The moral of the story is essentially the old Lincoln quote: "You can please all of the people some of the time and some of the people all of the time but you can't please all of the people, all of the time."
Providing a Classic version stopped the negative reviews. If those on the frozen version want to use the production version, they are free to have both on their device. It's win-win for everyone. The "classic" is a frozen, never to be updated version. That's the whole point. The classic users won't complain as the have exactly what they wanted. If they do complain, it will be on the classic version which I could care less about. We could have taken it on the chin and just put up with the hate mail but by providing this "classic" app, the entire hate cycle has disappeared. If you want reduced rating and lots of angry one star comments, don't put out a classic version. If you want to nip the problem in the bud, then this is one way to do it. -John Coryat On Friday, July 12, 2013 9:08:51 AM UTC-5, b0b wrote: > > I don't think having a classic version is a good idea although it may > seems so for the short term. > > Classic users will complain of being left behind, possibly complaining in > teh comments of new app. > > When introducing major changes, it can be disheartening to see drop in > ratings but they will go up after some time > if you address (reasonable) user complaints. > There's a few example like that where initial bitching faded over time as > app was constantly updated to address some concerns. > > > > > On Friday, 12 July 2013 05:35:09 UTC+2, John Coryat wrote: >> >> On July 1st, we published a new version of our app RadarNow! that >> featured an improved UI and more free features. It was a huge step up in >> capability. The beta test with over 3,000 users went well and we had >> crashes and functionality pretty much conquered. Then we published the beta >> to production in Google Play. >> >> Over the course of the next week, we handled hundreds of customer service >> complaints regarding the new version. Some of the complaints and >> suggestions were good and we iterated immediately. Others were just "I want >> the old one back" type comments. A lot of users lashed out at RadarNow! >> through the ratings and comments in Google Play. Our rating, which had been >> 4.32 and steady for years, dropped by .01 to 4.31. That might not seem like >> a lot but it lost us a coveted position as a solid #5 in weather, dropping >> us to #6. Essentially, we were off the front page because of this. >> >> Yesterday, to appease those that crucified us in the store, we released a >> "RadarNow! Classic" version as a stand alone, frozen app. The release was >> announced to all those that had sent us negative feedback along with a >> request they amend their rating in Google Play. >> >> The bitching stopped. The complaining stopped. There were no more one >> star comments along the lines of "want old one back" or their ilk. Instead, >> we have dozens of five star comments in their place. The count of one star >> ratings is actually dropping. >> >> This is a lesson learned: >> >> Before introducing a major UI update of any kind, publish a "classic" >> version with a different package name. Be sure to reference the classic >> edition in all release materials and help text included with the new >> version. There is a small percentage of humans that cannot tolerate change. >> Even if it's in their best interest. It's a fact of life and it has to be >> dealt with. No logic or reason can sway these people. They want their old >> one back. Period. >> >> There's a funny epilogue to this story. As if this writing, there are >> less than 100 installs of "Classic" - a free app. >> >> -John Coryat >> > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
