Fun with Schwab Trois
My Email about today's problems:
Well, my last email suggesting that the reliability of your service was becoming an issue was met with what amounted to a useless non-response. No hint as to what the problem was, no hint as to how Schwab was addressing the problem to avoid outages in the future. Maybe if enough people shut down their accounts Schwab will realize that they are a service company and that they have to communicate with their customers. If you take the time to look at my account, you will see that I am liquidating my positions. I am doing this so that I can easily move to another service. And the service doesn't need to be any more reliable, they just have to be willing to communicate to me when there is a problem and give me some idea that they are addressing the reliability. Personally, I am amazed that my business was not valued enough to give me a straight response to my earlier concerns. I actually thought that I generated a fair amount of revenue for Schwab.
Here's a couple of hints:
-Reliability matters
-Nothing is 100%, but you still have to communicate to your customers when there is a problem
-Don't do system maintenance during trading hours. Or even trading days. Do it on the weekend.
Sincerely,
And Chuckie's response:
Thank you for your e-mail.
We regret any concern or frustration caused by the difficulty you experienced while accessing your account electronically the morning of March 8, 2000.
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. experienced intermittent system difficulties, which temporarily prevented some of our customers from viewing their account information or placing orders via the Charles Schwab Web site.
Due to the system difficulties experienced, all equity trades executed March 8, 2000, will automatically receive Web pricing regardless of the channel used to submit the order.
Web Commission rates:
- $29.95 for up to 1,000 shares of stock or $.03/share for trades over 1,000 shares.
- For penny stocks: $29.95 for trades up to 1,000 shares. For trades over 1,000 shares, commission is calculated as 3% of principal amount with an overriding minimum of $29.95
Additionally, Schwab's Total Customer Access Promise was instituted on March 8, 2000. When the Total Customer Access Promise is in effect, a Schwab customer may place a trade at his/her local Schwab branch, and the commission will be waived.* While a visit to a Schwab branch might not be the preferred choice of access, we are dedicated to providing as many access channels as possible to our customers.
We sincerely regret your experience and urge you to telephone Schwab at 1-800-435-4000 or visit one of our branches when you experience difficulty while placing an order, and our representatives will be happy to assist you.
* up to a maximum of $500 in commissions per customer, per day, during NYSE market hours (9:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST). Schwab reserves the right to withdraw this offer at anytime without prior notice. Schwab or an affiliate of Schwab may trade as principal.
If you have any further questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for using Schwab's Electronic Brokerage Services.
Sincerely,
XXXX X. XXXXXXXXXX
Schwab Signature Services Platinum Team I |
