How do YOU use Market Feedback?

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Greetings fellow [An]Droid fans!

In the latest release of our most popular product, we accidentally introduced a couple of bugs along with the new features and fixes. Given the 'Beta' nature of the software, we warn people about this on our website, as our changes are not just cosmetic; sometimes they are deep and complicated.

Nonetheless, we've experienced something new for us: bad marks! It seems some people who once gave five stars to the application are changing their rating to one star in light of a new bug--sometimes serious, sometimes not.

We've got threatening email saying "I will re-post my comment every day so that nobody buys this [expletive]" and a matching comment in the market that falsely quotes a support email. We even have a feedback saying "Horrible support" from someone we've never heard from and a description of problems that nobody has reported.

I suppose when an application gets popular, it's bound to collect all sorts of users, each with their own agenda. But, this got me thinking: how do you use the Market feedback?

Personally, I rate on how well the app met my expectations, either from the description or name. In other words, I don't rate based on what I wanted the app to do, I rate based on how well it does what the developer said it would do.

If bugs are [occasionally] introduced, I email the developers, but won't change my feedback unless it renders the app useless or there are just too many that aren't fixed.

I won't give an app 1 star unless it is really, truly just junk (and/or the description was deceptive, etc.). I won't give 5 stars to any app that has bugs, unless it is so incredibly useful and awesome in spite of the bugs that it doesn't matter (like a tethering app with a UI bug ;-)

What do you do with your feedback?
 

Corinacakes

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i agree with everything you said:) the one thing that annoys me is when the dev doesn't say WHAT an update does.
 

natediddy1120

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With my feedback within the Market, I basically put down what you said. I rate it according to how they portrayed the app and then how the app actually lived up to those expectations...I'm sorry to hear that about users leaving negative comments and ratings about your app...but now I'm kinda curious as of what application you created and if I happen to have it or have had it in the past from the Market, I may know it from some point in time...
 

natediddy1120

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Oh damn....my bad, I guess I must not have been paying attention...sorry. Ive never used phonemypc but Ive heard lots of neat things about it though...Ive never heard anything bad about it I can honestly say
 

Corinacakes

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Oh damn....my bad, I guess I must not have been paying attention...sorry. Ive never used phonemypc but Ive heard lots of neat things about it though...Ive never heard anything bad about it I can honestly say

well nate...i must say....phonemypc ROCKS!! check it out ;)
 

RW-1

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I'll rate and will change rating on updates if it has a overall change in the apps user experience. However that said, I do look for comments on the updates, and if I change my rating I also make a comment as to why.

I do nto go as far as some children who will email saying they'll post forever if it isn't fixed, etc. Poor form.

One thing I'd like to see in the market is if an update is placed, that we get a date/time on that (I believe that smart dev's would/should include that in your comments on the app too) so if I uninstalled an app for whatever reason, I could go back to it and see if a version change was made, but also know when.

I'll use an example: BOA online banking app. Sucks. Needs some code changes, in any case I uninstalled and plan on using the mobile site when needed.

But, if I wanted to check out the app again, I may not remember what version I had to begin with, and although they list in comments what version it is, nothing indicates when it was uploaded. Up to me to figure out, which I don't mind, but if a date/time stamp was on the uploads, would solve that issue.

Hope I wasn't rambling.

I can't code to save my life anymore :icon_ devil: so typically if I have a real problem with an app the first thing I do is email the dev, not take it out in the comments / rating.
 

CDB

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If I'm thinking of purchasing an app, the market feedback plays a heavy role in that decision...but certainly not the end-all-be-all to it. If I come up on an app that shows a recent history of 1 star ratings followed by a resounding "was working great, but the update broke it" then obviously the app was working, got busted and 'should' be working again pretty soon. In that instance, I actually may buy it but more often than not, I make a bookmark/note to check in again a couple days later.

If I've already bought the app, then like you, I try and base my rating on what the developer said the app could do. I will also not consider what I'd like to see in the app in my rating but I will generally make a note about it. Too often I see "5 stars if it had x, y or z" so they give it 4 stars. Well if it was never advertized to include such a feature, how can you knock the rating down, ya' know.

Additionally I do use the feedback to warn others if a recent update broke the app in some way. You may have had a 5-star app, but if your recent update introduced bugs that broke some piece of functionality that I was expecting to work, then your rating is taking a hit until you fix it. I would also include a message such as "Was 5-stars but update broke it. 1-star until fixed." to at least let people know that the app 'was' working. I of course update the rating promptly on a fix.
 

Droids

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i agree with everything you said:) the one thing that annoys me is when the dev doesn't say WHAT an update does.
I see this with a few apps too. I want to know what the update has improved or fixed. Some devs don't always list this info. And I always read the comments before updating to make sure the update isn't breaking something that worked before. I do agree that many people are too harsh with comments and rate with one star, even if their problems are user error.
 
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