Sometimes in the course of human events....

[burntfrijoles]

I've had enough.
I posted earlier about my Credit Union's botched attempt to "enhance the online banking experience" with new software. It's now day eight of downtime. That's a level of incompetence that cannot be ignored nor forgiven. Not to offend any of the IT/IS forum members, but their CIO should be canned immediately. As Bill Murray stated so eloquently in "Stripes": "there is something seriously wrong" with the credit union's IT team.

I'm slowly transitioning my business to another financial institution. It's tedious process to change direct deposits, automatic drafts for payment of various services, etc.

All brick and mortar branches of the Credit Union are jammed with unhappy customers. I wanted to stop by and get my balances for my accounts just to reconcile and verify what I believe to have. It's near impossible to find out. My attempt at using an ATM to check balances failed.

It's a crapshow wrapped in a clusterboink.

 

[Festofish]

I’m frustrated with mine also but not to your level. The online experience is incredibly dated and limited. The atm is in Spanish and has been for a couple years now. They laminate your cards with an oversized pouch that won’t fit in a wallet. If you go inside you first have to deal with a cantankerous old shrew.

 

[nojazzhere]

I've had enough.
I posted earlier about my Credit Union's botched attempt to "enhance the online banking experience" with new software. It's now day eight of downtime. That's a level of incompetence that cannot be ignored nor forgiven. Not to offend any of the IT/IS forum members, but their CIO should be canned immediately. As Bill Murray stated so eloquently in "Stripes": "there is something seriously wrong" with the credit union's IT team.

I'm slowly transitioning my business to another financial institution. It's tedious process to change direct deposits, automatic drafts for payment of various services, etc.

All brick and mortar branches of the Credit Union are jammed with unhappy customers. I wanted to stop by and get my balances for my accounts just to reconcile and verify what I believe to have. It's near impossible to find out. My attempt at using an ATM to check balances failed.

It's a crapshow wrapped in a clusterboink.

I hope you have better results from a different institution, but I fear they're ALL deficient at one time or another. You'd wish that a few banks would "rise to the top" of the heap, taking advantage of other's incompetence to garner the lion's share of customers.....but they don't. If you go online and read the customers reviews of individual banks, most of them have as many or more BAD reviews than good.....and ultimately, they JUST DON'T CARE. My biggest complaint is it's hard to get just a simple checking and savings account anymore.....you have to choose between a dozen different features, no combination of which fill my requirements, without extra fees and charges. I guess I just need to get in the "wayback" machine and go back to the 1950's.

 

[buster poser]

Sucks man, sorry to hear it. I've been considering leaving USAA for some time now, but the one thing that makes it impossible is what I feel is the consistently high quality of their online services.

My guess is your CU doesn't have an IT team (at least not doing the heavy lifting for this migration/upgrade), they have a contractor. And not some "off shore" outfit that some people love to ignorantly blame, but domestic if not local schlubs who coast from low bid to low bid saying stuff like "a successful engagement is one for which you are paid lol amirite?" Just tons of hucksters who can't do the work when they respond to RFQs, who think they're going to get good at it in process of doing the work, and generally find themselves in over their heads.

 

[SRHmusic]

That's a major cluster. Well, there are some well run CUs out there, no problem with ours. Hope you find something decent. We have a really good local bank with a few branches and are hoping they don't get acquired.

 

[ReverendRevolver]

I don't belong to a credit union, but often find myself infuriated at our corporate IT team at work. Literal millions of dollars in lost sales and shrink depend on them simply not being morons who keep turning in and implementing inept software. I've never worked in that feild, but from talking to acquaintances that do, there's a reason why these problems always pop up. (,the hucksters that buster poser describes seem to get jobs on corporate teams and as team leaders, not just through contractor jobs).

As far as banks go, I've been with chase since it was still Bank1. But relatives that work (or worked) at credit unions have all shown concern over them not really adapting well over the last 10 years or so. An aunt who works there moved most of thier money to a local bank about 5 years back.
Just ain't what it used to be.

 

[burntfrijoles]

you have to choose between a dozen different features, no combination of which fill my requirements, without extra fees and charges.

I've chosen Ally. It's an internet bank which consistently gets good reviews. I've had other funds there with no issues. There are absolutely no fees with Ally. Few minimums either. I thought long and hard about not having a 'brick and mortar' bank but I never go into a bank. More and more banks will close their branches over the next 10 years. I finished setting up my e-bills, bill pay systems. I just have to wait to get my direct deposit changed and I'm done.

Sucks man, sorry to hear it. I've been considering leaving USAA for some time now, but the one thing that makes it impossible is what I feel is the consistently high quality of their online services.

My guess is your CU doesn't have an IT team (at least not doing the heavy lifting for this migration/upgrade), they have a contractor. And not some "off shore" outfit that some people love to ignorantly blame, but domestic if not local schlubs who coast from low bid to low bid saying stuff like "a successful engagement is one for which you are paid lol amirite?" Just tons of hucksters who can't do the work when they respond to RFQs, who think they're going to get good at it in process of doing the work, and generally find themselves in over their heads.

