While Windows 10 proved to be quite the winner when it was first released, this does not automatically translate to winning fans immediately from the get go. In fact, some people are pretty much happy with their copy of Windows 7 or Windows 8, and would not want to make the upgrade as they are quite comfortable with their existing user experience. Hence, being forced to perform the upgrade is considered anathema by many, and in one such occurrence, a lady was awarded $10,000 by Microsoft after she emerged as the victor in a judgment issued by a small claims court in California.
Teri Goldstein, who is the owner of Sausalito, California-based TG Travel Group LLC, claimed that she did not provide any kind of explicit approval for the upgrade from Windows 7 to Windows 10 to happen. However, the upgrade still continued many times, although it must be noted that the upgrade process underwent failure repeatedly, rendering her computer to be close to unusable as it experienced frequent crashes. This inadvertently resulted in frequent attempts to restore files, not being able to recognize her external hard drive, as well as asking her to use multi-step workarounds in order to perform the simple act of logging on every single day. Goldstein was pretty fed up with the situation (who wouldn't?), saying, "It just limped along."
Goldstein continued, "For months I tried to work with them, but they kept blowing me off." She claimed that the issues cropped up since August last year, where she spent plenty of time making countless calls to Microsoft's technical support, and even paying a visit to a local Microsoft retail store, not to mention spending hours on end to check out whether there are any solutions on the support forums, but her efforts amounted to nought.
All of the time spent doing that resulted in the more important aspects of her business being neglected. With the months of September to December being her busiest period, Goldstein touted that she was unable to shut down her company for a week in order to purchase a new machine and have her IT consultant perform the set up process as well as making sure all of the relevant software that she needs to get up and running are installed, not to mention performing a transfer of her important files. Apart from that, Goldstein had to contend with phone calls from clients who were breathing down her neck, wondering why she had not replied their emails, with some customers actually canceling their bookings. Of course, one does wonder why didn't she synchronize her email account with her smartphone - after all, most small business owners do that these days just in case such a scenario crops up.
Throughout her ordeal, Goldstein claimed that her business resulted in a loss of $17,000, through canceled bookings and other expenses involved due to the failed upgrade to Windows 10. At least $10,000 is something compared to the paltry $150 that was offered initially. Microsoft wanted to file an appeal at first, but decided to drop the idea and hand over $10,000 to Goldstein. Hopefully it is a case of all's well that ends well!
