CrowdStrike Faces Criticism For Offering $10 Voucher As Apology

(RTTNews) - CrowdStrike Holdings, Inc. (CRWD) is under fire once again following the fallout from its recent software update, which led to a significant IT outage that had disruptive consequences for airlines, banks, and hospitals. In an attempt to make amends, the company extended a gesture of goodwill by offering its employees and partners a $10 UberEats voucher.

According to a report by TechCrunch, a source revealed that they received an email from CrowdStrike, acknowledging the additional workload caused by the incident that occurred on July 19. The email, accompanied by a screenshot, conveyed gratitude and apologies for the inconvenience, with the promise of a complimentary cup of coffee or late-night snack. The message, attributed to Daniel Bernard, the company's chief business officer, was sent from a CrowdStrike email address.

In the UK, the value of the voucher was £7.75, roughly equivalent to $10 at the current exchange rate. Louis Corriero, a CrowdStrike partner, took to LinkedIn to express disappointment, asserting that the offer of coffee or Uber Eats credit as an apology fell short of compensating for the significant man-hours and loss of customer trust resulting from the July 19 incident. The response on Reddit was similarly critical, with one user describing it as an "absolute clown show" and another remarking that receiving coffee after such a disruptive event was inadequate.

Adding to the controversy, some individuals reported encountering errors when attempting to redeem the voucher, with a message stating that it had been canceled. TechCrunch investigated and found that the Uber Eats page displayed a notification declaring the gift card invalid due to cancellation by the issuing party. CrowdStrike spokesperson Kevin Benacci confirmed that the company indeed distributed the gift cards, but Uber flagged them as fraudulent due to high usage rates.