Why are Microsoft Customers Scared of Criticising Microsoft?

gsfprez asks: "This article documents the stories of three Microsoft customers (organizations that voluntarily buy Microsoft products) who are clearly unhappy with the product offerings of Microsoft - but are simultaneously petrified of this fact being made public. My question to the crowd is not regarding the subject matter of the article: rather, I want to know what is it that could scare a company away from telling a product vendor that they are unhappy and merely *considering* not buying their next product? Fear of reprisal (in the form of a software audit) is simple extortion...no? More ethereally - do we actually live in a world where MS not only 'demands' you buy their new products, but appears to have people pissing their pants at the thought of doing otherwise?"

Comments

It's simple

[Kj0n]

There is one big rule: do not draw too much attention .

Microsoft is a big company that is known to play its business a bit dirty from time to time. When you criticise them too much, they might just try their next trick on you. Since they are bigger and have more money, you can be sure you won't like this.

Why not cuss out your CEO when you're laid off?

[blastedtokyo]

It's all about burning bridges. You don't go out of your way to criticize someone if you expect to do business with them in the future. Most businesses want their Microsoft Rep to get them better tech support, better licensing prices, etc. You don't flame the ass of someone you want something from. Like it or not, Microsoft is not going away. So get what you can out of them.

E-Week is a magazine for CIOs and IT administrators. If you get your name printed disparaging any of your suppliers, you can be sure that your sales rep and tech support rep aren't going to smiling and saying 'wow, what a great and effective way to deliver feedback to me.'

Big misunderstanding

[Twirlip of the Mists]

The article linked is not a long one; it talks about Microsoft's recent announcement that Office 11 won't run or won't be supported (I'm not entirely sure which) on any MS OS older than Windows 2000. Three people were quoted in the article as saying unhappy things about this announcement.

I think the submitter of this article is reading too much into it. I've done some interviews with the mass media on a few subjects-- most recently on last month's brief but entertaining controversy about Microsoft's fake testimonial ads-- and it's very common for people like myself to agree to speak to reporters on background, or to say things that are not for attribution. "On background" and "not for attribution" have very specific meanings to reporters. If you tell a reporter that what you're about to say is not for attribution, that means the reporter can write about what you say, or even quote you, but mustn't identify you in any way. That's obviously what happened here.

So... why? Well, the first possible reason that springs to mind is that the people being interviewed didn't have the authority to speak officially for their company, even though they were being asked about company reactions to the Microsoft announcement. Rather than having every statement run through corporate public relations, the reporter simply agreed that the interviews would be "not for attribution." That way the reporter gets his quotes, and the interviewee doesn't have to cover his ass.

In other words, just because the author of the story used the phrase "requested anonymity," don't jump to the conclusion that this is some Deep Throat situation, some big cloak-and-dagger thing. It's not even unusual.

There's basically nothing interesting going on here.

Re:I wonder...

[alfaiomega]

I don't live in the US so i'd like to know : How could MS force a firm to do a software audit ? (...) Anyway, what would they have to fear if they were using OSS ? The law is on their side...

The law maybe is, but how does the Microsoft know if you use free software or pirated MS software? What I'm affraid is this:

*Knock, knock!*
-- Who's there?
-- Microsoft action rangers! Let me see your license!
-- Get lost, I don't use your shitty software!
-- You have to let us in and let us check out all of your computers to prove that!

Anyone has any experience with them? Because I sure don't want to let them near my computers at all.