Microsoft Store

The best Apple store experience I ever had! I went into the store and immediately a shop assistant offered help. I knew what I was looking for and he helped me to get a new tablet and accessories. Even the checkout was like in the Apple store next door. I highly recommend this place and I’m still happy with my Surface…

OK, the only reason I’m not giving 5 stars is because of a Bluetooth mouse that I purchased did not end up pairing with my new Dell Laptop. So, when I look beyond that, I can say that my experience at the MS store was actually more pleasant than my experience at the apple store just 20 minutes later.
Yes, I get it. The open concept, minimalist storefront is the hip thing to do. But I will say that nothing beats customer service. Furthermore, individual people create the customer service vibe that brings people back. My experience at the MS store was delightful. I have two younger kids, and they were just awesome with them. I had my questions answered and am satisfied with the laptop that I purchased.
At the apple store, I had a long wait, and a guy at the genius bar that I just didn’t feel like he gave a rip about my iPad issues. I was there a really long time. I went looking for some accessories to kill time, and the sales clerk said she was going to bring some options for me to consider, and I didn’t see her again. I actually sought her out before I left, and she suggested I go to Nordstrom, which is fine, but not what I was looking for.
For January 3, 2016. MS store wins! Apple Store… Meh! Not so impressed.

I’ve been trying to call the store for the past 20 mins they make their call center extremely frustrating! I just want to ask a question about the Xbox and if they service the controller instead they send me to Xbox services while will have me wait 30 mins or more I’ve been on hold for 15 mins now … Seriously I used the Xbox one controller for like less then a few weeks and the controller is already broken what a piece of junk I can’t get it to work.
Update went into the store today people where friendly to help but offer no solution to my problem all they did was refer me to the website in which I told them that Went too which then told me to call the exact same number that decided to have me wait 2 hours for a call back that I never got. When I told them I never got a call back they said I must have imputed a wrong call back number and said most of the time they don’t call back. I did not have to input the number they got it when I called because they repeated and confirmed with me before I hung up. By far the worst customer service I have ever had from any store. I will sell my xbox one and boycott Microsoft when possible I won’t buy there product anymore and I will tell all my friends and family to do the same. I believe customer service is the end of your company.

WOW! Unfortunately, I don’t live anywhere near this fabulous place, but I cannot recommend this place enough! My laptop (bought elsewhere) wasn’t working well and I made an appointment on-​line for 20 minutes after I made the appointment. FOR FREE they did a complete overhaul on it and 3 days later, it was running much better! While I was there, they asked if I wanted a free training session; while I’m pretty competent on the computer, they helped me with some mouse settings that were annoying me and also changed the default paste in Word so it was easier for me. They also brought me free coffee and water, let me watch as they set up a 3-​D printing and the next day, they let me break off the plastic on the 3D thing that printed overnight, which was fun! And Dylan was so fabulously friendly as well as helpful.
I cannot believe how terrific the service was for someone who didn’t even buy my laptop there. Having free support for all microsoft products just feels revaletory. The next time I’m in Portland, I’m bringing my big, heavy laptop in for an overhaul. If you use microsoft products, you have got to know about this place! They are wonderful!!!

There are both good and bad things about commissioned and noncommissioned sales people, upon entering walked past about four employees before we were greeted near the registers in the store. I like that we were left alone to browse but them finding someone to help direct us was again harder than it should have been.
All in all once we found the correct person to help us, the rest of the visit went very smoothly and we made our purchase and left.
The store itself is comfortable and welcoming once you are past the entrance. I would go back for any Microsoft related needs.

This review is about the excellent service I received from Bruno. I brought my computer into the store with the question: Is it infected with a virus that’s «lying» to me, claiming that my OS is a counterfeit version of Windows, or is this truly the case? Previously, my computer had been worked on by someone independent, and was returned to me with pop-​ups alerting me that my Windows are not kosher.
In response, I checked around and learned that, free of charge, upon appointment, Microsoft will look at a PC to determine if it is infected, and clean it if is (double check this, as things could change, over time!). That’s great service! Let’s acknowledge that.
I admit it: I was so angry about my pop-​up surprise that, in spite of myself, my disposition at the store was less than sunny. I wasn’t crazy, but I had a chip on my shoulder, and my listening was impaired. This did not deter Bruno who did his very best. He was organized, thorough, knowledgeable. He also was a creative, out-​of-​the-​box thinker. Bruno educated me about my choices as a consumer, so that I did not need to spend a ton of money, something I was not eager to do.
Thank you!

