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Comment by x0x0 | Hacker News Reader

They completely fucked me over. Not only did they not pay out commuter benefits (send the confirmation emails, didn't actually put the money in my account), but they ignored 4 (!!!) support requests in a row, sent once per day for a week. It wasn't until I got on the phone and was rude to someone that they deigned to help... and then missed their self-imposed communication deadlines.

Complete incompetent shitshow.

So yeah -- in case you were pondering using Gusto, just know that

* not paying out $250 in commuter benefits owed;

* not noticing the extra cash in their bank account;

* ignoring 3 polite emails to the support addresses, and one less polite request;

* ignoring the first phone call;

* requiring you to be rude;

* blowing their self-set update deadline;

is all part of the wonderful Gusto experience!

If you use them, I'd strongly suggest checking that all your commuter benefit reimbursements actually landed in your bank account.

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Are you sure this isn't your employer's mistake?

With commuter benefits the employer has to manage everything themselves. If the benefit is a contribution it'll show up on your paystub, but your company needs to either reimburse you the amount (after you have already paid the commute cost personally) or provide you with a transit/benefits card. If it's a pre-tax deduction, it stays in the employer's bank account, again to reimburse you or provide a benefits card.[0]

It doesn't really make sense for this to work any other way. Commuter benefits are pre-tax, so if they just paid you the money outright it would be a pretty explicit violation of tax law. There needs to be a paper trail showing that the benefit money was spent on the actual benefit itself. I imagine their team might be confused by your questions.

[0] https://support.gusto.com/benefits/other-benefits/payroll-de...

100 percent.

Gusto manages (well, let's be honest, bedshits) benefits for my employer.

Gusto has gotten the money from my employer (and fyi, I'm a founder, so I'm very certain because I see the payroll pulls). We use a Gusto benefits card; I was getting refunds because the benefits card didn't work for my parking provider.

Well to be fair to them, I think their benefits card provider is a white labeled product from the neolithic era.[0]

Normally I'd say no excuses, but it seems like this was a regulatory necessity if they wanted to provide benefits cards at all. I'm a founder as well, so I can understand the need to provide a significant feature in the short term, even if it sucks a bit.

Being a founder (especially in compliance) I think you could be a bit more forgiving on your stance. A bad experience with a third party benefits card sucks, but saying they "completely fucked you over" feels fairly extreme - especially if your payroll has otherwise been running smooth.

[0]https://www.alegeus.com/demo/wealthcare-administration

So, the thing is, it's not a compliance problem. I also understand mistakes happen. Let's recap:

gusto

0 - stole a couple hundred dollars, and didn't notice at all (and for clarity, this was post reimbursement approval via their whitelabeled partner);

1 - ignored 4 support emails, one per day, for a week;

2 - blew off my first phone call, at the beginning of week 2 attempting to get this fixed;

3 - lied on my second, impolite phone call, about when they would follow up with me

4 - took another couple days with no status updates to acknowledge what happened and tell me what they would do.

The above is why I'm doing close to pulling rank and firing Gusto. None of the above is how a competent company treats a customer.

Bluntly, if a CSM at my company did that, either the CSM or his or her manager would be terminated. We can screw up, but we do not blow off customers, commit to following up and then fail to do so, or fail to take ownership over mistakes and at bare minimum communicate with customers.

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