Why users don’t complain!
A call to product owners
Recently it has become more and more apparent a trend in software. New software in companies is not fully adopted, product owners get no feedback, and users don’t complain. So I question myself, why does this happen?
Why it happens
In my experience, this happens for one of the following reasons:
Lack of Awareness:
Users might not be aware that the issues they’re experiencing are design problems. They might think the app or website is working as expected.
Difficulty Expressing Experience
Part of human nature is to have challenges expressing ourselves verbally and in written form.
Considering this, we need to remember that users might not be tech-savvy, meaning they will have problems articulating their experience with the software.
Perceived Complexity
Users might believe that complaining won’t lead to a solution.
The reality is that reporting issues are either too complicated or time-consuming.
Low Expectations
If users encounter poor designs frequently, they might lower their expectations and accept subpar experiences as the norm, leading them not to complain.
Fear of Negative Consequences
Users might worry that complaining could result in negative consequences, such as being labeled as not a team player or having their accounts restricted.
No Easy Feedback Channel
If there’s no straightforward way for users to provide feedback or complain, they might choose not to bother.
Companies sometimes make decisions in which interfaces reflect the data structure rather than the world user recognize, making recognizing what to do harder for the user.
Hope for Future Improvement
Users might assume the product teams already know the issue and hope that future updates solve their problems, so they wait rather than complain.
Limited Alternatives
Users might not have many alternative options, so they tolerate the issues rather than seek alternatives.
Better the devil, you know
Humans stick with what they know, even if it’s not ideal.
Users might continue using suboptimal software out of habit or convenience.
Social Norms
Users might believe that complaining is impolite or unnecessary, especially if they’re not generally used to giving feedback.
What can you do about it?
As a Product owner, it’s essential to create user-friendly channels for feedback and proactively gather insights to improve the design and user experience, even if users aren’t actively complaining.
