Microsoftstore.com Experience
One word: Avoid
No matter how many times I tried nothing could go right in my 5 same orders with Microsoft. Lets walk through the timeline.
- June 5, 2012
- I decide I want the Halo 4 L.E Custom Xbox 360. A hefty fee of $450, but I don't currently have an xbox so I'm willing to pay. During checkout I specify my shipping address as both my billing & shipping. Which is incorrect. However, the system fails to detect it at all.
- October 22, 2012
- Months later, I get a phone call that my credit card didn't work and I should re-order. I, unaware that I messed up the order, ask how it was declined. Microsoft store offered to help, so I repeated ALL information over the phone to them. This time I got my address correct and my shipping/billing correct. The agent processed my entire order in lowercase text, which just pisses me off. Its Kansas, not kansas. It looks improper and not professional.
- October 23, 2012
- I get another phone call. Your credit card was declined. I called my bank and they said it was rejected due to address validation. I check online and sure enough the online agent typed 49111 instead of 4911. Which is just great. I'm 100% sure he confirmed it right verbally to me, yet he submitted it wrong. So we are filling out my 3rd order and another Indian accent guy is with me. We do the exact same thing, and all is well.
- October 24, 2012
- This time. I get an email. Your order was cancelled due to credit card validation. ugh! I double-check the order online, and the smart Microsoft agent thought AR = Arizona, not Arkansas. So he put my address in Arizona. He didn't know his basic 2 ISO state codes. So once again, I call and complain about the inability of their staff to order a product and confirm it correctly, and we make another order. This time it is with an English speaking person (Probably a manager). All is well and we send the order.
- October 26, 2012
- All major retailers of Halo 4 L.E Custom Xbox receive a $50 drop in price. I check Newegg, Amazong, Gamestop and all the prices are $50 less and everyone who ordered there got automatically decreased to the newer cheaper price due to their "Pre-Order Price Guarantee". I decide to wait a few days to see if Microsoft Store will update my price. Its been about 2 days since the other websites dropped their charge so I join an Microsoft Store LiveChat. The agent after 15 minutes of searching tells me the price will not be dropped. I say, the same exact item is for sale except cheaper and you won't drop my order? She says something about the system already in place and cannot change an active order without cancellation. I explain that this would be my 5th online order and I'm not doing it again, so you might as well cancel as I'm going to another retailer. She says okay and just cancels my order. I was just hoping that threat would get her to drop my order price, but no she just cancelled it.
- I stumble online and go to the Microsoft store and re-order the 5th time making sure all information is correct and everything went through.
- November 3, 2012 (2 days before release)
- I have no shipping information. Its 2 days before release. Other retailer consumers are tracking their product and it might even arrive a day early! Sometimes thats the bonus you get from pre-ordering. I got my iPhone 1 day early and same with my SGS3. It just happens during pre-order. It's a benefit to pre-ordering.
- I once again join a LiveChat. The product will be shipped on release date and take 3-7 business days.
- I'm outraged. What is the purpose of the Microsoft store? They can't ship their own products to arrive on the date of release and now I have to wait an extra 3-7 days after the product is released while every other retailer has already shipped their product out.
- I can't cancel at this point, I'm already locked in and other retailers already have pre-orders closed. It's just a regular order now. So great. My MicrosoftStore experience for you.
EDIT: (Nov 7, 2012)
After plastering this article onto their Twitter and various other places, I got free overnight shipping. So my product arrived one day late instead of 3-7 business days later. Though, I shouldn't have to do this to get my product on time.