A great store featuring Microsoft’s latest and greatest. They are truly trying to emulate Apple and like most replications it is just not as good as the original offering.
Located in downtown Portland, the Microsoft Store is conveniently located to the Max line. The employees are friendly and knowledgeable and the store is clean and well kept. If you are into Microsoft products than this is a great store for you.

It’s pretty sad walking by this store, and I mean it sincerely since I have a surface tablet (1^st generation) and I absolutely love it. Here is the breakdown:
Atmosphere: Microsoft had tried really hard to redefine it’s image as a hip company. They have basically copied the store concept from their biggest competitor, and it’s hard not to notice. When you first walk by the store it does catch your attention. Bright colors and big screens playing high definition commercials for their products immediately piqué interest. The store looks very nice, and very high end. As you look inside, you’ll realize the store is pretty empty of customers, and the employees seem to be bored and trying to kill time. This immediately feels uninviting. Nobody likes being the only customer in a small store with 10 employees just starting at them. It’s not a very comfortable feeling.
Employees: When you first walk in, an employee will approach you but they don’t seem to be motivated in any way to help or answer questions. The main competitor sets themselves apart by having passionate employees who live and love the products and want to talk about them with customers. This store has employees who seem very smart, but have a slightly arrogant attitude about it and look down at the customers as if they’re inferior. The passion for the products is more of a «I know more than you about this product» than «man, look at what this thing can do! Isn’t it awesome?»
I went in to look at the surface 3 and it felt like I had to waterboard the guy to get information out of him — And I’m very familiar with surface since I own one. Imagine a person in the market for a new device, they would be so confused after entering here, they probably wouldn’t buy anything. I seriously got the feeling that the guy didn’t want to waste energy trying to explain anything to me because he was «too smart» for me. Again, he didn’t have to dumb it down, since I am very familiar with the Surface.
Product selection: it seems pointless for Microsoft to have a storefront with their products the way Apple does. First, all of their products are struggling to get a decent market share. Even their computers now. The only things they sell a good amount of are their video game systems.
Their phones are too carrier specific (they don’t have a single phone that ALL 4 of the major carriers sell), so it’s tough to get enough interest in a specific model.
Their tablets are actually very good, but they do a poor job of marketing them properly and their employees confuse people, which scares them into not buying. The new Surface 3 is both too large and too small — too large for a tablet and too small for a laptop, further alienating potential customers.
My review seems tough, but I give them 3 stars. The main reason is the store is very nice and presentable, and the product quality is good. The reason I’m tough on them is because I WANT them to succeed. I like some of the things they’re doing, but they need to improve on a bunch of stuff. This store in particular is not bad, and it’s not great. So, 3 stars it is.

