[jjav]

There needs to be a law that every cloud-based service which has accounts for more than (say) 1% of population, must have a physical service counter presence in every major town staffed by an employee who must be empowered to resolve all account access issues.

Notice how phone carries manage to have a shop in every little strip mall, you're never more than a few miles from the nearest one. Google takes in far more revenue, can easily afford the same. Or they could even just partner with the phone carriers and have a staffed desk in every tmobile/at&t/verizon shop.

[cube00]

Staffed desks would just tell you they need to open a ticket.

No company will give full account unlock control to field employees.

Even the bank teller behind the glass needs to phone their internal fraud dept to unlock accounts.

[jjav]

> Staffed desks would just tell you they need to open a ticket.

That's not how it works at banks nor phone vendors.

(Although, even being able to open a ticket would be 100% better than the black hole of nothingness that is google support.)

When you go to a bank with access issues (something I've done somewhat regularly because I manage accounts for various family members who no longer can) you meet with someone who can authenticate you, and that employee has direct access to talk to their risk and fraud departments so they can sort out any issues while you're sitting there next to them.

There needs to be a law that any cloud service with a non-trivial userbase must have a similarly staffed support center reasonably accessible to all citizens.

[cube00]

> being able to open a ticket would be 100% better

Not with Google, I've had a ticket open for five months counting.

[nottorp]

> needs to phone their internal fraud dept

Except the bank teller has already authenticated you and internal fraud will pick up the phone...