[dghlsakjg]

Holy cow, yes.

I just spent an hour yesterday untangling my in-laws shared, paid, Spotify account.

What had transpired is that they needed to confirm FILs physical address. So they sent him a link to an old email address, but no notification in app. He, reasonably didn’t see it within the 1 week deadline. So they removed him from his own shared account. Once he was removed there was no way to confirm his address and self service to get himself back into his own paid service.

To get back on the account I had to find the very hidden “contact a real person” link buried very deep in useless help articles, and gated behind a bot that didn’t even get close to understanding the issue. Then, to verify identity he had us login via the app, not the website, create a playlist, make it private using a secondary menu and message him the name. Only then was he able to be added back onto the shared account. The shared account that he was paying for, mind you.

I have no idea how anyone who hasn’t seen the inside of a tech company is supposed to navigate these systems.

[kjkjadksj]

We abstracted ourselves into this. Imagine how the spotify app would have been as an early 2000s website. Loads an informationally dense page in a fraction of bandwidth. User and password box probably immediately visible. Forgot username and forgot password button immediately visible. Customer support email and phone number probably there on the bottom of the page.

Somewhere in the years since we decided basic utility were unsightly.

[CJefferson]

Honestly, I think for some of these types of things we probably need laws, providing minimal levels of support for paid services.

Yes, there are probably a whole bunch of paid services which simply can't function if they have to actually provide useful, easy-to-access support to their paying customers. However, I'm not sure it's a net benefit to let them exist.