Comments on: Ignore the Content

By: Yotam

Yotam — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 20:51:46 +0000

They make a similar point (among others) in Difficult Conversations: http://www.amazon.com/Difficult-Conversations-Discuss-what-Matters/dp/014028852X

By: Ian

Ian — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 12:32:38 +0000

I actually hate the emotional touchy-feely approach: the words say you care about my feedback, while the message really tells me you don’t as you think it’s just a knee-jerk reaction. I prefer much more to be told why you think the design is superior; at least to that I can reply on solid ground, without having to defend myself from the idea that I’m just being emotional.

Now, whether it’s easier for you on the other side of the screen, that’s another matter altogether. But “I’m not going to change it, live with it” works just as well and at least it’s honest.

By: John

John — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 00:51:59 +0000

Playing devil’s advocate…if you squint your eyes hard enough, “ignore the content and address the emotion” looks an awful lot like “be manipulative — it’s easier than addressing the complaint”, or even “there’s no valid complaint since I’m right anyway. My goal here is to shut you up.”

So it depends on your relationship with the person. Often you are right, or maybe they’re right but it doesn’t matter in any tangible way. So you do need to tactfully tell them to get lost. This happens all of the time with software interfaces, because people generally have such a light grasp of their computer that an interface change is like having a chair pulled out from under them. Doesn’t make them right, though.

By: Benjamin

Benjamin — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 22:23:00 +0000

Very insightful, but this is not always the case. When I complain about grammar checking in Pages, that is all I am complaining about, as I really like the overall package, but that one little thing, the grammar checking, is far too pedantic and politically correct for regular usage. While this may seem like a good thing, it is constantly complaining about “gender-specific expressions”, which most of the time is exactly what we want. For example, “monarch” is rarely a suitable replacement for “king”, or “servant” for “maid”. This makes me extremely annoyed, but it is the only part of the package that I have any trouble with. Sometimes it is good to look at the content, too.

By: Ian Waugh

Ian Waugh — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:30:40 +0000

I agree, I guess that’s why we call it user ‘experience’.

On a related point, never discount a ‘user error’ or a seemingly odd complaint from someone who can’t find something or use something.

To you it seems perfect but if people are reacting then they are being frustrated, that should be studied rather than ignored.

By: Kent Brewster

Kent Brewster — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 06:27:07 +0000

In every online community there lurks a small but vocal minority of users, ready to pounce on any design change no matter how small, declare it a sign of the impending apocalypse, and announce their intention to depart in a loud, angry huff.

Unfortunately, these people never actually leave. :)

By: Natsuki

Natsuki — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:05:39 +0000

I agree with this from the web stand point, it seems to make a lot of sense.

Though personally, when *I* complain about something I almost always say literally what my problem is, and I get annoyed at being coddled as opposed to getting results. It insults me if someone focuses on the emotion behind my complaint instead if the content.

By: Kimn

Kimn — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 14:21:02 +0000

Nope. I actually hate it when this method is “used” on me. When I make the effort to bring a complaint to a business, I expect action, not “feel good” public relations. I don’t want to be pacified, I want action–so don’t address my “emotion” rather than the issue itself, because addressing the emotion is a cheap and easy way to avoid the problem or issue being raised.

By: Julian Schrader

Julian Schrader — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 08:37:20 +0000

Thanks for writing this down. Great post—also love the introduction where you talk about your dad’s rats ;-)

By: Patricia

Patricia — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 05:51:18 +0000

Spot on, Derek.

I read this article again today after reading loads of complaints from users about the recent launch of new mobile9 design. A lot of them said the old design is better but we just couldn’t see why this is the case. Perhaps it’s like what you say, we should try to tackle the emotion behind. The unfamiliarity, the tough learning curve, and the frustration when things aren’t working like they used to be.