This story is mostly true, although it's not quite how I remember it. In 1989 I was a product support services intern working at Microsoft's Lincoln Plaza campus. I worked for the 'System Languages' team, or SysLang as we called ourselves. We supported Micorosft C 5.x, QuickC, and their Pascal product and associated tools like the M editor and CodeView. One day (I don't remember if it was November or not) Bill came through on a tour of PSS. I mentioned to another intern, Nadine, that it would be cool if Bill took a call from a customer. When he came by our area with a group of other management types she bounded up to him with a huge smile on her face and asked if he'd like to see how things worked for himself, and take a call from a customer. The people he was with tried to dissuade him of this idea, saying something about schedules and the like, but Bill liked the idea and wanted to do it. At the time, I was a real clean freak, and my cube was very clean and devoid of clutter, so I suggested he sit down at my desk. I explained to him how the Aspect phone system worked and how to look up things in our STARS knowledge base using an OS/2 terminal program connected to a DEC minicomputer. He got settled in, and eventually took a call, greeting the customer like:
"Hello, Product Support Services, this is William, how may I help you?"
Just about everyone who wasn't currently on a call with a customer was gathered around my cube listening. I seem to remember the customer having a problem with the linker. Bill queried the knowledge base, which was normally painfully slow, but this time it was snappy and responsive. The first result looked like it might have addressed the customer's problem, and Bill went with it. I of course only heard one side of the conversation, but it sounded like the customer wasn't satisfied with the answer. Bill was firm yet polite, reassuring the customer that we had seen this problem before and that his solution was correct, and the customer eventually agreed to try the solution mentioned in the STARS article. An hour or so later, my friend Tad got that customer again, and he mentioned that William had helped him with his problem earlier but his solution didn't work. Tad let the customer know that he had in fact talked to Bill Gates, and helped him with his problem. I don't remember how/if it got solved though.
That was quite a big day for me. For years I had saved the yellow pad that had Bill's notes from the call.
Back in the late 70's or early 80's I was leading a group that did compilers and assemblers for the microprocessor group. We had a problem with one of the compilers from Microsoft. I called up technical support and got Paul Allen on the line. Whatever the problem was he got it solved. If you want technical support, it's best to get the technical guy,
I also posted my version of the story to the blog's comments. Man, hard to believe that was 20 years ago. Hopefully some other SysLang veterans read HN and will post something.
"Hello, Product Support Services, this is William, how may I help you?"
Just about everyone who wasn't currently on a call with a customer was gathered around my cube listening. I seem to remember the customer having a problem with the linker. Bill queried the knowledge base, which was normally painfully slow, but this time it was snappy and responsive. The first result looked like it might have addressed the customer's problem, and Bill went with it. I of course only heard one side of the conversation, but it sounded like the customer wasn't satisfied with the answer. Bill was firm yet polite, reassuring the customer that we had seen this problem before and that his solution was correct, and the customer eventually agreed to try the solution mentioned in the STARS article. An hour or so later, my friend Tad got that customer again, and he mentioned that William had helped him with his problem earlier but his solution didn't work. Tad let the customer know that he had in fact talked to Bill Gates, and helped him with his problem. I don't remember how/if it got solved though.
That was quite a big day for me. For years I had saved the yellow pad that had Bill's notes from the call.