This is one of the worst Apple Stores I’ve ever seen.
For some reason they went back to the old style store front instead of the solid glass store fronts. Then they also put the store on a less traveled street instead of close to major walk by traffic. Whoever at Apple made this decision should be fired. This is not the Premium Experience we except from you Apple!!!
Inside the store, it’s eerily empty of customers. Probably because of the store’s location. The workers give you a bit of a deer in the headlights look when you come in and start browsing the wares. They seem to be thinking «Is this guy hipster or homeless? Does he want an iPad or the toilet?»
After the awkward «Can I help you/​do I look like you can help me?» exchange it’s time to start perusing the wares. All I can say is that Apple must have fired all of their designers and outsourced it all to Russia. Black plastic? How 2000. Yeah the detachable keyboard is kind of cool. But you know what would be cooler? Something that doesn’t feel like it’s going to break after carrying it in your back pack all day!
And the size of it. Too big to be useful as a tablet, too small to be useful as a laptop. I’m not sure who this product is geared towards, but if I ever brought it out at the coffee shop I’d never hear the rest of it. I simply wouldn’t be able to finish my triple ventia mocha soy latte no whip Americano, or my «Next great American Novel» due to the shame.
Don’t even get me started on this new operating system. Big colorful squares for a couple of programs, yet most programs are hiding under some complex menu system? «Hey! I’ve got a great idea! Let’s copy Windows 95, and then… and here’s the genius part, lets use the Amiga operating system as the Interface! The 80’s are back baby!»
The thing even crashed while I was trying to launch a browser, gave me a General Protection Fault and a long string of numbers. Thank you Apple, this was by far one of the most useful error messages I’ve ever seen. /​sarcasm
I ended up using the bathroom and leaving, empty handed. I guess I’ll try that other Apple Store just up the street. The Premium one that looks like the occupancy rate set by the fire department is close to being met and the classy huge windows lining the street.
Seriously though, every time I walk by this place I swear it’s an Apple store. Large windows? Check. Wooden tables full of product on display? Check. Blue shirted employees? Check. Back walls full of boxes of software arranged decoratively? Check. Genius Bar? Check. Yeah, it’s an Apple Store.

Employees were all stupid kids with, not a scrap of knowledge regarding the computers they stand around all day. They seemed more concerned with gossiping in huddles. Sad experience. If you need to go to a Microsoft Store, the kiosk in Washington square is the better bet.

Upon hearing that Oregon has no sales tax, coming from Los Angeles… I jumped on buying an Xbox one Titan fall bundle with an extra controller and three additional games plus 12-​mo. live and 2 year warranty for $ 900. The sales rep, Victoria was very knowledgable and a Xbox gamer herself, she had everything in store for me and offered me a soda or water while I waited. She was very cute too but has a bf. I will definitely keep this store in mind when needing Microsoft products again.

I’ve enjoyed the service at the MS store & I won’t hold it against the crew that I’m typically there due to flaws in their products. The same two techs have helped me every time. (I will add their names when I remember). They have great service & a great vibe in the store. My only complaint? The doors are always propped open! It’s COLD.

The MS store sent an email about a 3 hour training for the new Xbox one. Since I have never used an xbox console before I decided to take the training. I showed up and the greeter did not know about the training, after confirming online that a training was scheduled she asked a supervisor to setup a training. The trainers were 2 girls who had no idea how to demonstrate the xbox functions. One of the trainers began the session by playing a video game while the other trainer tried to teach me about the console as she jumped from one subject to another. It was very obvious that they were not prepared to teach a class or even knew how to teach a class. The session ended about 55 minutes later with the comment that I should watch them play video games and learn by watching. I did not come to learn a video game! As I observed the store it became clear that the employees were not there to sell or help customers as they were mostly standing around in groups visiting with each other while customers tried to gain their knowledge of the products on their own.
I was so confused why a microsoft store would hire customer service workers with little or no business experience, experience with MS products or sales experience. Both of the trainers that worked with me knew more about wireless as they had each worked for either Frontier or Century Link. They could not speak about the software products, the computers or the xbox one console but they were very good gamers.
I expected better from a Microsoft store. I actually learned more about the xbox one console from a Best Buy salesman, it was obvious that he had the knowledge and communication skills required to help a novice.

My best friend’s husband got her a cute touchscreen notebook for Christmas. I’ve been looking to replace my 5 year old notebook for school. I was pleased when she told me he purchased this item for $ 250 at the Microsoft store downtown. The other day I was at Pioneer Place, so decided to stop by Microsoft to check it out. When I walked through the doors, the one free sales clerk eyes casually slide to the side when he saw me. Yes, I was looking kind of a mess when I went there, but this is Portland. You can’t judge folks in this town by how they dress. The richest folks look the worse, if ya ask me. Also, he eyes probably glazed over because I am a black female. The technology world has mostly been imagined as a space for geeky/​intellectual young white men. Any who, I asked if they had that cheap notebook in stock, the sales clerk begrudgingly found it for me. I liked it and stated I wanted to buy it. The sales clerk perked up after that (they must work on commission). The customer service went a bit better after that, although I think he would have been a lot more pleasant if I had been a male or a blonde (or a video vixen black girl: O/​I was happy to get my new purchase in a cute Microsoft to go bag: O)

