Answered by:
Claim by TechNet Subscriber that his posts were ignored by Microsoft support staff.

Question
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A TechNet subscriber posted in a pre-SP 2010 forum that the following two threads from him had not been answered by Microsoft support staff.
I deleted the post there as being off-topic as the technical forums are not the place to complain about a lack of support from Microsoft, but perhaps this is a better place for it.
There were replies from the community within 48 hours to both threads so the rather odd phrase in the present support agreement (WILL be answered by an MVP or a peer within 48 hours - impossible for MS to guarantee in my opinion) was covered. [He quoted there the older text that guaranteed support *from Microsoft support staff* within 48 hours.].
P.S. I did consider posting this to MSDN, TechNet, and Expression Profile and Recognition System Discussions but this is not a general discussion about recognition systems or TechNet but a specific question about the forums not handling two specific TechNet subscriber posts correctly (in his view).
SP 2010 "FAQ" (mainly useful links): http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx
WSS3/MOSS FAQ (FAQ and Links) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx
Both also have links to extensive book lists and to (free) on-line chapters- Edited by Mike Walsh FIN Monday, January 16, 2012 7:48 AM
Answers
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a_T I'm just reporting what has happened to other Technet subscribers, that they didn't get in the system so that their LiveID they were using to sign into the forums did not have the flag in the system alerting Microsoft people that they were Technet folks.
Two things have to occur for this guarantee of posting to occur.
1. You need to be signed in with a LiveID account that brands you on the backend as a Technet Subscription poster. As other people have stated it would be nice if this was publicly exposed, it isn't. So if you are not getting your promised service, make sure that what you think is the Technet flagged LiveID really is the Technet flagged LiveID.
2. Ensure you are posting in a forum that has a technet posting guarantee. Not all forums are Technet guaranteed posting forums as Ed has pointed out.
http://technet.microsoft.com/subscriptions/ms788697.aspx
That's the list. If you post in a forum not in that list, you won't get a MS posting.
Given that it appears that #2 is correct, then yes, I'd say that calling up the Technet subscriber folks http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb856399 and making sure your LiveID is properly flagged in the system would be the recommended course of action.
I've personally seen it where the LiveID doesn't have the proper flags on the back side based on my own experience and other posters. Like I said, unfortuately this isn't something that is exposed, and the only way to check is by calling.
Sorry, I don't work for Microsoft either, I'm just posting what I know from past experiences.
And P.S. Office Small Business Accounting is dead. There will be no compat with a dead product.
- Proposed as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Friday, January 27, 2012 8:37 PM
- Marked as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:45 PM
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It seems that the customer experience could be improved by making this status available.
Several benefits:
one could immediately see if the status is correct and take immediate action (rather than waiting and wondering what is going on);
other users would see a quick response and sign up for technet as well.
- Proposed as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Tuesday, January 31, 2012 12:09 AM
- Marked as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:44 PM
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In the end I broke down and ended up using a support incident, 6 hours later with the help of a skilled MS Engineer, my data was finally on server b.
I hope that in the end this been a useful in providing feedback on the implementation of the 48 hr Microsoft response time.
Thanks all for your help.
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UPDATE:
So it looks like my pinging them helped speed things along. Three days ago, you received assistance (5 attempts) from four Moderators on your three threads:
Please come back here if you reply to those threads and no one gets back to you.
Thanks!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)
- Proposed as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Tuesday, February 7, 2012 7:21 PM
- Edited by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Tuesday, February 7, 2012 7:22 PM
- Marked as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:44 PM
All replies
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Here is more information on the conflicting terms of support.
Version 1: The page quoted above http://technet.microsoft.com/subscriptions/ms788697.aspx says
"A Microsoft engineer will respond within 2 business days to your posting if the community hasn't already gotten you the answer. "
(my bold and underline)
Version 2: The Help page for TechNet Subscribers http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb521230 under the heading "Priority Support in TechNet Forums" says
"When will I get a response to questions I have posted on the Forums?
You will receive a response within two (2) business days (English only) by a Microsoft Most Valuable Professional (MVP) or one of your peers. A Microsoft Support Professional will review responses for accuracy and post a response if needed."
(my bold and underline)
SP 2010 "FAQ" (mainly useful links): http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx
WSS3/MOSS FAQ (FAQ and Links) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx
Both also have links to extensive book lists and to (free) on-line chapters- Edited by Mike Walsh FIN Monday, January 16, 2012 9:05 AM spelling
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> Did he sign in with the liveid that is tied to the Technet subscription?
