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posted by n1 on Saturday September 13 2014, @05:41AM   Printer-friendly
from the too-big-to-email-customers dept.

Normally Google users who email the address “support-de@google.com” receive an automatic reply notifying the emailer that Google will neither read nor reply to customer support emails due to the large number of requests sent to the address. After that sentence, the automatic reply directs Google users to various online self-help guides and contact forms. Now PC World reports that a German court has has ruled that Google must stop ignoring customer emails and start offering a way to communicate with the company. According to the German Telemedia Act says, companies must provide a way to ensure fast electronic communications with them. The Federation of German Consumer Organizations (VZBV) argued that Google’s support address is a black box in which messages disappear into a void.

This doesn’t mean that every incoming email should now be checked and processed individually by a Google employee, the court said. But the company has to provide the possibility for users to contact it via email, it said. It was left up to Google how to deal with future incoming email. If Google does not change its conduct, it could be fined up to €250,000 (about US$323,000) (PDF in German), the court said.

 
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  • (Score: 1) by Horse With Stripes on Saturday September 13 2014, @06:38AM

    by Horse With Stripes (577) on Saturday September 13 2014, @06:38AM (#92693)

    These demands by the German court will fall on deaf ears. They should not have sent this decision to Google via email to support-de@google.com

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 13 2014, @02:05PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday September 13 2014, @02:05PM (#92737)

    Users can be given a drop down menu to categorize their requests. Google can then offer canned responses, and a chance to email again if that didn't help. The second email would have to be answered, but this would cut down the number of individual responses needed.

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by maxwell demon on Saturday September 13 2014, @06:01PM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Saturday September 13 2014, @06:01PM (#92776) Journal

      Or maybe they could license Watson to handle customer requests. ;-)

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.