Connect IQ store: Flags (for reviews) being neglected

One thing you could try to reduce the reviews about uninstalling, is in the beginning of the description (before the "more"), include a line about uninstalling.  At least some may see that before posting a bad review.

Also, as this is a Christmas WF, maybe don't have the whole registration thing, as I doubt many people will use it much in a a couple weeks, and don't want to pay for something that's only used a few weeks a year.  That could reduce the number of people that try to uninstall and cut back on support..

I’m experiencing the same thing.  r.485 is right.  A few flagged 1 stars reviews that are borderline rude are still there even if flagged multiple time.  Same with bad review when a user can’t uninstall or for the fact that it’s not a free app/face (I believe Garmin is not against charging for premium model and it’s mentioned in the documentation).  Why not removing those reviews when flagged?   A bunch of bad reviews like this will affect our sells...  And often for things outside our control.  This echo system is really frustrating sometimes...

Are we supposed to contact the connect iq email for those so we don’t get ignored?

Personally, I think a bad review because a user has to pay for an app is valid as users may opt for something different that's free.  It's like on Amazon, if I see a review of something where I see something equivalent costs less, I'd consider that useful.

I'm not sure how a bad review about charging for features meets the requirement for removal per what's in the FAQ:

• Contain abusive language or profanity
• Are not relevant to the app or are spam
• Reference a firmware bug and not an app bug (since that's not the app developer's fault)
• Refer to a device support issue (e.g. I don't know how to configure my activity with this data field)

jim_m_58 said:

Personally, I think a bad review because a user has to pay for an app is valid as users may opt for something different that's free.

Fully agreed, especially if it's not clear on the first glance that it's a payed app and how much does it cost.

I think it's a good idea to show the cost directly within or near the cover image as Google Play usually does.

The reviews I referred when I started this conversation were about the users complaining that they couldn't uninstall the app (so they fit in the list of reviews which should be removed). But since I'm one of the developers offering paid/freemium apps, I'll share my point of view on reviews based on "pricing".

I think there's a gray zone here. Reviews like "it's a good app but a bit pricey" or "the app is not worth the price" seem perfectly fine for me. But a review like "I loved it until I found out I had to pay" is not ok in my opinion. The store doesn't offer paid apps natively. All we can do is to include the information in the description. If it's clearly mentioned there, such a review doesn't really add any information. And giving 1 star for something you "loved" doesn't seem honest to me in any case.

Indeed, a label near the download button could help (because most users don't read descriptions). Like the ones we see on the Google Play Store such as "includes in-app purchases" and "contain ads". In our case, it could be something like "This app includes paid functionalities".

By the way, the review system of the Google Play Store is a good one in my opinion. I would be happy if Garmin could study it and make some improvements.

I also wonder if it should be allowed for users to rate an app with 1 or 2 stars without adding any comments. They could even be related to a FW bug.

What do you guys think?

I think that a comment should be required for a review.  I mentioned that in another thread, along with the email being required in a "contact developer"

BTW, with about 50 apps in the store, with some for 4+ years, I've probably flagged a total of 10-15 reviews.  Those tend to be when the review is for a different app.

For bad reviews, I tend to reply explaining why the review is incorrect ("That's explained in the first line of the description") or using it as an example of when "contact developer" should be used.

If there are only a few bad reviews complaining about certain issue, it may be useful indeed. You reply to them, and this becomes another point where the information can be spread to other users. But if there are many reviews complaining about the same issue, then the negative effect on the rating doesn't compensate this little advantage.

At this moment, however, my biggest frustration is about Garmin's reaction to user and developer's feedback. I wish Garmin could understand our flags as reviews in themselves. They aren't just "please remove this review because it's degrading my app's rating". Instead, they should be read as "hey, maybe you should consider improving the system". The "flag-and-remove" loop is not enough for making the experience better for everyone.

A real example: having thousands of reviews like "the app can't be uninstalled" is a very clear sign that the procedure to uninstall an app is poorly engineered, as I discussed over one year ago ( forums.garmin.com/.../uninstall-a-watch-face ). I'm convinced that improving this procedure would have taken a lot less time than this eternal "flag-and-remove" loop.

By carefully reading of the bad reviews, there are the following complaints in this order:

1. the user don't know that it's a payed WF or want to trial the WF
2. the user don't know how long the trial period lasts (and hope that it ends not until after Xmas ;-) )
3. suddenly the WF start to flash some information to pay for it
4. the user want to get rid of it but run in trouble

From my POV the reviewers of bad reviews mostly havn't realized that it's a payed WF. And if they realize it, they won't to register or pay for it. Instead they want to uninstall the WF and are frustated if this results in trouble. In addition with the flashing information for paying the users got a fright. In this combination there accrues much anger by the reviewers about the dev. They fear that malware has taken over the control of the device. Maybe they think "no more 3rd party apps" and this hits also other devs.

r.485 said:

The reviews I referred when I started this conversation were about the users complaining that they couldn't uninstall the app

It seems to me that it isn't possible to seperate the cost problem from the uninstall trouble. The uninstall is only a consequence of the cost and most bad reviews mention the cost in conjunction with the uninstall. In the store there are many other WF without so many bad reviews about the deinstallation.

I can't believe that so many users don't know how a WF should be uninstalled. Maybe there are in some situations it really hangs, is blocked or somewhat else.

On the other hand the review problem remains unsolved for almost all companies. Beside 1-star there are also 5-star one-word-fake-reviews.

I also understand the dev situation, but I think one have to live with the bad reviews because devs can't judge about the reviews for their own products. The only way is to make the conditions very clear to the users before the download and installation comparable with e.g. EULA..