One week ago I posted an article about Myki. It wasn't glowing, but it certainly wasn't a thorough kick in the derriere. Now, seven days later and with a more extensive run at using the card, along with its peripheral services, I have to honestly admit that Myki is misguided, mismanaged and a third-rate attempt at fixing something that ain't broke. The faith I so gallantly held on to last week has all but been extinguished.

First up in my line of public executions this week is the Myki website. From the day I ordered my Myki I have been unable to view my details on their website, the page simply says "Not found", and having now used the card for a week I am still unable to view my transactions. And I'm not the only one; a search on Twitter returns a number of people in the same boat as me. But it turns out there is a solution - use Internet Explorer. You might think having a problem with this is trivial; I actually agree, but there's a case I'd like to state first.

I use Google Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and then the Microsoft mainstay Internet Explorer (IE), which from the dawn of the Internet has had notorious issues displaying websites correctly, and more importantly, with security. It even made the 6pm news in 2009 when major security flaw was discovered; there isn't much software that has had that sort of (bad) publicity. In Europe Windows 7 is shipped without IE following an antitrust investigation by the EU. And then there's Mac and Linux users who also don't even get IE by default. It is understanable that there will be some people who simply refuse to use it.

In this day of web-based tools; online banking, shopping, Facebook, it's simply astounding that a major business, and one desperately needing to win public acceptance, can build a website that does not cater for a large portion of their customer base. In my case I can simply open IE, and now I know, I will. But this absolutely has to be fixed; a simple notice on the website would go a long way. Myki customer service doesn't even acknowledge this issue exists.

With that I now shake my fist and frown at Myki customer service. Last week I downloaded, completed and mailed in a form to set up an auto top up on my account. The website wouldn't let me do it myself (I was using Chrome), so I went all retro analogue and used a pen. Earlier this week I was contacted by Paul who was utterly confused by my paperwork. At first I was told I have two cards; I explained I have one. Then I was apparently applying for a second; I wasn't. But I could do it myself on the website; I couldn't. The conversation continued in this muddled state until Paul realised the form in front of him was a top up form, not a new customer registration. From there it was painless, and I received two emails; one explaining $40.00 would be credited to my account within one day and another to confirm this would occur again each time I reached $10.00 in my account.

And here we are, two days later, and everything is a mess. I tried to use my Myki this morning and was declined; my balance was -$2.94. I can't log into the website from my iPhone and check my account because it uses Safari, so another call to customer service and I was told the auto top up can take up to 48 hours to process. Once again, two conflicting stories. I was also told I could use a cash top up machine which would immediately appear in my acocunt, so I had my first experience of this process at Flinders Street and was pleasantly suprised. The machine swallowed coins and notes with ease and my balance was back up around $8.00.

But now I'm faced with even further confusion. Using IE I can see my account details online; I still have no auto top ups configured and my balance is $0.00.

In terms of the usability issues I raised last week I am gradually working out the precise timing to use when touching on and off. If you keeep the card in your wallet, or purse, ladies, and physically touch it to the reader, quite often the card will actually scan correctly. But there's a catch - one second too long or short, the machine will give you the "Please touch again" message. During which you have to wait for it to reset. At which point passengers behind you get edgy. At one point I had to actually yell to the driver to keep the door open bacause the machine was taking so long. The barriers at Flinders Street have worked flawlessly for me with the card in my wallet, and last night I even entered and left the station within a couple of minutes at no charge; an option for people who "change their mind", according to the Myki manual.

My patience with the system is now running very thin. I feel sorry for those who aren't savvy with technology and who will not cope with the various hurdles and challenges the system will present them with; using the correct web browser, deciphering the random information from customer service, catching the brief message that says your touch-on or touch-off was unsuccessful, or even forgetting entirely to touch-off in the peak-hour crush and then netting the full $9.00 penalty fare. If you read my first article you would know I really want Myki to be a success, and there's still a flicker of hope in me somewhere, but I expect to hear more and more horror stories, especially as the existing Metcard system is eventually phased out.