Microsoft raises Vista tech support costs for consumers

06.02.2007
Microsoft Corp. has significantly raised what it charges retail customers for technical support for its latest software, Windows Vista and Office 2007, while narrowing the help offered to users.

As of Jan. 30, customers who buy full retail copies of Vista and Office 2007 will get unlimited calls, e-mails and Web chats with Microsoft technical support during the first 90 days after activating the software. But after that period, customers contacting Microsoft for help with Vista will pay US$59 per incident, up from $35, according to Matt Fingerhut, general manager of consumer support for platforms and business applications. For technical assistance with Office, customers will pay $49 per incident, also up from $35.

Previously, Microsoft offered unlimited support to customers with problems installing Office or Windows for as long as they used the software, Fingerhut said. Customers also could get help on two additional support incidents of any kind for free. Customers with existing software who have not used up their free calls to Microsoft can still use them, Fingerhut said.

Fingerhut said that Microsoft realized last year that its support prices were lower than those charged by competitors, including Best Buy's Geek Squad, CompUSA's TechPros, Circuit City's Firedog and dedicated service providers such as PlumChoice.

"Our $35 price is at least a decade old," he said. "We were underpriced, both in terms of the value our customers felt they were getting, as well as the prices the third-party service providers were charging."

Even with the higher prices, Fingerhut said Microsoft "is barely in line with the lowest prices our competitors are charging."