Intuit CEO Brad Smith addresses TurboTax desktop customer concerns with information on how we’re updating the product.

1. Transcript: Brad Smith TurboTax Update
January 28, 2015
Hi, I’m Brad Smith, Intuit’s president and chief executive officer.
These past couple of weeks have not been our finest hour. And today we’re taking
new steps to make things right.
But first I want to acknowledge the feedback you’ve given us. Here are just a few of
your comments in response to my LinkedIn post apologizing for the changes we
made to this year’s TurboTax desktop products.
One customer, Martin, wrote: “I appreciate the apology letter, but I still think you're
missing the reason behind the anger and frustration. It's not the lack of
communication, but the impact of the change.”
Another customer, Ron, wrote: “As a 15-year customer of Turbo Tax, the above post
and the attached letter are a wholly inadequate response. This was a money grab …
plain and simple.”
Ron goes on to say: “Your response should not have been: ‘OK, you can wait to pay
me next year.’ It should have been: ‘We heard you and we are adding the forms
back into the Deluxe version.’”
And there are hundreds more like this that came directly to my e-mail address,
through my LinkedIn post, and through various other channels, including online
reviews and our customer support center.
The cause of the frustration is clear. This year’s TurboTax desktop products – the
CD and download version – didn’t include the same forms that were included in the
past. If you needed these tax forms, you had to pay more to upgrade.
To add insult to injury, the change caught many of you by surprise, and these are
not the kind of surprises anyone likes.

2. We have apologized for the way we handled it, or as many have told us,
mishandled it.
You’ve been clear about what would make this right.
You want TurboTax desktop to do what it always has done – handle the same tax
situations as it did in years past. Or as Ron said, “Add back the forms.”
We’ve heard you, and we’re going to fix it.
This year, returning Deluxe Desktop customers who need to upgrade to Premier will
be able to do so within the product for free. We have some work to do to make that
happen and our team is moving quickly. We’ll notify customers when the change is
live.
In the meantime, for returning customers who have already upgraded to Premier at
the higher price, we are continuing to offer $25 cash back through April 20th. Just go
to TurboTax.com/25back to get your money.
We’re not stopping there. Next year, we’re changing back to the TurboTax desktop
software you know and love, restoring the forms that you’ve counted on for years.
I realize this hasn’t been easy on you, and I’m sorry for that.
I also recognize that it took us too long to make this right.
We’ve earned our way into this situation, and we’ll do everything we can to earn our
way out.
You matter to us. You always have.
Thank you for letters and your comments. And thank you for listening.