Last Updated on: 11th October 2013, 09:39 am
A friend of mine just sent me this email that he got from Microsoft Canada regarding a problem he’d been having with them. It’s very funny but requires a little backstory to make sense.
He recently got a new computer, yea for him! However, before he got the new computer, he also just finished paying for a new copy of Office XP. Now because of product activation schemes that Microsoft uses to protect their software from being stolen, he couldn’t put his *legally aquired* copy of the software on the new computer because it was already on the old one. And since Office ain’t exactly cheap, even when it’s the student version bought on a bit of a discount, he quite rightly phoned them and asked for another key so that he could use his software. They wouldn’t give him one, no matter what he said and told him that he would either have to upgrade his Windows or buy Office again. Well, he wasn’t having any of that and flat out told the guy on the phone that if he wasn’t going to get another key from them, that he was going to pirate one but that he was doing his best to keep things legal and on the up and up. That comment, and some emails exchanged between the 2, seem to have prompted a thank you letter of sorts.
Dear chad,
Thank you for contacting Microsoft Canada,
I am so sorry that you could not use your copy of office xp on another machine. I wish we had a different type of license I could offer. Thank you for trying your best to remain legal with your use of the software.
Microsoft constantly strives to bring you the best products, innovative designs, friendly sales and excellent customer service. We appreciate your business and look forward to serving you in the future. If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at 1-877-568-2495 or visit our website at
www.microsoft.com/canada.
Thank you,
Moses
Microsoft Canada Co.
Microsoft Resource Centre
We want our customers to be very satisfied with our service.
They want their customers to be completely satisfied with the service? Well they’re on the right track if their goal is to make people buy extra shit they don’t need at inflated prices and then not let them use it the way they need to without buying even more crap they don’t need. And it really seems from that letter that the guy just kind of gave up doesn’t it? “Thanks for trying, but ahh hell, just take it if you need to, ya tried to do this all legal and stuff, but just forget it.”
But man, it just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside that they put that little personal touch in there and decided to thank him for not pilfering stuff. Folks, Microsoft cares, don’t ever forget that.