Many software companies can be slow to respond to customer requests for bug fixes, but one reader’s recent experience with Computer Associates may have set a record.
The reader writes:
Platinum had a wonderful version of Erwin, which was version 3.5.2. When Computer Associates took over Platinum, Computer Associates re-wrote much of Erwin for version 4.x. Well, it was chalk FULL of bugs, when using it with Microsoft SQL Server. I get the impression that the programmers only know Oracle or something.
I tried to upgrade Erwin to 4.x several times, and each time there were so many fundamental bugs that I just had to go back to 3.5.2. The kicker is, each time they came out with a new 4.x version over the past three years, they would tell me to try all of my open issues again, and see if they are fixed. In most cases, they still are not, to this day. Most of these problems are so fundamental that I cannot understand how anyone uses Erwin 4.x with SQL Server for anything but the simplest database modeling.
When I submit a problem, they have a level one technician work to reproduce the problem. (Every few months they seem to make a pass through the problems.) If they cannot reproduce it, then of course it is not a problem. If they can, then they submit it to level two. When the problems go to level two, then months or years can go by before I hear back from somebody. I have some problems making my life miserable, that have not been fixed since 2001, yet they still keep coming out with updates every six to twelve months, and then emailing me to "try it again" even though my problem is not mentioned as fixed in the release notes.
The straw that broke the camel’s back is an e-mail I received from a level two technician today. The problem it refers to is an important one for us, as the workaround is extremely time-consuming. Unfortunately, all they told me is that they may submit it to development for a fix in a future release. That’s what the level one tech told me when he re-produced the problem, and that was almost two years ago. Today is the first reply they actually e-mailed to me since I submitted the problem. I’m pretty disgusted with them.
Of course, the reader says he could have easily forgiven CA for taking two years or even longer if some progress had been made in the meantime. What he finds discouraging is that it could be another two years before CA asks him to "try it again" to see if his problem has been fixed.
1:13:34 PM 
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