My theory too, but we've had a recent thread here where the poster (a different one) was adamant that he had done everything right and still had not had a reply so I thought it better to just inform the TechNet people in this way rather than get into that kind of argument again. They will be able to check up on that aspect; I can't.
I also wonder if the change in the text of the guarantee has made it possible for posts to fall below the cracks. I.e. earlier MS support people felt obliged to get involved within 48 hours and now they don't.
SP 2010 "FAQ" (mainly useful links): http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx
WSS3/MOSS FAQ (FAQ and Links) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx
Both also have links to extensive book lists and to (free) on-line chapters- Edited by Mike Walsh FIN Tuesday, January 17, 2012 6:45 AM
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Another possible explanation is that I talked to TechNet Sub folks about a similar case and the issue was that there are a limited number of forums that are eligible for this support commitment (and it's farily limited). MANY subscribers post in the wrong forums.
Apparently they're given a list when they subscribe (that's what the support folks tell me).
If you think I'm onto something with this explanation, I can dig up the other thread and go find my correspondance with the support folks.
If possible, can you send the Asker over here? It doesn't make as much sense to go through this when we aren't directly engaging with the person.
The person (is it a_T?) can also email me at edprice at Microsoft.
Thanks!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki) -
The forum to which both the posts I quote were sent to is included in the list of forums supported by the TechNet Subscriber Support system.
SP 2010 "FAQ" (mainly useful links): http://wssv4faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx
WSS3/MOSS FAQ (FAQ and Links) http://wssv3faq.mindsharp.com/default.aspx
Both also have links to extensive book lists and to (free) on-line chapters -
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Ok, I am the original poster of the two threads above. I have a small business with SBS2003, ISA, Sharepoint and Autodesk Data Management on a member server. We have no full time IT person on staff. Fixing problems with servers and the like comes in addition to the work that we need to do during the day.
I let my Technet subscription lapse a few years ago over frustrations similar to this. More later.
Renewed around the time when I first posted these threads as I felt I could use some assistance in resolving my problems. The idea was that it would cut back on the time that we have to spend on this.
From my perspective the benefit of the Technet forums are the guaranteed MS Engineer response. Now 48 hours response time is quite slow but that is what it is. When I signed up again the website said "guaranteed Microsoft Engineer response within 48 hours." It appears this has changed since. Words and punctuation have meaning. It is unfortunate that the words keep changing and there appears to be no record of what was promised to whom. ther disclaimers. From frustrating previous experience I know that these are workdays, most likely.
The MS Engineer response is a backstop. As you have seen yourself some of these threads never seem to come to a conclusion. The engineer should act to converge the assistance.
It appears that my subscription renewal was not captured retro-actively, judging by the observation that no response came from Microsoft. This is the reason why I started the above referenced thread. Which was then moved. Defeating its purpose.
Then I started thread number 4: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepointadmin/thread/7867675e-40f6-4bed-a22c-59c1f47d9ee8
Still no word from Microsoft, except for Mike Walsh, a moderator.
What started out as a simple task, move data from old server to new server, turned into one gigantic cluster f cuk. As it took way too much time to accomplish this. In the end it turned out that a simple back up and restore of data appeared to fail because not all necessary data was backed up. I.e. the files that the server admin templates install, not all of them are included in the back up. That appears to me like a significant bug in the Sharepoint 2007 software.
Microsoft note my last two posts where I express my frustration regarding this situation.
But the worst thing really is that my data is stranded in Sharepoint 2007. My data is stuck in 2007 because Microsoft has not provided an upgrade path. Contrary to an almost spotless record of upward compatibility.
So here we are. Ready to move to Office 365 so we can retire our old server hardware, but stuck in Sharepoint 2007.
Please ignore my typos and rather hurried response.
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Is it my responsibility to make sure Microsoft's procedures are consistent and work as designed?
I might as well rewrite the documentation and code for backing up Sharepoint data.
And while I am at it, get involved with the teams that are responsible for such gems at Office Small Business Accounting, Business Contact Manager, and especially the folks at the Sharepoint 2010 group responsible for not providing some way of backwards compatibility with 2007.
I am tempted to then also get involved with the Windows Mobile team. They could use some help.
But wait, I don't work for Microsoft.
Sorry, couldn't help myself.
I am sort of expecting that Microsoft with the resources they have available can allocate a few bright minds to ask obvious questions, and act upon those.
An obvious question would have been what happens when our clients have implemented a fab 40 template and try to back up and restore to different hardware? It appears the questions wasn't asked or the answer was f-em.
And there are many more of these obvious questions that appear to be never asked.
