Giving Props to a Developer

[AppleiPadBlog]

I am an Project Manager that works for a large Mac/ iPhone/ iPad news site. (I can't say which one for "reasons", but we also publish a magazine)
You can imagine how often I get emails from developers about promoting apps.
So I received a video peek last week of an unreleased iPad App and I was somewhat impressed, shot it off to our internal staff and very similar responses. The developer contacted me the other day and sent me a promo code. I played with the app, had some comments and sent them off to the developer along with some questions.

I must say I was very impressed with his promptness and support. These days people just pump out apps with NO customer support! It is very bad for the consumer. Sometimes these developers don't even have a website or contact information.
Well it was such a pleasure working with him! I assured him that his iPad App will be in next months magazine for sure. I will make sure of it. Customer Services seem to be a forgotten art.

So I ask, what type of experiences have you all had with emailing or getting support from developers? Just trying to gather some info for a possible article.

"Bob"

 

[TraceyS/FL]

Probably the BEST over time for me has been Ernie at orangeorapple.com, developer of Flashcards Deluxe. Either via his mini forum or email, he's there - and if he is out of the country, he tells you when to expect and answer.

Which isn't to say i haven't had other good ones, but Ernie has been consistent with his "being there" for a long while now. I'd have to look up when i bought his app, but it was one of my very first purchases, and if he hadn't gone universal on his iPad version, I would have bought it without hesitation for the iPad.

The guy at Tap Forms was very helpful to me too via email, fast and thorough.

Andrea Vettori is great.

I know I'm leaving some people off, but those are the ones that jump out that I have had dealings with beyond a quick question.

Customer Service is a dying thing it seems, and I'd love the opportunity to support those that value it in their apps. So please do share mr members, and to the op do the article so we can read more about it!

ETA: One thing that seems to be helpful is when the developer themselves use their app on a daily basis. They know where we are comging from. And example of frustrating customer service would be the Splash Data people and their shopping app. They didn't USE the app like we handy shopper converts did, so didn't care about our issues. I track prices to the penny while shopping, their support person was happy with ballpark dollars.....

 

[AppleiPadBlog]

Flashcards Deluxe

Tracey,

Thanks for input. I will add those developers to my list, and probably do a "test" run. I didn't want to mention the name of the developer before I got permission from him (being associated with a magazine has its drawbacks sometimes)

He just responded to my email and gave me the thumbs up. Tracey, the funny thing is after finding this developer I looked at his other apps and he has a app called Math Flash Cards HD. I must say it is loaded with features. And if you read the user reviews people comment about his service being amazing - Which is what made me write this post to begin with. From the few minutes I played with the app it looks real nice. And the reviews are very complimenting as well. I might need to take a closer look at this app, I'll give it to my kids tonight.

Since I now have approval from him to mention his company, the app I was talking about was App Layout. Its an mockup tool used to create iPad and iPhone apps. take a look at it. If you want more info about this dev check out his apps on his website.

So is a universal binary a deal breaker for some? We've gotten mixed answers on this. Let me know what you think.

"Bob"

 

[Night Spring]

Every single app developer I've written with comments or questions have answered back, usually within a day or two. I'm sure there are developers who aren't as responsive, but in my experience, I wouldn't say good customer service in the app store is as rare as the OP makes it out to be.

 

[TraceyS/FL]

He just responded to my email and gave me the thumbs up. Tracey, the funny thing is after finding this developer I looked at his other apps and he has a app called Math Flash Cards HD. I must say it is loaded with features. And if you read the user reviews people comment about his service being amazing - Which is what made me write this post to begin with. From the few minutes I played with the app it looks real nice. And the reviews are very complimenting as well. I might need to take a closer look at this app, I'll give it to my kids tonight.

For math i use an app on the Touch called Math Drill's. It allows me to set up the problems that go in the strange order my children's math curriculum teaches them in, and lets them be quized in the "6+?=6" manner it uses also. They also have a Mac program. I love it so much I don't care if there isn't an iPad version! It's much easier to just hand them their Touch and have them drill anyway


I have encountered developers that don't have great customer service, it is frustrating. 2 days is about my limit for getting an answer back - unless i've gotten something automated that says they are unavailable. I know i have some answered questions on apps i've still never gotten answers on for months!

I'm guessing the OP is looking for those that go (or appear to) BEYOND the basic customer service.

 

[Night Spring]

I'm guessing the OP is looking for those that go (or appear to) BEYOND the basic customer service.

But the only details he gave in his original post was that he wrote the developer, and they wrote back promptly. That's as basic as it gets!

 

[melman101]

For math i use an app on the Touch called Math Drill's. It allows me to set up the problems that go in the strange order my children's math curriculum teaches them in, and lets them be quized in the "6+?=6" manner it uses also. They also have a Mac program. I love it so much I don't care if there isn't an iPad version! It's much easier to just hand them their Touch and have them drill anyway


I have encountered developers that don't have great customer service, it is frustrating. 2 days is about my limit for getting an answer back - unless i've gotten something automated that says they are unavailable. I know i have some answered questions on apps i've still never gotten answers on for months!

I'm guessing the OP is looking for those that go (or appear to) BEYOND the basic customer service.

Did you ever get my PM about MedMem?

 

[atr]

I've contacted a few app developers and for the most part have had good responses. I know of only one instance that I repeatedly emailed one developer but never received a response.

Out of all of them, I have to say how great it is to work with OmniGroup. They have a very active forum that provides help very fast, but the real service is provided by the developer(s). The response from OmniGroup is always fast, and thorough. I have had a few problems (usually operator error, only one time was it a bug) and all I had to do was send an email, within 24 hrs I have always had a response back with a solution, or a request to send a log file so that they could dig deeper into the problem. Every time they have provided me with the answers I needed, with exception of the one bug, and then they provided me with a workaround and the bug was fixed in the next upgrade. They also have a phone number that you can call to get immediate help. Now, I realize that OmniGroup is a company and not a single developer, and their apps are probably among the most expensive out there for iPads, but they are worth every penny. The software is worth it, but the service is what keeps bringing me back.

 

[2002cbr600f4i]

Well, try to remember gang, for a lot of developers, writing iOS apps is just a side hobby/gig... For most of us, we have full time day jobs, and other responsibilities... That's not to say that the developer is allowed to just totally ignore buyers of paid apps, but you also have to consider the size of the effort... Can't expect 1 guy operations to sound 3 hours a day responding to emails AND fix bugs AND work on new projects, while working a 9-5 day job...

 

[Night Spring]

Well, try to remember gang, for a lot of developers, writing iOS apps is just a side hobby/gig... For most of us, we have full time day jobs, and other responsibilities... That's not to say that the developer is allowed to just totally ignore buyers of paid apps, but you also have to consider the size of the effort... Can't expect 1 guy operations to sound 3 hours a day responding to emails AND fix bugs AND work on new projects, while working a 9-5 day job...

Very true. And considering all that, I think it is amazing that so many app developers *are* in fact responsive to customer feedback. At least in my experience, good customer service has been the rule rather than the exception.