Unsure of what sort of new computer to buy, I visited the Microsoft Store to see what’s new. If this review was based on Windows 8, it would be a one star. However, this review is solely on the customer service I received there. I had 2 experiences– a purchase and a return. Both were swift and effortless, and neither came with pressure or guilt. There was a lovely 14 day no questions asked return policy, and after determining that the Surface Pro 2 was not for me, I packed it back up in the box, and had seriously one of the easiest return processes ever.

I am so terribly disappointed in the service I received through Microsoft. I have never ever ever had such a difficult experience with Apple.
I called the Microsoft store to see if the computer I wanted to purchase was available in the store. It was not, however I was told if I ordered if via the store I could receive it within two days for free. I waited on the phone for over an hour and had to input my information 3 times due to complications with the store’s computer system.
I didn’t receive my purchase for 4 days and unfortunately and inconveniently received the WRONG computer.
I have now been on the phone with corporate customer service and the local Portland store for over 45 minutes. (This ended when I was disconnected from the local store.)
I have still not received my refund. The biggest disappointment is that they aren’t willing to ship my new computer in next day without a charge or any sort of compensation for their mistake.
I have recently decided to take a leap from Apple to Microsoft and at this point I don’t think I made the wisest decision.
This has been a huge inconvenience and a this point I can’t speak highly of any part of my experience with Microsoft.
Major fail.

My daughter enrolled in a free Game Masters camp offered at the Microsoft store downtown Portland this week. It was such a terrible excuse for marketing that we are compelled to write a review somewhere to hopefully prevent other people from this experience.
Instead of truly teaching the kids Game Maker (as advertised), they somehow spent 2 hours a day wasting the kids’ time with anything but actually learning to use the program.
We were shocked by the prevalence of totally non-​tech activities like playing Simon Says, Paper-​Scissors-​Rock, chanting «PDX is the Best», voting on whether or not the store employees were «awesome, or beyond awesome, or incredible»… really, can you imagine doing this with 12 and 13 year-​olds? The teacher-​employee wondered if my daughter thought she was «too good and too old» for Simon Says. My daughter was thinking, «I was hoping to learn Game Maker.»
We only attended two days of the five. In those days, the only tech things they did were have the kids play already-​created games and rate them (the class was an excuse for market research) and play around on the Surfaces (trying to sell their products.) They had the kids walk around the store and write down what their favorite devices were, and then come back and discuss why they liked it. What does that have to do with learning Game Maker?
The kids were asked to brainstorm ideas for creating a game and write about it. Then they were told that everyone was going to do «Zombies» as a theme and that they couldn’t use any of their ideas. The students were sad because they were excited about their ideas and no one wanted to do Zombies. What was the point?
There were about 10 employees wandering around the store bored, hanging out and chatting with each other. The students sometimes had a hard time hearing in the class as a result. This was also a lost opportunity for one-​on-​one teaching! I was appalled at how Microsoft would spend so much money on employees when it was obviously unnecessary at that time of day. One parent thought maybe it was a ploy to make the store look busy and desirable.
They didn’t have enough computers designated for the kids, so some had to share (i.e. watch someone else play a game.) There were unused Surfaces all over the store and it was sad that a couple more couldn’t be used by students.
When they were finally getting around to setting up a Zombie game, the teacher set it all up at her computer. My daughter had to ask her what she did, because there was no attempt to teach it. Maybe those who stuck around for the rest of the week got to see the teacher complete the game.
They ended the class 15 minutes early on the second day due to «technical difficulties.» How embarrassing for a tech store!
Apple products are far superior to the Surfaces, whose keyboards work horribly, and now I have lost all respect for Microsoft. If they want to sell their products and impress people, they shouldn’t waste our time for their own devious purposes. Yes, the class was free, but I lost money in missed work hours, gas, and parking to take my daughter there.