> If they said it would take 4 hours and you spent 10 hours on it, it’s likely your approach was ineffective compared to a more skilled engineer.

They promised this person if they completed it, they would get an actual human response back.

Not only did they not get a response back, they didn't get a response back from anybody, even when directly trying to follow-up.

And this was what was promised for spending 4 hours of your time on something.

At the very least, that seems unfair.