Misconceptions about Software
Before working at a software company, I was that pain in the butt user who wanted everything and wanted it 5 minutes ago. I certainly didn’t know much about what happened on the other end of my screen so I had a couple misconceptions before walking into the industry. Here is what doe-eyed Sara thought before she turned into a SuperHero…
- Time: As a consumer you don’t realize how much time or how many people it takes to create an update, let alone an entire new application. There are not enough hours in the day to get updates and new releases to the customers as fast as they want them. Seriously, there aren’t.
- Bugs: Yeah, you get frustrated when the application doesn’t do what you expect it to. The developers don’t like this either. They may not know that this bug is happening. It may only happen on your computer, with your settings and the keys you push all at the same time that would never happen on another user’s computer. Report it! Developers want to fix everything, so give them details and let them jump on it.
- Making Feature Requests: The developers love hearing what the users would like to see their app/program do. They appreciate a well thought out description and what you would use it for instead of “I’d like the option to make things pink.” I get it, your favorite color is pink, but if the app is about studying DMV traffic signs- there is nothing pink about that. Make your request useful and relevant and you may very well see your request in the future!
-Emailing Customer Support: When you send a support email, you want a response to your email immediately. I know I was that way before working as a Support SuperHero. Now I realize that my email is not the only email the company got that day. In fact, it is one of hundreds and those hundreds were probably sent before mine. It takes time to give all the users exceptional customer service. Wait your turn - a great company answers each and every email they get.
-The Website: Yes the website is provided for customers to find out more about the product and/or purchase it. The website is also there to try to answer as many questions as you have as quickly as you think of them, so you don’t have to wait for an awesome support staffer to write you back. The website is your friend. I repeat, the website is your friend.
- Cost: A lot of users think that all software should be free. In a perfect world, it would be. In reality, a lot of time, effort and staff has put genuine hard work into making the result amazing. You also have to think about the same support team we talked about under the emailing section. Replying to a high volume of emails with detailed answers requires full time attention on top of also creating (especially if you are the support team AND developer). Developers may also need to purchase items to test their app with (ex: iPods, iPhones etc) and when technology changes, they need to purchase the latest technology to make sure everything still works correctly.
-On Demand: You want a response and you want it now. You never take into consideration that it is midnight on a Friday of a Holiday weekend. We understand you want your answers, but we would like you to also understand that developers and staffers don’t work 24/7. They have lives, and families and have fun - and this does not detract from their willingness to want to help you and create better software. It is important to have balance in your life, regardless of what you do.
There is a lot more things I learned, but Tumblr won’t have enough room for all the other bloggers in TumblrLand if I keep going on. In a nutshell, I thought that it didn’t take a long time to create software. Little did I know how much is involved in creating a masterpiece. Developers are like artists - the code is their muse and the application is their Mona Lisa. Leonardo Da Vinci began painting the Mona Lisa in 1503 and didn’t finish until shortly before he died in 1519. I would say be grateful it doesn’t take 16 years to create a great application and be happy someone out there is creating these helpful tools for you!
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