My tech support horror comes to an end

Last month, I told you a tale of woe regarding Western Digital tech support for the My Cloud Home network storage device. I submitted a support request, and after hearing nothing for a few days, I requested escalation. After six days with no response from WD, I told you I could no longer recommend WD products and that waiting a week for tech support on a critical storage device was unconscionable.

Then, on the seventh day, I heard back from Western Digital by both email and telephone, to which I responded: “Thanks for reaching out. I’m in meetings all day today but will be in the office most of the day tomorrow (Friday) and Monday. After that, I’ll be out of the office for a week.”

Friday and Monday passed without a call, and I left for a week’s vacation the next day. Of course, I received an email from WD in the middle of my vacation, and I replied: “My next availability is Thursday, March 3 at 9 AM Central. Can I expect your call at that time?”

When I hadn’t received a response by Saturday, I dashed off a quick note to my support agent: “I have not heard from you by phone or email since February 21. In the meantime, my My Cloud Home is mostly useless. “

I don’t usually pick up calls from unknown callers or unrecognized caller IDs. Still, on Wednesday, March 9, I saw an incoming call from “Xgamerpc,” which I rightly suspected was Western Digital support calling.

I took the call. And, it was from Steve Y. from Western Digital Customer Service and Support, who was knowledgeable and courteous. After a few minutes, he offered to email me explicit instructions he thought would resolve my issue.

It worked, but only after three weeks without my device and dozens of emails and voicemails.

I’d like to offer a bit of constructive criticism to WD. First and foremost, it should never take a week to respond to a support request.

Next, your support team needs should follow through at the appointed time. I provided availabilities more than once, but nobody ever called at those times (or, at least, nobody I could identify as being from Western Digital).

This brings me to my final tip: WD’s caller ID should say “Western Digital Support” (or something similar). It was only by luck that I picked up that call from “Xgamerpc.”

The bottom line is that it should never have taken three weeks to provide me with such a simple fix. I don’t know if there will be a next time for me, but if there is, I hope WD gets their support system in order.