QB2009 registration torture

BetaB4 wrote: ...

If it is really blatant (probably deliberately not given the size of Intuit and the number of corporate leagle beagles they've bound to have had review marketing ploys), one could always file a complaint w/ your State AG office for consumer affairs, wherever that may be in a particular State's bureaucracy.

Of course can't ever hurt to cc: Intuit Corporate on a copy of a such a notification; the worst they can do is ignore it... :)

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I hate it when someone cries in my beer. You sound as if the boys and girls at Intuit water board their customers.

Naw, just grab by the ankles, hold them upside down and shake till all the money falls out of their pockets!

No, the problem is they just won't take no for an answer. I just did an enterprise version upgrade the other day and the business manager is quite sensible and has the patience of a saint.

I did the mandatory call and they refused to allow the software that was purchased to function because they "must talk to the business owner" even though it is the standard practice of every other software vendor I have ever dealt with to provide whatever authorization is necessary to use the software that was purchased to me with at most asking a question or two to verify. I replied that I was the only one available and would you just allow the end user to use the software they purchased. The answer was that they must talk to the business owner.

I put the business manager on and she said very politely "no thank you, we purchased the software please provide the authorization information" they kept badgering her and she repeated herself, they still kept badgering her and she repeated herself again. She realized she was going nowhere and couldn't simply have the ability to use the software they purchased so she fed them a pile of bogus information. After that she said "what is wrong with these people?"

"George" wrote in message news:h25ir4$lhl$ snipped-for-privacy@news.eternal-september.org...

I my case, I had to go through that nonsense when calling in to register our company's QB2009. I am in charge of the company, but we have our in-house person who actually uses the QuickBooks software listed as the contact for our payroll service subscription etc. The guy on the phone kept insisting that he speak with her. She wasn't there and I told him that. I also told him that all I want to to is register our company's copy of QB2009. They do the scripted routine of saying that while they are waiting for the validation code to be generated, they need to ask a few questions. I said that I don't want to answer any questions or give out any information about our company, and I don't want to be sold anything -- I just want to register the QB2009 that we purchased. He said he is not a sales person and he is not going to try to sell anything -- he is "customer service". Then he proceeded to tell me that the standard payroll service that we already have is "outdated", and that Intuit no loner supports standard payroll. He said that now that we have QB2009 (we had QB2006 before), we need to get "enhanced payroll" and that -- while we are waiting for the validation code to be generated -- he is going to go ahead and enter the service code for the enhanced payroll and we'll be able to begin using it immediately. He said the cost is just about the same as the standard payroll that we were (are) using --- just about $10 more a year total. That was a lie. And, he said the good news was that he was going to credit me for the standard payroll service we already have, so instead of having to pay something like $350 now, we would only have to pay $95 now and we could begin using the payroll system right away. Total crap.

I said we already have standard payroll and it is working and I asked, are you saying we can no longer use that? And I said, why can't I just register the software that we bought and then we can always look at the various payroll options later on and decide what we want on our own without having to do it over the phone. He said he is not a salesperson, and he is just doing this now so we won't have to be bothered by them calling us later to tell us about the enhanced payroll. I said that we don't want them calling us about anything -- we just want to register the software we purchased.

Thanks for ruining my beer. I am, and will always be a QB fanboy.

I am generally a QB fanboy too. The software does a lot and it does it for a reasonable price.

Unfotunately, they have an almost 100% share of the market for their type of product. So, I guess they think they can just do whatever they want since users have no where else to go. I wouldn't even mind so much if while they had me on the phone they said they have some other program or service options that may interest me and asked if I wanted to hear what they were. But, instead, they make it as though you have no choice but to give them information about your company, and then they relentlessly use double-talk and deception to up-sell products that people do not need. And, by forcing a call-in to register the product, one's product registration is held hostage while they do this. And, in my view, it doesn't help that the shipped those so-called "customer service" jobs overseas to underpaid workers with heavy accents that make the communication process even more difficult to comprehend.

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I'm a fan of QB; otoh I've come to loathe/despise Intuit corporate...

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MYOB, Simply Accounting and Peachtree just to name a few.

Also forgot Microsoft Small Business Accounting.

It doesn't look like Microsoft Office Accounting is caught up yet in terms of features etc., but it looks like they are trying to get there. Right now, it costs roughly the same as QuickBooks, but with less features. Meanwhile, QB has been pushing QB2009 with one-day discounts, and even one-day "free" deals (after mail-in rebate) stores like Staples. So, maybe they feel Microsoft chasing them.

I th> Also forgot Microsoft Small Business Accounting.

"A September 5, 2005 Business Week article said that QuickBooks had 74% of the market. A June 19, 2008 Intuit Press Release said that as of March 2008, QuickBooks' share of retail units in the business accounting category reached 94.2 percent, according to NPD Group."

According to

That they have the lion's share is unquestioned; it seems they have increasingly begun to utilize that circumstance since they achieved a significant market share to make terms of use far more onerous to the user and lucrative to Intuit. They obviously have to remain in business but there's much of what they've done that seems to me to have no justification _except_ to generate revenue.

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Given that in the past Intuit gave away the product using the term "onerous", may be a tad extreme. In any event generating revenue is the reason they are in business.

For what it's worth, I've sent a link to this thread directly to a program manager at Intuit.

Regards, Stacy Kildal

Stacy,

Thanks for doing this!

I've been finding more and more complaining about this on various forums and else where on the Internet.

Here's an example of just one from an Amazon.com buyer's review of QuickBooks:

"Registration Scam May 20, 2009 Knight (Metairie, LA)

My how the mighty have fallen. QuickBooks has instituted a registration scam. You are required to call in to a foreign call center to get an activation code. What you must endure to get the code is endless questioning about the confidential information on your business accompanied by horrible high pressure sales pitches for every conceivable useless product. QuickBooks has systematically increased prices and broken out core pieces of its software to make them subscription services. This is the last time I will deploy QuickBooks. Will start looking for a reasonable competing product ASAP."

I doubt anyone is saying they shouldn't be able to generate revenue. What folks resent is the inability to use the product they purchased without a mandatory muscling session. I can't think of anything else sold that way where you just can't politely refuse and be able to use what you purchased.

Imagine going to the "intuit hotel". You make a reservation and pay with your credit card you have stayed there before and they know you. Its a long day and you walk up to the desk. Instead of being given your room key/card you are told that it is mandatory for you to spend ten minutes providing additional information about your travel habits, additional personal information and you must listen to multiple sales pitches before they hand you the room key. Would that work for you?

It's been quite some time since that occurred... :)

The problem generally isn't initial but recurring and upgrade costs.

Hey, it's usenet--ain't that the spot for hyperbole????

Sure, forget about service, etc. :)

I don't have a problem w/ Intuit making a profit; I have a problem w/ deliberately breaking a product's previous functionality removing components in order to increase revenue...

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Just what functionality are you talking about? I hope you are not talking about payroll which was semi decoupled back in in 1999.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe QB 2009 is the first version of QuickBooks that does not print Federal 940, 941 and W-2 forums using the lowest payroll level, which previously could be used without any additional subscription.