Suntzu - yes, I lost my temper. When Cyber got better after their problems earlier in the year, I certainly acknowledged that. And I am not shy in expressing my displeasure when catastrophic failure occurs.
I don't feel particularly apologetic today - and I certainly don't accept your characterization of today's failure as "nit picking".
Of course, failures will happen - the question is how often. True, it's been much better recently, but a failure on a critical day like today is really not acceptable. I think the standard for daytrading brokers ought to be the same as for aircraft reliability. There is no reason on earth to accept any less. Airplanes are even more complex than what Cyber puts out - and IMO, when your financial well-being is as dependent on it, Cyber ought to strive for the highest standards.
I was in the middle of a critical short trade (one of my biggest this year), with a huge number of shares - the stock was moving extremely rapidly and I had 4 blocks of shares riding (1K, 1K, 1K, 1K) when the failure occured. I need not tell you that a 10 second failure is not acceptable under these circumstances, much less a 10 minute one. I was trading the short side, and that always makes me very nervous when a net stock is involved. I was getting ready to cover because it looked like a strong bounce reversal was going to happen, and then Cyber crapped out. Fortunately, the reversal didn't last, and I was OK on the trade. But when the failure occured, I hit the roof - especially when Cyber's phone was busy - an absolute nightmare!
Morgan |
