Drunk Van Halen fan called Microsoft support and demanded to speak to Gates

A Microsoft support call that remains memorable involved a drunk fan demanding to speak with Bill Gates. Raymond Chen, a veteran Microsoft employee, recounted the story from a retired colleague who once worked on the FrontPage support line. The caller was attempting to build a Van Halen fan site using FrontPage, but the Java applet they relied on to play music was not working.

Despite Chen's colleague's attempts to assist, the customer's intoxication became evident as they produced increasingly louder ice clinking sounds. The customer's frustration escalated to the point of shouting at the support representative, "You're not even a real freaking fan of Van Halen!" The colleague warned the caller that further swearing would result in the call being ended.

The customer then exclaimed, "F you! I wanna talk to Gates!" Chen does not have details on what happened next, but he speculates that the caller might have been transferred to a special line reserved for customers seeking an audience with Bill Gates.