The only real customer service Google has is for active AdWords advertisers, if you are on the AdSense side or an end-user of any of its other services then good luck getting any real assistance from them. Microsoft has amazing customer service in comparison for its Live services, which is saying a LOT.
Well, Google's customers are its product, seeing as it lives off ad revenue. :)
I hear what you are saying though, Google doesn't even care about its own services for what they are, just how much data they can collect from them for advertising.
They're in stark contrast to Microsoft who will keep things on life support forever because they think the service provides value to someone since they can prop it up with funds from elsewhere and a little TLC on occasion, because frequently they can spin them differently or make the changes neccesary for them to become profitable on their own (see BPOS to Office 365).
Pay for an Apps account. This gets you a live person to talk to and an SLA. Even if it's just one account on your personal domain (cost: $5/month), that alone makes it worth it.
Shockingly, Google allocates their CS to people who pay for their service.
> Shockingly, Google allocates their CS to people who pay for their service.
I don't expect 24x7 phone support for free services, but god damnit if my YouTube account gets shut down because of bullshit DMCA requests, or my AdSense account is closed because of fault algorithms suspecting bad-play I expect to have SOME recourse without needing to break out a lawyer and trying to take Google to court.
I have used a wealth of free services and products in my lifetime and NONE have had such piss-poor excuses for support.
> Pay for an Apps account.
I'd rather not need to host my email with Google (another problem I have with their account system, you can no longer make a Google account that isn't a gmail account) just get proper support from them. Even then it doesn't get me support for anything but the Google Apps services, the rest of their support is still garbage.
This is the problem, and customer service in Google barely solves anything.