“If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?”
A much-debated question for decades.
In terms of Microsoft it’s, “If I submit something to the
Feedback Hub, will Microsoft respond to me?”
This is easy to solve because it’s no.
I wrote about the top 5 most annoying issues with the
feedback hub in 2015, and about its cousin app, The Insider App (Feedback Hub +
Insider material) in 2016. We’re 5 years later and you’d hope things had
improved, but alas it’s still the same problems. Thus, it’s time to limber up
my finger muscles and vent again about why I feel the Feedback Hub is about as
useful as writing your problem on a piece of paper and then throwing that paper
in the recycling bin.
In many ways I’m wondering why Microsoft, and especially the
Insider programme, bother with the Feedback Hub still. Just this year Microsoft
began closing down its UserVoice communities - which one can understand because
in many ways they were just webpage versions of the hapless Feedback App. There
are also ways these days that Microsoft actually does user feedback much
better! Yes, really. I’ll come to that in a bit.
First though, lets’ have a look once again at all that is
wrong with the Feedback Hub; these issues have existed since it’s inception, so
the usual response of “Oh, it’s new, it'll get better” no longer applies. In
fact, to even think that anymore is just rude.
1. SLOW
It’s so slow searching and filtering through feedback that
you’ve actually got more than enough time to reconsider your life and not
bother submitting anything. The key to getting the public to engage and tell
you what’s good or, more normally, what’s bad, is to make it simple and quick
to give that feedback.
If you launch the Feedback App it’s a good 5+ seconds until
you get to do anything, and then if you want to search to see if someone has
posted about what you are “feeding back” before, the twirling ball of time
appears like an omen of doom. If that’s
not bad enough, suppose you want to read the comments in any feedback post,
it’s another 5+ seconds of hell until you see them.
It’s simply too slow.
2. SPAM
Something I’ve noticed in the last few years especially is
that the Hub has become full of rubbish. I’m not referring to the problem of
people submitting problems that aren’t problems, or giving suggestions for
improvements that just are ludicrous, but literally posts and comments that are
nothing short of spam. There are swear words, politics, and offensive matter
lurking in the feedback hub. Comments for threads – which seemed like a very
good idea at the time – on the whole add next to no value to any thread. The “I
agree”, or “Fix it!” or “This is a stupid idea” really are like standing in the
middle of a pavement and waiting for someone to take any notice of you.
Spam is a fantastic demonstration of how even Microsoft doesn’t
look at the Feedback Hub anywhere near enough, because this Spam stays in the
Hub for not just weeks, but months, and almost a year.
IF … and this is a big IF … Microsoft was really listening
anywhere near attentively enough as it says it does, and that the feedback in
the hub was divided adequately between different teams to examine and deal with
… then this Spam would not exist.
Clearly something is very broken with the Feedback Hub in
terms of how Microsoft responds to feedback (see next point) and looks at it …
if they even do.
Let’s have a look at some of this spam so you can all see
what I mean.
A great way to find spam posts is to search for Trump or
Biden. It’s entertaining, and enough to make you cry with laughter and tears.
The above was posted 3 months ago. It’s not in anyway useful
or actionable. Why is it even still there?
What’s worse about the above, is not only that it’s 3 months
old, but that a Microsoft Engineer took the time to respond to it when it’s
clearly Spam and not actionable.
This one above is perfect example of Feedback Hub Hell. Not
only has it been there for 10 months, but it just shows that there’s no one is
checking posts anywhere near enough.
This one has been there for a year! Whoever has the job to
check the Apps/All Other Apps is clearly AWOL.
As clear as spam can be yet it’s still there after 2 months.
Clearly there is zero autodetection for swear words in the
Feedback Hub. Not only that, but MS Engineers don’t seem to mind being
insulted. This post is 8 months old.
Useful. But only as a sign that no-one is checking this
section of the Feedback Hub.
Windows Server has left the Feedback Hub Building folks …
about a year ago.
Proof not to use Feedback Hub in any emergency. No one will
come to your rescue.
Conclusion: There’s little to no automatic spam detection in
the Feedback Hub and manual monitoring is very suspect.
3. ONE-WAY
And herein lies the main problem with the Feedback Hub. I’d
be fibbing if I said it was entirely one-way, but suffice to say, the vast
majority of suggestions and problems you submit to the Feedback Hub will go
without any official comment or acknowledgment. The default “We’ve got this!” message
that the app gives you is like a kick in the teeth and means nothing, except
that much like actually getting a kick in the face, it hurts. You know they’ve
got it because you submitted it and can see it. But then what? It’s like tossing
a twig into a stream and hoping it actually keeps going but knowing it probably
won’t.
Out of the ~100 posts I’ve made in vain to the Feedback Hub
over the last 6 years, a mere 15 have had an official response. It’s totally
soul destroying. Why do I bother? There’s only so many times you can do
something without any reward before you just simply give up. No one expects a
personal response every time or even action from someone, but a sign perhaps
that there is someone alive in the Feedback Hub HQ who can at least send some
response, even if it’s a sentence, would be great. It would mean all the world
and make a vast difference. It’s not as if Microsoft couldn’t do this, because
they already do in other feedback departments. Yes, really.
I give you two examples; Microsoft Word and Microsoft Edge.
With Microsoft Edge, you can send feedback through the main
menu, and I’ve done this a handful of times. Guess what? Every time I’ve done
this, I’ve got a response! Yes, every time.
Example, 9th March, I fed back a rather simple issue:
One day later, I got this:
In the space of 24 hours I felt valued. I knew someone was
listening to me. They were going to keep me posted which is the total opposite
of the Feedback Hub. Not only that, but what I reported was acknowledged as an
issue and I’d helped to make Edge better. Ok, they already knew about the
issue, but I found out that a future build of Edge had a fix in it. Likewise with
Microsoft OneDrive, I submitted feedback on a problem I had and got a response
the next day!
In a very surprising development too, in Microsoft Word I
submitted an issue I had with comments and gave a suggestion for improvement. I
got an email within 48 hours asking me for more information!
Microsoft is capable of very good feedback, and making their
customers feel valued for contacting them, but the clear exception is the
Feedback Hub which feels more like a trophy cabinet for failed suggestions and
problems.
