Review of Intuit, Inc & Subsidiaries

4 years ago

Memoranda for Record

Memoranda for Record
9/9/2013 15:21
To: Mr. Brad Smith CEO Intuit

SUBJECT: INTUIT NOTICE OF CATASTROPHIC FAILURE

FROM: David Oldani - CEO

Mr. Smith

After 5 days+ of an Intuit credit card gateway processor outage, I bring the problem noted below to your attention and ask you for immediate resolution. In my 40 years in the computer business I have never experienced or witnessed the total collapse of computer systems best practices, absence of system processes, poor project management, inept software engineering, and technical support as I am now witnessing with your company.
Each hour that your system is inoperable is causing our business harm as we have a stellar reputation for extremely highly reliable and stable service.
To with: I ask for immediate resolution and priority attention to this brings your credit card gateway back into service. The itemized information below is from a stream of support calls, as documented internally. Essentially:
ITEM: Your merchant gateway became unavailable without notice on 9/5/13 at approximately 1500
ITEM: For the first several calls, your support staff conveyed only a minor issue, and conveyed only minor delay.
ITEM: As discovered, INTUIT moved this functionality from AZ, to Washington State without a BACKUP plan, and no client notice.
ITEM: Your staff confirms in follow-up that this merchant server has NO DISASTER RECOVERY Process: NO HOT Standby: & NO Backup
ITEM: Repeated contact with support required me to PRESS for information to accurately assess the problems, as support information was inaccurate, misleading and incomplete.
ITEM: Support call wait times are 10 to 25 minutes
ITEM: Support representative do NOT know their PHONE extension and the one given was NO Longer in service
ITEM: Your Software experts to date are unable to resolve web server problems.
ITEM: No Test methodology: NO cutover plans: Just 'Try it now'
ITEM: Your notice on Saturday, 9/7 stating that its resolved was premature and wrong.
ITEM: Your staff will not accept help to isolate software system problems, although we offered an NDA.
ITEM: Promise by your staff to work continuously through the evening and Friday nite to resolve this very doubtful as the problem continues (it s Monday pm). I offered to fly someone to Mountainview (or location) to assist, without even a no thanks.
ITEM: Your project team failed to understand that a new/renewed security certificate would be needed when this server was relocated.
ITEM: you did not have source control of the DLL software, and had to ask us for a copy of YOUR own program.

We have passed the good intentions stage as your company has impaled all it s users on the horns of this dilemma, and we now find ourselves in an untenable situation. I would appreciate a call from you, but believe you are far removed to communicate with your clients, possible afraid of a legal liability. Simply stated, we need immediate resolution and accurate information to assess this problem.

Everybody makes mistakes, but the litany of Intuit problems continue to compound and astoun. It's 1972 all over again.