After much hunting, I was desperate and bought something from the only store that had the item in stock. I felt guilty and kind of bad about myself, which is noteworthy because it came after an evening of watching The Bachelor, which proves the low limits of my shame. I’ve wanted a Fitbit Force for months since returning a similar product after Christmas, but it continued to be out everywhere except one store: Microsoft.
I’ve never bought anything from Microsoft, and honestly, they don’t make it easy. My husband recommended I title my post, “I tried to give Microsoft my money last night, but failed.” It turns out, after errors and customer service chat (a great feature late on a Monday night), that Microsoft only wants to work with Internet Explorer, something I haven’t used in over a decade. I finally dug up my old Safari and got it working there. Anyway, this isn’t about the problems of how it took nearly an hour to order my Fitbit. It’s about my guilt.
Feeling guilty over this feels ridiculous, much like my kids chanting USA! during the Olympics. I live in Silicon Valley and have grown up with Apple products and feel much more loyal to Google than the outsider Microsoft. This doesn’t mean I wouldn’t use a Microsoft product or buy from them – obviously I have – but it means they have to do a lot more to convince me to move away from my comfort brands. Last night didn’t feel good. It felt like I was cheating on Silicon Valley, and all of the bugs in the ordering process reaffirmed my feelings of why some companies are better than others. At the start there was the feeling that I was stepping out on a slippery slope and I’d wake up in a year using all Microsoft products. Now that I have a Microsoft account – mandatory for making any purchases – will I buy more from them? I can’t imagine it, especially because my one experience was riddled with problems. That only leaves me left with the guilt over my only purchase. It was pointed out that the difficulty ordering may be why it was still in stock at Microsoft and not anywhere else, including the manufacturer. Atonement may come in some serious shopping on Google Shopping Express.