They have a CIO (she'a a young, beautiful woman to boot) and this is from their website: "IDG Insider Pro and Computerworld 2020 Best Places to Work in IT". The software they were implementing is used by other Credit Unions across the country. There's really no excuse. This is one of the larger CU's in the country.

Personally I think that there is bigger story like a cyberattack or a catastrophic infrastructure issue. I don't see an end to the downtime. I can weather it but a lot of folks are going to be stressed to the limit because virtually everyone uses online services to pay their bills, transfer funds, etc. People don't keep records to speak of because the data is usually at their fingertips through a mobile app.

 

[buster poser]

That's a major cluster. Well, there are some well run CUs out there, no problem with ours. Hope you find something decent. We have a really good local bank with a few branches and are hoping they don't get acquired.

Yeah we also bank with a local CU as a backup, and their online-banking stuff is very modest. I don’t need the slicked up online services from them, happy that they stay in their lane. Hoping they stay independent too

 

[buster poser]

I've chosen Ally. It's an internet bank which consistently gets good reviews. I've had other funds there with no issues. There are absolutely no fees with Ally. Few minimums either. I thought long and hard about not having a 'brick and mortar' bank but I never go into a bank. More and more banks will close their branches over the next 10 years. I finished setting up my e-bills, bill pay systems. I just have to wait to get my direct deposit changed and I'm done.

They have a CIO (she'a a young, beautiful woman to boot) and this is from their website: "IDG Insider Pro and Computerworld 2020 Best Places to Work in IT". The software they were implementing is used by other Credit Unions across the country. There's really no excuse. This is one of the larger CU's in the country.

Personally I think that there is bigger story like a cyberattack or a catastrophic infrastructure issue. I don't see an end to the downtime. I can weather it but a lot of folks are going to be stressed to the limit because virtually everyone uses online services to pay their bills, transfer funds, etc. People don't keep records to speak of because the data is usually at their fingertips through a mobile app.

Ugh, you’re probably right about an unforeseen event of some kind. That’s a helluvan indictment of that CIO. She’d be gone anywhere I’ve worked but government.

If the solution is as widely used as you say then the CU’s team is still relying on the vendor and probably (hopefully) paying them for implementation help via pro services. Amazing that at least *that* side hasn’t encountered whatever the issue is and/or can’t help. What a Charlie Foxtrot.

 

[joe.attaboy]

I believe I may be a member of the same CU @burntfrijoles discusses in his OP. My wife and I joined this CU in 1985 when the Navy stationed me here - their main office at the time was right on the base - and my wife worked for a short time as a teller back then before landing her first teaching job.

So we've been members for 37 years, never an issue. I would pull out today, but the final payment on my mortgage (which I have with this CU) comes out of my account on June 1. Hopefully.

I'm in the IT business. My company markets cloud-based web site malware scanning and on-line firewall products, among other things. In my 30 years in this racket, I have never seen a product launch go as bad as what the CU did last week. I had a feeling something was screwy when they announced they would be shutting down the on-line bill payer service for five days to launch the new version. I'm sure most customers believed this would be a minor inconvenience and made arrangements in advance.

Their site has been down now for two weeks. They managed to get it up momentarily earlier this week (if you were lucky enough to get through the login process), but then it went down hard and stayed down. The OP's description of branch activity was spot on; I visited their neighborhood branch on Thursday and got nowhere.

Good IT practices require full testing of a new release, off-line and internally in a "sandbox" environment with test accounts - lots of test accounts. Then you might run a live test in parallel with your existing site, maybe inviting beta testers to test drive the new app, all the time working off bugs, testing network responses, etc.

You don't launch until you are absolutely satisfied that the new app will work as expected. When you cut over, you don't shut down the old app for good until you're certain everything works. This is exactly what the CU didn't do, and now they can't being the old site back up because, they claim, it would take longer than fixing the new site. How they know that I have no clue, as the new site has been hard down for days.

What they also failed to comprehend is that a majority og their customers now do nearly all their banking on line. Even depositing a check is as easy as taking a cell phone picture. This CU has a lot of military and government civilian customers - every one of them uses direct deposit. They have moved users from having to come to a branch or make a phone call to doing everything on a computer or mobile phone.

Oh, one other thing @burntfrijoles didn't mention - found this out last night - the CEO of the credit union has been on vacation in a remote area since right before the launch. Very reassuring.

 

[burntfrijoles]

Good IT practices require full testing of a new release, off-line and internally in a "sandbox" environment with test accounts - lots of test accounts. Then you might run a live test in parallel with your existing site, maybe inviting beta testers to test drive the new app, all the time working off bugs, testing network responses, etc.