- Edited by a__T Friday, January 27, 2012 6:05 PM
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a_T I'm just reporting what has happened to other Technet subscribers, that they didn't get in the system so that their LiveID they were using to sign into the forums did not have the flag in the system alerting Microsoft people that they were Technet folks.
Two things have to occur for this guarantee of posting to occur.
1. You need to be signed in with a LiveID account that brands you on the backend as a Technet Subscription poster. As other people have stated it would be nice if this was publicly exposed, it isn't. So if you are not getting your promised service, make sure that what you think is the Technet flagged LiveID really is the Technet flagged LiveID.
2. Ensure you are posting in a forum that has a technet posting guarantee. Not all forums are Technet guaranteed posting forums as Ed has pointed out.
http://technet.microsoft.com/subscriptions/ms788697.aspx
That's the list. If you post in a forum not in that list, you won't get a MS posting.
Given that it appears that #2 is correct, then yes, I'd say that calling up the Technet subscriber folks http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb856399 and making sure your LiveID is properly flagged in the system would be the recommended course of action.
I've personally seen it where the LiveID doesn't have the proper flags on the back side based on my own experience and other posters. Like I said, unfortuately this isn't something that is exposed, and the only way to check is by calling.
Sorry, I don't work for Microsoft either, I'm just posting what I know from past experiences.
And P.S. Office Small Business Accounting is dead. There will be no compat with a dead product.
- Proposed as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Friday, January 27, 2012 8:37 PM
- Marked as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:45 PM
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Ok, I am the original poster of the two threads above. I have a small business with SBS2003, ISA, Sharepoint and Autodesk Data Management on a member server. We have no full time IT person on staff. Fixing problems with servers and the like comes in addition to the work that we need to do during the day.
I let my Technet subscription lapse a few years ago over frustrations similar to this. More later.
Renewed around the time when I first posted these threads as I felt I could use some assistance in resolving my problems. The idea was that it would cut back on the time that we have to spend on this.
From my perspective the benefit of the Technet forums are the guaranteed MS Engineer response. Now 48 hours response time is quite slow but that is what it is. When I signed up again the website said "guaranteed Microsoft Engineer response within 48 hours." It appears this has changed since. Words and punctuation have meaning. It is unfortunate that the words keep changing and there appears to be no record of what was promised to whom. ther disclaimers. From frustrating previous experience I know that these are workdays, most likely.
The MS Engineer response is a backstop. As you have seen yourself some of these threads never seem to come to a conclusion. The engineer should act to converge the assistance.
It appears that my subscription renewal was not captured retro-actively, judging by the observation that no response came from Microsoft. This is the reason why I started the above referenced thread. Which was then moved. Defeating its purpose.
Then I started thread number 4: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepointadmin/thread/7867675e-40f6-4bed-a22c-59c1f47d9ee8
Still no word from Microsoft, except for Mike Walsh, a moderator.
What started out as a simple task, move data from old server to new server, turned into one gigantic cluster f cuk. As it took way too much time to accomplish this. In the end it turned out that a simple back up and restore of data appeared to fail because not all necessary data was backed up. I.e. the files that the server admin templates install, not all of them are included in the back up. That appears to me like a significant bug in the Sharepoint 2007 software.
Microsoft note my last two posts where I express my frustration regarding this situation.
But the worst thing really is that my data is stranded in Sharepoint 2007. My data is stuck in 2007 because Microsoft has not provided an upgrade path. Contrary to an almost spotless record of upward compatibility.
So here we are. Ready to move to Office 365 so we can retire our old server hardware, but stuck in Sharepoint 2007.
Please ignore my typos and rather hurried response.
Well we're not really sure what's happening (why you're not getting support, if the policy has changed after you resubscribed, etc.). We would need to ask the TechNet support folks to see.See Susan's post below for how to contact them. You're right about how support shouldn't take too long.
Thanks for posting here. I wanted to make sure you were still interested (a lot of folks post and then take off). And it's very cool that Mike started this thread for you. That's rare. Usually when someone is looking for Forum help, they have to stumble onto this forum section on their own (or someone tells them to go find it).
Thanks!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)- Edited by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Friday, January 27, 2012 8:38 PM Susan's got the contact info.
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a_T I'm just reporting what has happened to other Technet subscribers, that they didn't get in the system so that their LiveID they were using to sign into the forums did not have the flag in the system alerting Microsoft people that they were Technet folks.
Two things have to occur for this guarantee of posting to occur.
