify it. Now they have made yet another mistake (by refunding the wrong card) and I am expected to take more time out and try to hunt down where the refund went. Why should I have to contact the MasterCard company. Since the account has not been used in over a year I am sure they would not have a solution for me either.

The bottom line here is the company's reputation is only as good as their customer service personnel. If there is no customer service, regardless of the quality of the product, I would always take my business elsewhere.