Microsoft really thought us tech guys would sell their product for them?

Microsoft grossly overestimated the loyalty of those it thought were its most steadfast customers when it asked for their help in getting friends and family members to dump Windows XP, a corporate communications expert said Friday.

"There's nothing wrong with asking your customers for help," said Gene Grabowski, an executive vice president at Levick, a Washington, D.C. firm that specializes in crisis public relations and corporate reputation messaging. "But you have to establish loyalty before you ask them, and even then you have to structure [the request] so there is a distinct advantage to the customer."

Microsoft neither had the customer loyalty it had assumed it had, nor a plan that made the effort attractive to those it asked for assistance. "Essentially, Microsoft was asking its customers to help it sell more product," said Grabowski.

Grabowski was referring to the appeal Microsoft made Feb. 7, when it implored its technically astute customers to help others who are still running Windows XP get rid of the soon-to-be-retired operating system.

Those same savvy users ridiculed the idea, saying that Microsoft's pitch -- which relied on upgrading Windows XP to Windows 8.1 or purchasing a new computer -- was unacceptable because they refused to recommend Windows 8.1. They also criticized Microsoft for not offering a discount on an upgrade, for not suggesting the older but more familiar Windows 7 as an alternative to Windows 8.1, and for not providing an upgrade path from XP to 8.1 that retained settings, files or applications.

"The problem here is that Microsoft is behaving more like the 'Sopranos' than a technology company," Grabowski said. "They're shaking down their customers."