Google, its products and its customers

Google isn’t just a giant in the data collection and advertising business, it dabbles also in selling some tangible products. Things like thermostats, smartphones, surveillance cameras among other gizmos. For a dozen years, we’ve been using Nest thermostats a few months before the company bought the brand in 2014. 

The three machines we have have worked perfectly during that time until late October I was told by some email I ignored that Google would no longer support the 1st and 2nd generation of that product. A few weeks ago as I was fine tuning my climate control ahead of winter weather, I realized that I couldn’t do it, as was the case in the past, from my smartphone or my computer. 

Then I realized that I would have to upgrade with the company 4th generation of product at a preferential cost just under $490 instead of $885! I tried to contact Google to know the details involved with the deal, but wasted my precious time in the maze of their web-based customer support service. I got stuck and couldn’t get anywhere. 

That’s how, through various forums and other inline information I gathered, I came to the conclusion that the Google management knows damned well that their customer support is worthless. Yet, the company has historically prioritized self‑service help centers and community forums over direct human support, which fuels my perception of “hopeless” service. 

Directing most users to its online Help Center allows Google to do without live agents and save big. With billions of users across Gmail, YouTube, Android, and more, Google leans on automation and documentation rather than staffing massive call centers. For the love of money, Google’s leadership has chosen to invest in scalable, automated support rather than traditional customer service models. 

This is a deliberate decision, not ignorance, in spite of the fact that complex problems (account recovery, billing disputes, device malfunctions) often leave users stranded. The net result is that most customers feel abandoned, especially when compared to competitors with stronger live support systems. Google’s leadership knows its support reputation is down the toilets, but it’s a calculated trade‑off. 

They’ve chosen scale and automation over human service, which leaves many customers frustrated but adds to their bottom line. So, what will I do? Never, ever buy a product from Google. The company is only good at selling ad space and sucking customer data, but is woefully unable to “play merchant”.