Thursday, March 11, 2010

Google is Beginning to Piss Me Off

For the most part, I've found Google Voice very useful. It gives me one number that I can have forwarded to any and all phones where I might be (home phone, cell phone, etc.), and if I grab a new pre-paid phone I can just add it and people use the same Google Voice number to reach me instead of them tracking me down or me wondering whether I've notified everyone.

The other day, however, I decided that I wanted a new Google Voice number. The old one was mnemonically linked to my now-defunct presidential campaign. The new one is mnemonically linked to me in a more permanent way.

Google charges $10 for a number change (and keeps the old number going for three months so that if anyone doesn't get the word, they still get through). No problem. I coughed right up.

But now it's been several days and the new number doesn't work. Callers get "this number is not in service." Skype tells me "number does not exist."

And, as anyone who's ever reported a problem to Google knows, you're about as likely to get action, or even an individual response, as you would be if you climbed down into an abandoned salt mine and scrawled your support request on the walls with a chisel.

Normally, I don't consider that a big deal. Most Google services are free. Most of them are well-supported in a general way, and most of them have active user mutual support forums.

But now that I've got actual money -- even a small amount -- wrapped up in a Google service, being able to share the woe with other unsatisfied users isn't good enough.

I want my damn number to work. Selah.

Update, 03/20/10: I hadn't checked in a few days, but just now, I decided to give it a try. The new number is working. Huzzah!

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