I recently tried and failed for the fifth time to buy a Microsoft Surface Pro 3. It’s been a real comedy of errors, but the latest attempt has been by far the most spectacular failure.
Let me start out by saying I really like the Microsoft Surface Pro 3. I am a perfect candidate for it as I would like to replace the combination of my Macbook Air and iPad with just one device for travel and for demos of my software away from the office. The business I’m in is software for the CNC Manufacturing world, and while my own software runs on both Mac and PC, most from that world is PC-only. Hence a device about the size of an iPad that can run desktop Windows software would be a real boon. The Surface reviews I’ve read have been largely positive, and I played with one at a Microsoft store for long enough to feel like I would be very productive on it. The keyboard was great and I had little trouble dealing with the Win 8 differences everyone is complaining so much about. So I resolved to get one.
In fairness, all of my problems have stemmed from one little wrinkle in how I wanted to buy the device. I’m looking at about $1500 all in, and I wanted an interest free for 12 months deal–the same kind of deal I used to purchase my Macbook Air. My business is steadily growing and I like the idea of charging most of the cost to the larger version of the business that will exist down the road. These offers all involve signing up for a credit card, with my Apple Macbook Air it was really no big deal. I recently had paid off the Macbook Air and so time to get another device.
Here’s what happened.
Fail #1: Best Buy
Despite haunting the Microsoft Store since the Surface launched in hopes of their offering a deal, no joy. So I started Googling and wound up at Best Buy. Looked great, so I attempted to make the purchase. The online credit card app simply froze up the browser and would neither confirm nor deny I would be able to do the transaction. Geez, how can a company the size of Best Buy have IT producing forms like this that flat don’t work? Seems like they’re wasting a lot of opportunity if it happens to very many.
Fail #2: Walmart
A little more Googling and I discover that Walmart has the same deal. Great. Except, oh oh, same problem–the credit card app just fails. Takes all the info, hit the button to go for it, and nothing happens. I’m now starting to wonder if the problem isn’t some common third party? It doesn’t really matter, both these two retail behemoths have lost a $1500 transaction for a stupid reason–their web site didn’t work.
Fail #3: Amazon
At this point I am thinking it can’t be that hard, SOMEBODY must do this. So I tried Amazon. Aha! They’re offering the no interest deal I want!
I filled out all the information to apply, the application worked (I guess Amazon knows a lot more about software than Best Buy or Walmart), but it turned out to be bait and switch. Buried in the fine print is a notice that GE Capital would only finance $500 of my $1500 purchase. Now I have a GE Credit card that will get shredded and never used. That has to be sub-optimal for both GE and Amazon–they went to all the trouble and cost but are getting no revenue from me. Not to mention a $500 limit is insulting. Amazon knows I spend a fortune with them on all sorts of things including Amazon Web Services and have never missed a payment. Come on guys, do your computers talk at all? Why offer this stupid $500 credit card on a $1500 purchase?
Fail #4: PayPal + BillMeLater + MacMall
I went back to the PayPal site to process some orders for my business, and noticed BillMeLater being advertised. Wow! I had seen the ads come up every time I had paid for something with PayPal, but I generally just pay cash and had more or less ignored them. They have a product search that will plug you into a BillMeLater transaction with some merchant that has what you want. I promptly searched for “Microsoft Surface Pro 3” and got vectored onto MacMall. Hmmm, that’s kind of odd to buy a PC from a company that sounds like a Mac company, but why not? I was getting pretty tired of the chase by now. I started down the path and promptly noticed I was only going to get 6 months interest free, but again, I was beaten down and ready to do a transaction, so I went ahead. Filled out all the forms, yada, yada, and BOOM! I was back to Fail #1 and Fail#2: PayPal reported that they couldn’t complete the transaction for unspecified reasons (like those other credit card apps just freezing up) and I should try again later. WTF?!??
Fail #5: Microsoft + PayPal
Is this becoming Epic Fail, or what? It’s almost comical by this point. But, the best is the final episode (so far) and involves Microsoft and Paypal. I was still focused on the idea of using BillMeLater and it was a new day. So I had the idea of just seeing who would sell me a Surface Pro 3 and let me pay with PayPal. I tried Microsoft first, and sure enough. Excellent!
So I hopped on, performed the transaction, got to the part where you pay PayPal, and for the first time ever (I have made hundreds of PayPal purchases) I saw almost nothing of PayPal and never got the opportunity to use BillMeLater. Bloody Hell!
I immediately went to PayPal and cancelled the transaction. There’s a button right there and they accepted and confirmed the cancellation. Then I went back to the Microsoft Store. Not so easy to cancel there, I had to call the dreaded 800 number and wait. But eventually I got a Service Agent and after answering many strange questions, she assured me that the transaction was cancelled, and that she couldn’t really help me in any way to purchase a Surface with 12 month no interest financing or even to use BillMeLater to make the purchase. Gee thanks, Microsoft.
So I’m thinking this is pretty silly. Microsoft must want to be moving these stupid devices and should be making it easier, right? Maybe I would just go lob a suggestion in to them and maybe someone would get back in touch with me with the right stuff. I searched in vain both the Microsoft site and the Microsoft Store site for some place I could make the suggestion. Apparently they are not at all interest in hearing from customers. I guess I should’ve expected that after getting this far.
Fail #6: Microsoft + PayPal, Again
This morning I logged into my computer to find 3 email message from Microsoft–a return authorization, a notice that the cancellation had failed, and another notice telling me I should just refuse deliver on the shipment. Oh boy. You would think Microsoft could manage to process a cancellation that happened within minutes of an order to avoid needlessly shipping physical goods to a customer who doesn’t want them. No joy. So then I bopped over to PayPal to confirm that my cancellation of the prior day was still in place. The report had been updated to say they were going ahead and paying Microsoft. WTF?!?? Really? After both organizations had confirmed the cancellation the prior day? Are you kidding me?
Now I’m angry. Both these behemoths had clear instructions from me and had accepted and confirmed. So, I called PayPal Customer Service. A nice lady eventually picked up (yeah, lots of voice menus for THEIR convenience) and she confirmed from her screen that I had indeed cancelled payment. Why then, does my report show this as a transaction that will be paid and why is the cancellation no longer showing? Well, it looks like the transaction went through before the cancellation could take effect was the response. OK, why does my balance still not reflect a deduction for the payment then if it’s too late to cancel 24 hours after the cancellation went in and was accepted? “I’m sorry sir, but it is too late to cancel. You’ll have to wait 48 hours to see if the seller has refunded your money and if they haven’t, you could file a dispute at that point.”
Conclusion
I was really pretty excited about getting a Surface Pro 3 when I started this trek. I’m shocked at just how many organizations screwed up their Customer Experience along the way and at just how low the bar is set for that Customer Experience to be acceptable to them. It can’t possibly be a good thing for sales of the Surface for there to be this much friction in the process. I am hopeful that some one of the organizations involved will read this and contact me with a solution I’d like, but at the same time, I don’t think I’ll hold my breath.
Macbook Air and iPad? You’ve got a solid year ahead of you still. Maybe I’ll just wait until the Surface Pro 4.
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