Zune's new subscription service looked like a bargain: All-you-can-eat music plus 10 non-DRMed MP3s per month to download, your choice.
I opened a Zune account using my live.com email address, installed the interface software, and things went pear-shaped from there: The software prompted me to change my "Zune name", so I did. What I didn't know was that, for following directions, I was charged 800 "Microsoft Points" (these were deducted from my XBox Live account), and my XBox Live gamertag was also changed.
When I tried to use my XBox Live Gold account via my XBox 360, well, my new gamertag could neither be found nor recovered.
When I tried to log into the Zune.net subscription service, I got an error message stating that my Zune name "does not meet the Zune Code of Conduct and must be changed".
I called Zune/Microsoft Technical Support to get some resolution. Six calls and several hours later, my issue was escalated to Level III, where it has sat without progress for 8 days. In the meantime, I returned the Zune device to the store and kissed the concept of this Zune subscription goodbye.
As an aside, Microsoft Tech Support rings to a call center in the Philippines, and these people are not empowered to do much but document your concerns and apologize, something in which they are apparently well-practiced. All in all, they are benignly worthless.
I opened a Zune account using my live.com email address, installed the interface software, and things went pear-shaped from there: The software prompted me to change my "Zune name", so I did. What I didn't know was that, for following directions, I was charged 800 "Microsoft Points" (these were deducted from my XBox Live account), and my XBox Live gamertag was also changed.
When I tried to use my XBox Live Gold account via my XBox 360, well, my new gamertag could neither be found nor recovered.
When I tried to log into the Zune.net subscription service, I got an error message stating that my Zune name "does not meet the Zune Code of Conduct and must be changed".
I called Zune/Microsoft Technical Support to get some resolution. Six calls and several hours later, my issue was escalated to Level III, where it has sat without progress for 8 days. In the meantime, I returned the Zune device to the store and kissed the concept of this Zune subscription goodbye.
As an aside, Microsoft Tech Support rings to a call center in the Philippines, and these people are not empowered to do much but document your concerns and apologize, something in which they are apparently well-practiced. All in all, they are benignly worthless.
