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Interactive Brokers

You get what you pay for

I've been trading through IB for nearly a year and am quite satisfied with the TWS platform and IB's low fees. The areas where IB is deficient are:

(1) Customer Service. Waiting times can be extremely long;

(2) Statements generation. Statements are very basic.

(3) Confirms. System does not provide real-time e-mail confirms

(4) Audit trail. The system provides an audit trail only if you are logged into TWS. Thus, if one id not logged on, the only way to obtain an audit trail on an execution (e.g., to find out what condition triggered the execution) is to contact customer service. Then you are back at problem area #1.
Used to have good commissions but with the competition now, all they have now is very poor service

I'm familiar with the "customer is always wrong" attitude of the staff, and it would appear the staff spend more time at excuses training than learning anything about the platform, the procedures or even knowing about different departments within their own company. When a staff member that is ordinarily assigned to a job is away they don't have a replacement, instead customers just have to wait until that staff member returns. If by some miracle a staff member does commit to agreeing to do something for a customer, you can be certain that they have written it down incorrectly, passed on the wrong details, and like chinese whispers, by the time someone actions the request it is far from what the customer needed. Note: many changes require a server reset, thus you won't know they've mucked it up for another day. And don't bother going to all the trouble for explaining a software bug to them when you find one. Even one that you can reliably recreate. They don't want to know - remember that motto "the customer is always wrong". If you haven't picked a broker yet, might I suggest you avoid the smug overbearing salespeople and try Tradestation as a alternative.
Progress

After the below incident I spoke with the MD and he has given me the confidence that IB is committed to providing the best customer service.

I have been a client of IB for several years now. Their customer service is well known for being poor and if there is a problem their motto seems to be "the customer is always wrong".
Yesterday I was called a liar on these boards by one of their reps after I reported a conversation I had just had with one of their trade enquiry guys.
IB has received thousands of dollars from me in commissions and the least I would expect was some modicum of respect. The rep in question has done his company a great disservice and leaves my confidence and trust in them severely diminished.

This said the fills for stocks and futures has always been very good and with the correct front end the TWS can be used as a lethal weapon.
Excellent!

I have been with IB for a few years now and have found them to be near perfect in most areas of their business. Their real time data is fast and accurate, their UIs - TWS and Book Trader - are robust and easy to use, and their people have always be willing and able to answer my questions and help me resolve problems here and there. Not to mention their super low commission rates and the high interest they pay for cash, that I love. Lately I've also had the chance to appreciate their willingness to listen to new ideas and meet the evolving needs of their customers through new features. Truly the leader of the pack, imo, bravo!
The best site for stock trading

In my opinion, they currently are unmatched. Have tried Etrade, TDameritrade, Scottrade.
Out of all the above, IB is number 1. There are a few new players out there that could do some serious damage on the market, but can't make any conclusions yet.
Fast Executions, Great Prices

IB has super fast executes, extended trading, great trading platforms for BlackBerry, Web, and Desktop.
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