Boycott Watch  
                            
August 16, 2011
 
Boycott Watch to FTC: Block Google Purchase of Motorola Mobility
 
Summary: Boycott Watch believes the Google purchase of Motorola Mobility is not in the best interests of consumers, writes Federal Trade Commission.
 
   Yesterday, Google announced their intention to purchase Motorola Mobility, but Boycott Watch sees a problem. Have you ever tried to contact Google for help? The fact is, Google is perhaps one of the absolute worst companies in the US for customer service. While we all hate help-lines that put you in touch with someone in India who can't speak English and can't go past a basic script, Google won't even give you that. If you have a problem with Google, you are stuck helpless. Sure, they have an online forum, but that is consumers helping other consumers, not Google.

   Some companies offer paid support subscriptions or even pay-per-call help, but that's not Google. Even if you want to pay them for help, you can't get it. Period. Google may provide some great services, but when a problem occurs that goes beyond their online help offerings, you are completely stuck.

   Is that the kind of company you want manufacturing your cell phone? Boycott Watch believes Google should be blocked from acquiring any and all companies until they can prove they can offer customer service. The following is our letter to the United States Federal Trade Commission which must approve the sale:

Office of Policy and Coordination
Room 383
Bureau of Competition
Federal Trade Commission
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20580

Commissioners,

   Boycott Watch is a highly respected consumer protection organization which is regularly quoted in the major media, and has been cited in two cases before the United States Supreme Court. Today we are writing in response to the news that Google wishes to acquire Motorola Mobility.

   Boycott Watch believes the above proposed acquisition is not in the best interest of consumers. As it stands, Google does not offer any customer service, not even for their flagship products, being their search engine and gmail.

   Today, we called Google several times attempting to speak to customer service representatives. Dialing their corporate office number 650-253-0000 puts one into a recorded system in which you can hear "for customer service or technical help, press 5." However, the several operators only repeated the same exact line "we do not provide live phone or technical support." When pressed for how to obtain help, we heard the same line "all the support options are on our help centers online." Unfortunately, getting help from Google is nearly impossible when problems persist despite exceeding the basic information posted on their website.

   Considering the abysmal customer service track record of Google, Boycott Watch believes the U.S. Government should block any and all attempts by Google to acquire Motorola Mobility or any other company for that matter, until such time that Google can prove is can operate in the best interests of the consumer by providing the ability for consumers to seek help by speaking to actual human beings.

Fred Taub
President, Boycott Watch
 
 
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