But I upload to Gamin Connect and then Sync with Strava. I'll admit that I was hedging my bets against lost data.

I did have one thing that I wasn't sure was covered adequately here. For Garmin, this isn't just about customer service, there may be a corporate survival issue here as well.

Garmin keeps geotracking data for it's users.
Geotracking data could be considered sensitive private information.
Garmin supports EU citizens who are subject to GDPR.
GDPR has hefty fines (up to 4% of gross corporate revenues?) for violations of privacy rights.

British airways had a huge fine from a data loss a couple years ago. Customer service is important, but if they negotiate the legal ramifications they won't be providing any customer service.