> Too bad. If you have a business (and Google is a business) that goes business with the public (which Google does), you should offer some form of customer services. It's what we human beings call "the right thing to do."
Lets pause on that thought.
Why is there a moral imperative to offer customer service (provided they dont misrepresent that they do)? What is the basis for a moral obligation?
Its not like there is a line in the bible saying "thou shalt offer tech support". Admitidly im not convinced by religious arguments, but i dont see any more modern moral source either.
> Imagine if Google's vendors stopped offering Google customer service. Janitor didn't show up today? Well, clean your own office toilet today, technie. Surely, there's a YouTube tutorial for that.
That's not really a customer support inquiry. That said, one of two things happen - either they are ok with it, or they are not. If they are not they negotiate other terms or hire a different cleaning company.
I'm not saying you have to like google's policies, just that its not unethical for google to have policies you don't like.
> Bullshit. It has billions and billions and billions of dollars that it can throw at the customer service problem, but it doesn't for one simple reason: Greed.
Wait. Are you telling me that a private corporation in america is trying to maximize profits? The horrors. I would have never guessed. What next? Is the sky blue?
> How about the restaurant down the street maximizes its shareholder profits by not honoring your reservation?
A) that action does not maximize shareholder profit.
And b) its wrong because they promised something and didn't deliver. The sin is in the reneging.
If google promised customer support and didn't deliver, that would be wrong. But google didn't promise customer support.
> How about the dry cleaner optimizes its workflow by only being open three minutes a day?
Sounds like a shitty dry cleaner, but i fail to see the ethical issue. If the dry cleaner doesn't meet your needs, don't use it.
Quite frankly, i think this entire thing reeks of entitlement. Just because someone offers to sell you a service, doesn't mean they have an obligation to provide it in the fashion you want. Their obligation is to not mislead, and be honest about what they are offering. Maybe what they are offering works for you, maybe it doesn't. If it doesn't dont do business with them.
> If Google is so wonderful, full of so many smart people, then how come it can't solve its customer service problem?
Because they don't want to and there is nothing wrong with that.
> You seem to be working with a different definition of "wrong" than the rest of the planet.
How would you define it then?
I know this is sort of a trick question, as defining morality is something moral philosophers have struggled with since forever.
Generally though, i think that if you give something to someone for free, you're not responsible to teach them how to use it or make it accessible to use (Unless you promised otherwise).
e.g. We don't think Linus is responsible for teaching a course on how to use Linux.
> There are people becoming homeless and losing government benefits because of Google.
Is it really because of google? I would think the primary party to blame here would be the government that seems to insist using email to communicate about benefits. This seems highly inappropriate given the audience they are trying to serve.
> Either you didn't read the letter, or you are a deeply amoral person who should seek professional help.
You can be sympathetic to the situation without thinking google is at fault here. Or alternatively think the situation is really sad and unfortunate but think that imposing a duty to provide support is a bad solution.
Lets pause on that thought.
Why is there a moral imperative to offer customer service (provided they dont misrepresent that they do)? What is the basis for a moral obligation?
Its not like there is a line in the bible saying "thou shalt offer tech support". Admitidly im not convinced by religious arguments, but i dont see any more modern moral source either.
> Imagine if Google's vendors stopped offering Google customer service. Janitor didn't show up today? Well, clean your own office toilet today, technie. Surely, there's a YouTube tutorial for that.
That's not really a customer support inquiry. That said, one of two things happen - either they are ok with it, or they are not. If they are not they negotiate other terms or hire a different cleaning company.
I'm not saying you have to like google's policies, just that its not unethical for google to have policies you don't like.
> Bullshit. It has billions and billions and billions of dollars that it can throw at the customer service problem, but it doesn't for one simple reason: Greed.
Wait. Are you telling me that a private corporation in america is trying to maximize profits? The horrors. I would have never guessed. What next? Is the sky blue?
> How about the restaurant down the street maximizes its shareholder profits by not honoring your reservation?
A) that action does not maximize shareholder profit.
And b) its wrong because they promised something and didn't deliver. The sin is in the reneging.
If google promised customer support and didn't deliver, that would be wrong. But google didn't promise customer support.
> How about the dry cleaner optimizes its workflow by only being open three minutes a day?
Sounds like a shitty dry cleaner, but i fail to see the ethical issue. If the dry cleaner doesn't meet your needs, don't use it.
Quite frankly, i think this entire thing reeks of entitlement. Just because someone offers to sell you a service, doesn't mean they have an obligation to provide it in the fashion you want. Their obligation is to not mislead, and be honest about what they are offering. Maybe what they are offering works for you, maybe it doesn't. If it doesn't dont do business with them.
> If Google is so wonderful, full of so many smart people, then how come it can't solve its customer service problem?
Because they don't want to and there is nothing wrong with that.