If Bing‘s process for setting up a Bing Local Listing is any indication, Microsoft is in trouble.
It look me 7 weeks from start to end to do something that should have taken 7 minutes. (Okay, maybe 30 minutes.) Here are a few of the hoops I had to jump through:
I couldn’t use my browser, Chrome (a Google browser). Is that petty or what? I think it let me use Firefox to sign up, but it was so long ago I can’t remember for sure.
It took about 7 minutes to set up the basic information–but then Bing said they had to mail me a confirmation pin number. Yes, snail mail.
When the letter arrived, I signed back in. It asked me if I had any changes. I made some edits. Then Bing said they needed to mail me a confirmation pin number. (Sound familiar?)
The second letter finally arrived. But the system wouldn’t accept my password (yes, it was the right password), so I had to reset that.
This time I didn’t make any changes until after I figured out where the pin number went.
Oh, and Microsoft loaded WindowsLive software onto my system during the initial log-in process, which promptly caused Outlook to start freezing up intermittently. By the time I figured out that problem, I’d wasted a couple of hours uninstalling and re-installing my virus protection software.
As a business owner, I try to keep up with technology. Phil Simon has a whole book, The New Small (review coming shortly), that’s all about how small businesses are harnessing new technologies. Maybe Microsoft ought to read it. Because, for a technology company, it seems rather stuck in the 20th century.
Anyone else tried to claim a Bing Local listing? If so, what was your experience?
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The concept is great because it strengthens the “I’m a PC” tag that did a good job at humanizing the Microsoft brand. Plus any ad that has people envisioning themselves as hunks makes me smile.
But there’s another reason they work: because Windows 7is user-friendly. It’s the first version of the operating system that seamlessly transfers all your files–and keeps your settings and accounts intact. I know, because I went through setting up my new computer just weeks ago. And best of all: Windows 7 recognizes existing local networks, so that all I needed to do was put in my password (at the prompt) during the initial set-up phase and I was online with no business interruption.
Now I’m a PC, and that was my idea.
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The trouble with some entrepreneurs is that they have great ideas but little business sense. Instead of importing talent to run their companies, people like Yahoo’s Jerry Yang think they can do everything themselves. They can’t.
Kudos to Powerset co-founder Barney Pell, whose company was just acquired by Microsoft. Not because of his big payoff, but because he was smart enough to stick with his core expertise, having stepped down from the role of CEO late last year. Pell wrote on his blog last year that his strengths were “technology and vision, and not necessarily management of a large organization.” He also wrote that “bringing in a world-class CEO…will result in great long-term value for the company.”
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If Bing‘s process for setting up a Bing Local Listing is any indication, Microsoft is in trouble.
