metoxx, i've been around here long enough where i believe i built a reputation of being fair and honest. questioning my ethics is uncalled for. I don't plant posts favoring IB. i've got much better things to do with my time. you say you left IB, now you say are you are still around. therefore you must have a sales rep. talk to them and you can get the number (assuming you do enough volume). as for customer service, i've never been one to say it is the greatest. it has improved and will continue to improve. fwiw, a new person has recently taken over the responsibilities of running the desk. perhaps he'll make some changes which will make you all feel loved.
Def, Before you get too huffy; don't you think it is a bit unusual to have somebody in there first post come on like that? Or to say "to reach a rep vs a competitor"? I think the word was "phasing out", and as for contacting a sales rep, they don't have enough say in anything that I really care about; had a deal I made with Ascher overridden by Petterffy; and I think he was a little higher on the food chain than a sales rep. However, maybe someday I will do enough volume to play with you guys again. I am not the guy knocking your customer service; we never experienced the problems with the trade desk to the extent of some of my friends. However, when it first started, it definitely was better than when they switched some of the better people to Connecticut. Our problems were with management buckling under to the option exchanges, on one hand, and on the other telling us they didn't think we were violating any rules, but couldn't risk having there access cut off. And before you jump to any conclusions, we are not Cathedral Trading but we did get a few honorable mentions on the blacklist, never had our accounts closed, still maintain accounts with you, but have phased out more and more of the high volume strategies. Keep in mind we are still bandit traders at heart. The other issues are CTCI related, such as forgetting to set the setting for a cancel all on a disconnect (loss of a heartbeat), not having new symbols on the system for days, lost orders reported hours late; and if I remember correctly the icing on the cake was when the desk started sending CTCI customers to tech support to sit on hold to have some idiot tell us it was a CTCI problem and switch us to the guy I could have called direct a half hour earlier. That is not a good situation with a couple hundred orders in the pipe. I think it would take a lot more than a new guy running the institutional desk to make me feel loved again.
after posting my reply to you, i figured you were lipton and taking a cheap shot. "huffy" i have a right to be when my integrity is questioned. as for your comments, i'm probably more clued in than you realize. i don't care about your trading tactics. if however, our chairman believes that they will create problems on the exchange level, who am i to question it. he's built one hell of a business and i'll take peterffy's judgement over most market practictioners any day. buckling to the exchanges - give me a break. you know about the BS lawsuits, you know about the PHLX delays, you know we've been for all market makers and specialists honoring their prices. you can only fight so hard without risking too much. For instance, take the cancellation fees, its guys like you and firms like us which make the exchanges stoop to such tackets in a last gasp effort to maintain the status quo. how do you solve it. If you can't beat them you can join them - or perhaps do something about it, like create a new exchange. CTCI/etc - much of that has been resolved. Growth isn't always easy to deal with. The best you can do is learn from your past mistakes. As for the person taking over the desk, I don't think he's in the business of dishing out love. That is something you earn. Perhaps he'll make a difference.
Def, Getting away from all the other bullshit; I think the BOX is probably the best thing to happen to the option market since multiple listing. You guys really shook up the exchanges. Funny how shortly after the announcements we had pilot programs granting equal access to broker dealers and the CBOE did a 180 and issued that memo turning on "auto" on all locked markets. Maybe the day you guys start they will start honoring inverted markets again. Or, maybe, they will close the doors. Has a start date been firmed up? Or, what is the best rumor for a start date?
def, i think you should retract the reliable systems part. IB is great for everything except reliability and customer service and is accountable for nothing. I totally agree with some other posters that everyone should get equal customer service. But that doesn't mean everyone should get shitty service. It means everyone should get good service. I took my issues up with IB management and they don't seem to give a shit. So I figure the only outlet for my frustrations with this broker is right here. If anyone is serious about moving any precious money in the markets, you should stay far far away from Interactive Brokers LLC.
i'll stand by the reliability. thousands of others tend to agree. about a year a go there were capacity issues. since an upgrade of the switches and other infrastructure i believe the reliability has been very good. you can't please everybody. wish we could.
Originally posted by smokey mcPaat smokey mcPaat, The next time you sit down for a meal, please consider where it came from. Best regards and good trading to ya, from - MR. joe bob 100 lot "redneck"
Def, How much in commission (per day / week / month) would place an IB customer into the "high commission" club?
Def: How about the elimination of the recording, push button menu, and a human to answer within 30 seconds as a first step. The slow recording and push button menu is a tactic used by many companies in other industries to frustrate the caller in hopes they will hang up and find another way to solve their problem, as the calculate each tech support call based on cost per call to the company, the fewer calls they answer the less the cost. I sincerely hope that is not the goal at IB, it is hard for me to understand the extremely slow recording at IB, you try listening to that while you are watching every tick of a trade you can not get out of. Just get rid of the recording as a first step and a demonstration of good faith. I think that would go a long way to immediately change the prevailing perception.