Shortly after submitting my request I received a reply, apparently from someone who had actually read it. This surprised me, as I had fully expected my request to fall into a black hole somewhere. And when I read that they planned on giving my request special attention, I began to think that I may actually get help with the problem.

From: Microsoft Contact US  <msconus@microsoft.com>
To: George
Sent: Thursday, March 16, 2006 1:33 PM
Subject: RE:'RTCProd=011-380-963' 

Hello George,

Thank you for contacting Microsoft Online Customer Service.

I understand from your e-mail that you are experiencing issue with Outlook after the installation of certain Office updates. I realize the importance of your issue and apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused you.

I would like to inform you that Microsoft offers no charge support for all issues occurring after the installation of Windows and Office updates. In addition, at Microsoft, we have a separate team of Support Professionals who are trained to handle such issues.

I have created a no-charge support case and forwarded it to our Support Professional for assistance regarding your issue with updates. They will be contacting you at the earliest. Usually responses are sent within 24 hours. Your support case identification (ID) number, for your records, is SRX060316602240.

If you have any questions about this case or would like to update the case notes, please send an e-mail message to compmail@microsoft.com with only your support case ID (the SRX number) as the subject line. Please ensure that your junk mail filter is set in such a way that you receive message from the Outlook support team.

I hope that your issue is resolved at the earliest.

Thank you for using Microsoft Products and Services.

Subramonian
Microsoft Online Customer Service Representative