1. You need to be signed in with a LiveID account that brands you on the backend as a Technet Subscription poster. As other people have stated it would be nice if this was publicly exposed, it isn't. So if you are not getting your promised service, make sure that what you think is the Technet flagged LiveID really is the Technet flagged LiveID.
2. Ensure you are posting in a forum that has a technet posting guarantee. Not all forums are Technet guaranteed posting forums as Ed has pointed out.
http://technet.microsoft.com/subscriptions/ms788697.aspx
That's the list. If you post in a forum not in that list, you won't get a MS posting.
Given that it appears that #2 is correct, then yes, I'd say that calling up the Technet subscriber folks http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/subscriptions/bb856399 and making sure your LiveID is properly flagged in the system would be the recommended course of action.
I've personally seen it where the LiveID doesn't have the proper flags on the back side based on my own experience and other posters. Like I said, unfortuately this isn't something that is exposed, and the only way to check is by calling.
Sorry, I don't work for Microsoft either, I'm just posting what I know from past experiences.
And P.S. Office Small Business Accounting is dead. There will be no compat with a dead product.
Wow, Susan. That's fantastic.You're on the TechNet Wiki, right?
Could you post all that as an article? Maybe "How to Troubleshoot a TechNet Subscription" or something like that? I can post it if you'd prefer.
Last time I did this, the issue was #2 (person posted to the wrong forum). Susan has seen it where the issue is #1.
Regardless, those are the resources you should use (that Susan linked to)...
Contact Hours:
5:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Pacific Time
Monday – Friday, except holidays(800) 344-2121
Those are for the US and Canada. And then all the other resources are for the other countries.
So that's the next step... give them a call and send them an email (if you haven't yet). A phone call would probably get them to assign someone quick. And my experience is that they're pretty fast on email as well. Which probably means there was a technical disconnect (like Susan's reason #1 above).
Thanks!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)- Edited by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Friday, January 27, 2012 8:37 PM
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It seems that the customer experience could be improved by making this status available.
Several benefits:
one could immediately see if the status is correct and take immediate action (rather than waiting and wondering what is going on);
other users would see a quick response and sign up for technet as well.
- Proposed as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Tuesday, January 31, 2012 12:09 AM
- Marked as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:44 PM
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One would think it could be possible. They flag "partner" status in yours and mine so they obviously are able to expose that.
Plus MVP, MCC, various versions of Microsoft, etc. So I think it needs to be requested.I'll tell you what. I'll send them an email requesting it (using the link above that I provided), and you guys do the same. =^)
We can also add it to the Forum feature request Wiki page since their service is on the Forums. a_T, do you want to add the request there?
Susan, shall I post this info as a Wiki article, or do you want to? I think it's great, and lots of people have wanted info like that!
Thanks!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki) -
To make a long story short, posted a new thread Monday 4 PM which can be found here:
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/en-US/sharepointadmin/thread/553ac92c-ca6e-4cdc-ad70-2a57b7ff6e8b
Id wvmstr
48 hours have passed and I have yet to attract the attention of a Microsoft Engineer.
It would have been so nice to be able to see if my account was properly flagged as technet subscriber.
Why does this simple stuff not work?
Questions to difficult?
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I did.
Me:Can you see if my account is properly flagged so that MS Engineers can see my posts on the forums?
Technet:Can you access your subscriber downloads?
Me:Yes!
Technet: We will have to escalate this. It takes 3-5 business days to get back with you.
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I did.
Me:Can you see if my account is properly flagged so that MS Engineers can see my posts on the forums?
Technet:Can you access your subscriber downloads?
Me:Yes!
Technet: We will have to escalate this. It takes 3-5 business days to get back with you.
Alright. This is a poor experience. Thanks for calling and trying. I'll also ping them and let you know what happens.Thanks!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki) -
a_T, wvmstr are all me.
a_T started out as technet standard
wvmstr is on technet professional
I was to asked cancel a_T, as they could not do an upgrade to convert from standard to professional.
Now it is wvmstr
Okay. So it sounds like Susan's suggestion was one of the issues. They didn't have your a_T account registered as the subscriber. Did they not make it clear when you signed up that you needed to create a new account for this?Also it seems like they should be able to upgrade an existing account to Professional. Was that you're feeling as well? We can add this as a feature request and submit it as feedback.
Thanks!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki) -
But my 1st thread on the new account, that I started Monday 4PM EST, still has not received a response.
That account was properly flagged, judging by the inquiry if I had access to my subscriber downloads. :)
I cal them up and say that I want to upgrade my technet standard to technet professional.
Reply was that I need to submit a request and than within 7-day business days I would hear back.
