The IB interface is very easy to use, but I wouldn't call it intuitive. I would definitely say go through the tutorial and practice entering orders. It's easy to get confused and click on the offered price when you really want to sell, for example.
DrAtomic, You might want to read the quick start tutorials thoroughly and practice with the demo account. However, try calling IB directly yourself in different times of the day to figure out if the customer service is all right with you. Try calling them more than once before forming a good or bad opinion about the customer service. I really hope IB's customer service does improve in the near future.
I cant pass this up from TradeStaion. Starts in December 05. Now if they would combine all accounts into a universal account, and offer ACH deposits and withdraws, IB would not stand a chance. Unless you trade in 20 different countries. TradeStation plans to further reduce the trading activity thresholds futures and forex customers need to meet to qualify for a waiver of the monthly platform fee. Under the new thresholds, futures clients who trade 10 round-turn contracts per month, as opposed to the current threshold of 50 round-turns per month, and forex clients who trade 10, as opposed to 25, deals per month, will qualify for the waiver. http://www.tradestation.com/aboutus/10262005.shtm
i been an IB customer for a long time......i remember i had some trouble at first , but it is worth the small learning curve,,,,,,,,,,,,,their execution platform is the quickest i have ever used.
With all due respect this thread was about customer service not the TWS platform which most agree has its foibles but is generally excellent. My main gripe is that I would rather spend my time trading than wasting hours dealing with an inefficient customer service. I too thought IB was great until problems came along which require customer service to resolve.
LONG LONG LONG waits on the phone lines. 3-5-7 days max to get a reply to emails. I closed out my account and went elsewhere.
======== Dr Atom; Its a bit exacting sometimes, but not too complex; had a malfunction once aparantly because i typed in ''smart ''instead of ''SMART;; Wonder if that elitetrader notified Ib of a bank wire like the instructuions say??? {separate from actual bank wire] And yes if you 'bang, bang'' , you just got a double portion!! And basic business applies; when i do occasionaly have a problen, like to start the conversation off by mentioning something positive.
For the life of me I can't figure out what all the crying about Java is. I have a two year old Athlon with a meg of ram. I typically have TS running, camtasia studio, a browser or two, ms word, powerpoint and cooledit, plus of course TWS, all running simultaneously. I never have a shread of a problem.