> I think this is an unfortunate conflation of free Gmail/etc.
I would also say that this is a byproduct of how google treats its customers, even on paid platforms. I used to manage Google Workspace few years ago (2016 -> 2020) and GCP (2018-2019) and I remember the difficulty I faced when attempting to reach a human. Even if I were to able to reach someone, I got someone who clearly was a tier 1 support, who wanted me to troubleshoot things by "turnings things off and back on again".
I've also seen blog posts (some even on hacker news) mirroring my experiences, so I know it's not just a "me thing".
But I am not a Google customer. I am a Google user. I use all sorts of Google properties, but i dont give them any money.
What most Gmail users call "customer support" is really "user support". Your free account has the durability of what you pay - zero.
So should we judge customer support based on user support? Technically no. Do we? Of course we do. We absolutely judge the unseen experience on other things we can see.
Quite literally, we judge a book by its cover.
Google has a reputation for bad support. It has earned this reputation from endless free users. It may not be fair, it may not be true, but it exists.
Equally it has a reputation for shutting down services. Popular services. Gmail is likely safe. GCP is likely safe. Am I gonna bet my business existence on "likely"?
I would also say that this is a byproduct of how google treats its customers, even on paid platforms. I used to manage Google Workspace few years ago (2016 -> 2020) and GCP (2018-2019) and I remember the difficulty I faced when attempting to reach a human. Even if I were to able to reach someone, I got someone who clearly was a tier 1 support, who wanted me to troubleshoot things by "turnings things off and back on again".
I've also seen blog posts (some even on hacker news) mirroring my experiences, so I know it's not just a "me thing".
Google is reaping what it sowed.