Told them I have technical problems now and could not wait that long.
Then they suggest that I cancel my existing account and open up a new one.
That seemed pretty Mickey Mouse to me, but ok.
He was going to cancel my account and I would sign up online for professional
Which I did, got my receipt but never received the subscriber ID.
I call them up and they say it is on hold.
I ask them why.....
There is a hold on it and they will be reviewed in the next few business days.
Then she suggest that I cancel this one as well, and open up and new account but she would pre-populate my contact information so it wouldn't go into the hold que.
Which I did. So now I have lost my posting history, went through 3 technet subscriber id's, and hopefully when it is all said and done end up with one account that works.
But in the end I still have no response from a MS engineer, and as such I have wasted numerous hours on something that I thought I would have fixed 3 weeks ago.
And my data is still stranded in Sharepoint 2007.
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As part of your Technet subscription you get two support incidents. SharePoint migration issues via email are not a walk in the park. If I were in your shoes, I'd use one of the two support incidents (you have to call to open them) and I'd use this to get you going.
I'd get your email ID set up properly for the future, but given that you need that data, and I know how email support goes with a back and forth and just about a frustrating as this experience has been so far, I'd be using a phone support case.
You'll get the proper help much faster.
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That is why I upgraded to Technet Professional, for that purpose only.
I already know that my data in Sharepoint is stranded and there is not MS support engineer who can fix that.
Now I am just trying to get my data in a format that maybe at some point in future if MS sees their error, I might have a chance.
I was so ready to dump my old servers and more all that stuff on Office365, but it ain't happening.
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But my 1st thread on the new account, that I started Monday 4PM EST, still has not received a response.
That account was properly flagged, judging by the inquiry if I had access to my subscriber downloads. :)
I cal them up and say that I want to upgrade my technet standard to technet professional.
Reply was that I need to submit a request and than within 7-day business days I would hear back.
Told them I have technical problems now and could not wait that long.
Then they suggest that I cancel my existing account and open up a new one.
That seemed pretty Mickey Mouse to me, but ok.
He was going to cancel my account and I would sign up online for professional
Which I did, got my receipt but never received the subscriber ID.
I call them up and they say it is on hold.
I ask them why.....
There is a hold on it and they will be reviewed in the next few business days.
Then she suggest that I cancel this one as well, and open up and new account but she would pre-populate my contact information so it wouldn't go into the hold que.
Which I did. So now I have lost my posting history, went through 3 technet subscriber id's, and hopefully when it is all said and done end up with one account that works.
But in the end I still have no response from a MS engineer, and as such I have wasted numerous hours on something that I thought I would have fixed 3 weeks ago.
And my data is still stranded in Sharepoint 2007.
Understood. I included that info when I pinged them.By the way, you can't cancel any accounts. They are forever alive. That's by design. So they probably don't know that.
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki) -
UPDATE:
So it looks like my pinging them helped speed things along. Three days ago, you received assistance (5 attempts) from four Moderators on your three threads:
Please come back here if you reply to those threads and no one gets back to you.
Thanks!
Ed Price a.k.a User Ed, Microsoft Experience Program Manager (Blog, Twitter, Wiki)
- Proposed as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Tuesday, February 7, 2012 7:21 PM
- Edited by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Tuesday, February 7, 2012 7:22 PM
- Marked as answer by Ed Price - MSFTMicrosoft employee Thursday, February 16, 2012 7:44 PM
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In the end I broke down and ended up using a support incident, 6 hours later with the help of a skilled MS Engineer, my data was finally on server b.
I hope that in the end this been a useful in providing feedback on the implementation of the 48 hr Microsoft response time.
Thanks all for your help.
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Here is a little bit of a follow up.
Since January I have been getting regular calls from someone at Technet saying that they are still working on the case and will keep me up to date on progress.
Today, I got another one of these calls and they wanted to close the case as the issues had been resolved.
I told the gentleman that the procedures were still not working because there was another thread that I had started that had fallen by the wayside.
Confused he asked but here is says that you were given a response. Told him I had broken down and used one of my support incidents to get my original thread resolved.
Then I pointed him to another thread "SBS 2008: SBS console is confused.", where a MS engineer responsed within two days, where I had asked a follow up questions, where another quick response came, which I posted to and then the thread went silent. The issue has yet to be resolved.
I concluded that the 24 hr guaranteed response by MS Engineer was still not working.
I asked him if he was with Microsoft. He said his team was working with Microsoft.
I asked him if he worked for Microsoft or for a contractor working for Microsoft.
No answer.