MSN Groups Product Support - You Get What You Pay For
So I've had an MSN Group (formerly MSN Communities) called TravelingMarc for a LONG time. I haven't really updated it in a while so every 3-4 months I get a message that it will be deleted for my convenience. There is a link to click to keep the group active. I clicked that link.
Dear Groups User,
Your MSN Group, Traveling Marc, has had no activity in the last 90 days. As a convenience to our users, we periodically delete groups that have become dormant. We hope you'll consider coming back. It's not too late!
If your group remains inactive for another 14 days, we'll go ahead and delete it. If you would like to keep your group, simply click on the link below and follow the instructions on the web page.
We hope your group is back in action soon,
Clicking the "keep my group" link resulted in a page that contained the following:
Hmmm, We Can't Find that Page...
The page you're looking for might have been moved or deleted. Or, perhaps the Web address is misspelled?
Ideas to help you find what you're looking for:
Try refreshing the page (click Refresh or Reload on your browser).
Check the address for spelling and punctuation errors.
Go to MSN Groups Home and look around from there.
So I tried posting a new message on the message board of the group, I tried changing any group settings, I tried adding a new content page, I tried a lot of things. Every one of them resulted in the same error: Hmmmm, We Can't Find that Page...
I decided to contact customer support from a link within the groups pages. Here is what I wrote to them:
Try to take ANY action such as (but not limited to) (a) post a message, (b) click "keep my group" link from an email you sent me, (c) change any managerial settings about the group, etc and I get an error page upon submission containing this:
Hmmm, We Can't Find that Page...
The page you're looking for might have been moved or deleted. Or, perhaps the Web address is misspelled?
Ideas to help you find what you're looking for:
Try refreshing the page (click Refresh or Reload on your browser).
Check the address for spelling and punctuation errors.
Go to MSN Groups Home and look around from there.
They wrote back as follows:
Hello Marc,
Thank you for writing to MSN Groups Technical Support.My name is [XXXXX] and I understand that you are encountering the message, "Hmmm, We Can't Find that Page", when you try to post messages, click the "keep my group" link in the e-mail you received, and change your Group settings. I apologize for the inconvenience you may have experienced.
We have received reports from other customers regarding this. The server that hosts your MSN Group is currently undergoing maintenance or experiencing technical difficulties. With this, you may experience intermittent issues on posting messages, clicking the "keep my group" link, and changing your Group settings. Our product team is aware of this issue and is working diligently to fix this.
You are a valuable customer to MSN and we are glad to give you consistent and effective service. Thank you for using MSN Groups.
Sincerely,
[xxxxx]MSN Groups Technical Support
I thought hard about this. I was wondering, will the group go away because I cannot do anything? Jill wondered the same thing and said I should ask. Here's what I asked:
So perhaps the most important unanswered question is this:
Will my group be deleted since I cannot perform the “keep my group” action to save it?
Inquiring minds would like to know.
The incredibly customized response posted nothing useful back to me. I don't think they read the original question which was still in the email:
Hello Marc,
Thank you for writing to MSN Groups Technical Support.My name is [XXXXX] and I understand you would like to know if your MSN Group, "TravelingMarc," is on the verge of being deleted due to "Can't Find that Page" issue that occur when trying to reactivate your Group through the "Keep my Group" option in the notification e-mail. I am sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you.
While the situation is being looked upon by our Product Team, we encourage you and your Group members to keep the Group active by adding new content or maintaining activity by posting messages or pictures to the site to avoid automatic deletion of the Group due to prolonged inactivity.
You are a valuable customer to MSN and we are glad to give you consistent and effective service. Thank you for using MSN Groups.
Sincerely,
[XXXXX]
MSN Groups Technical Support
I wrote back again pointing out what I thought was obvious but perhaps missed.
Dear [XXXXX] (or whoever next responds tothis) –
That’s kind of the point. YOU CANNOT DO ANYTHING to the group right now that involves posting anything. No one can postcontent, messages, photos, or anything else. Would love an answer to thequestion: Will my group be deleted since I cannot perform the“keep my group” action to save it?
Another templated response.
Hello Marc,
Thank you for writing back to MSN Groups Technical Support.I am [XXXXXX] and I understand that you are not able to post anything in your group and that you want to clarify if your group will be purged since you cannot do any activity. I apologize for the inconvenience this has caused you.
Marc, if you continue to experience the issue in posting any photos, files or documents and message in your group, the other option will be to accept a new member and edit your group pages or create a new one.
Please note that at 120 days of inactivity, we will assume the Group is inactive and delete it.You are a valuable customer to MSN and we are glad to give you consistent and effective service. Thank you for using MSN Groups.
Sincerely,
[XXXXXX]
MSN Groups Technical Support
I was too frustrated to deal anymore. I especially like the note about assuming the group is inactive and deleting it. Wow -- THANKS!!! That is customer service. So I went back and clicked on the link in the original email. And this time it worked! It took 2-3 days to receive a confirmation email, but they did finally send one...
Dear Groups User,
Recent activity in your MSN Group, Traveling Marc, has restored it to "active" status. Your group is no longer marked for deletion.
We're glad you're back!
Free product. Free support. You get what you pay for with this one. I haven't filled out the satisfaction survey, but that is next...
How did we do? Do you have 3-5 minutes for feedback on the support we provided to you? Your feedback will enable the Groups: Free Services Support team to improve your future support experience. We would love to hear from you!
Please click here to give us your feedback:[removed]] Sincerely,
Your MSN Support Team