Exactly. I worked in IT for a large hospital and we had development, testing and live environments. We built in one, tested in another and moved it live when it was right. It's hard to believe they didn't do this. It's also hard to believe that the vendor is the issue. This system is used by others. The interfaces should have been vigorously tested. The web aspects should have been thoroughly tested. Something doesn't add up.
I am sure the membership enrollment will take a massive hit. People will wait for the dust to clear and hall their butts out to another institution. As soon as my direct deposits clear with my new bank, I'm out.
I am sure the CIO has already updated her resume but she will be in no rush. She, like other execs, probably has a "gold parachute". You know, just like regular working stiffs get when they are "downsized" or terminated.

 

[telleutelleme]

If you stay with a big business long enough, eventually they will disappoint you.

 

[Killing Floor]

I've chosen Ally. It's an internet bank which consistently gets good reviews. I've had other funds there with no issues. There are absolutely no fees with Ally. Few minimums either. I thought long and hard about not having a 'brick and mortar' bank but I never go into a bank. More and more banks will close their branches over the next 10 years. I finished setting up my e-bills, bill pay systems. I just have to wait to get my direct deposit changed and I'm done.

They have a CIO (she'a a young, beautiful woman to boot) and this is from their website: "IDG Insider Pro and Computerworld 2020 Best Places to Work in IT". The software they were implementing is used by other Credit Unions across the country. There's really no excuse. This is one of the larger CU's in the country.

Personally I think that there is bigger story like a cyberattack or a catastrophic infrastructure issue. I don't see an end to the downtime. I can weather it but a lot of folks are going to be stressed to the limit because virtually everyone uses online services to pay their bills, transfer funds, etc. People don't keep records to speak of because the data is usually at their fingertips through a mobile app.

Ally used to be GMAC. They have generations of experience processing remote transactions. Compared to even a large branch bank they have had a technological head start.

 

[burntfrijoles]

Ally used to be GMAC. They have generations of experience processing remote transactions. Compared to even a large branch bank they have had a technological head start.

I've used them for CD's and Savings for years because their rates are consistently higher than others. Their user interface is very good IMO. Bill pay setup was super easy. Only concern was not having a "branch". It doesn't take rock surgeon to recognize that one rarely visits a bank office. You can apply for a car loan on line or even a mortgage. Really the only loss is the lack of a safety deposit box if one has the need.
We'll see.

the CEO of the credit union has been on vacation in a remote area since right before the launch. Very reassuring.

This is correct. However, he has been in communication with his team via Zoom, etc.

 

[Tonetele]

I'm keeping all my financial status off the web for security. There's a lot more than can be tracked on the net. Lost over $5000 years ago. No transactions on the 'phone- Nada.

 

[burntfrijoles]

If you stay with a big business long enough, eventually they will disappoint you.

That assumes that you had confidence in them or modest to high expectations of them. The myth of big business is that they're so efficient and well run. As Sherman T Potter would exclaim "horse hockey"!!!

 

[Toto'sDad]

The problem with banking, any banking whatever you may call it is, they shuffle back and forth taking each other over ALL of the time. I got frustrated with my own banks changing things because of a takeover and went to another bank I do business with intending to put all of eggs in one basket so to speak.

The lady manager there asked me why I was contemplating the move, I told her because my bank is being acquired by another, and I don't like the changes. She told me, well, we're being taken over by another bank, too! She gave me some info she had only recently been given to share with her account holders, and it sounded like more of the same as what I was already undergoing! Somehow, ALL business is forcing EVERYONE to depend more and more on the internet. I HATE IT! Then again, I hate any kind of change.

 

[Brad Pittiful]

As Bill Murray stated so eloquently in "Stripes": "there is something seriously wrong" with the credit union's IT team.

 

[String Tree]

I've had enough.
I posted earlier about my Credit Union's botched attempt to "enhance the online banking experience" with new software. It's now day eight days of downtime. That's a level of incompetence that cannot be ignored nor forgiven. Not to offend any of the IT/IS forum members, but their CIO should be canned immediately. As Bill Murray stated so eloquently in "Stripes": "there is something seriously wrong" with the credit union's IT team.

I'm slowly transitioning my business to another financial institution. It's tedious process to change direct deposits, automatic drafts for payment of various services, etc.

All brick and mortar branches of the Credit Union are jammed with unhappy customers. I wanted to stop by and get my balances for my accounts just to reconcile and verify what I believe to have. It's near impossible to find out. My attempt at using an ATM to check balances failed.

It's a crapshow wrapped in a clusterboink.

Sorry to hear that.
It sounds like changing Banks is the right thing for you to do.
~ST

 

[burntfrijoles]

Update: We enter day 10 of this boondoggle. No end in sight.
The company has stopped posting updates 2 to 3 times a day. They must have decided that the updates which offered no real information and the same "rest assured" BS, was wearing thin on folks.
The comments from customers to local news articles, social media, etc are scathing and extremely hostile as you can imagine. I am now thinking that they will lose a more sizable number of customers than one might have expected.