Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Why did I expect anything different? We ARE talking about software customer support.

I just spent over an hour in a Live Chat session with TurboTax software customer support reps trying to figure out why the software isn't handling my input information correctly. Result? Nothing was accomplished. Zero. Nada. Squat.

(And why can't I have a phone number and TALK to them instead of typing everything? Are they trying to irritate me? If they are, it's working. Live Chat sessions are one of the stupidest things to arise from the internet culture.)

The software has a bug; it's obvious. When you select certain conditions and input your data, and the next screen says the exact opposite of what you input and branches off on a different decision tree based on its' erroneous understanding, that, my friends, is a bug. Did the rep realize it was a bug? Maybe. Would she say so and initiate an action to fix it? You're kidding, right?

The best she could offer was "try it again". After four "try it agains" I was burnt out and late for dinner, and had had enough. Tomorrow I'll throw away the file I created, start completely fresh and see what happens. If TurboTax does the same mistake again, I'll print the forms from the Treasury website, fill them out by hand and admit that I flushed $29.99 down the drain buying buggy software. Sigh.

2 comments:

*karendianne. said...

FYI, I had a problem as well. It was so much making me upset I hate to even discuss it. Somehow I managed to get thru it all with the FAQ's but I'm feeling a little sketchy about my taxes this year. More than most years...

joe tulips said...

hack...a sound similar to a cat gagging up a hair ball. What a pain.
Good luck on your next attempt. I hope it goes well!