Survey Feedback

Dear Turbine,
You just sent me a survey on The Lord of the Rings Onlineâ„¢. Things went downhill starting with this question:

“In the list below, please select your favorite features.
Remember that we’re asking you how much you like each feature, not how much time you spend or your thoughts about the current state of the feature.”

So you want to know what features I like, but I should not take into account the current state of the feature? I need a text box here that lets me tell you how lousy a question that is. If I like the idea of legendary items but think the current system is horrible, I should tell you it is my favorite feature? WTF? “New classes” and “new races” are on the list. Am I fond of all possible new classes and races? There have been two new classes and no new races. Is there any basis on which I can answer this question? And it is a required question, so I cannot skip it.

On the rest of the required questions that were nonsensical or inapplicable to my current playstyle, I filled in the least irrelevant answer. I am pretty sure that you just received active disinformation from me, at your own request.

Please hire someone who knows how to write surveys. I work in evaluation, so I might be able to recommend someone to you.

: Zubon

10 thoughts on “Survey Feedback”

  1. Is it really that hard to just organize a team, and devote at least a few people to critical tasks such as customer service and feedback?

    I realize that when you’re working on a limited budget, you are forced to make tough decisions, but when something as simple as a survey is FUBAR’ed, then what is one left to think?

    It just seems to me that the philosophy of business nowadays is completely focused on cutting back as much as humanely possible to keep the machine running (“how well” seems to be irrelevant to these people), and still maintain and/or maximize profit.

    I’m sorry, but if you’re running a business, and you’re pouring your heart into it, you don’t sit back and try widen the margin of profit; you take the time and profit you have, and you keep pouring it back into all the areas that need it, and if they don’t need it, you’re working on improving them. And if they don’t need improvement, then you’re working on adding to them. And if there’s nothing left to add, then you start in a completely new direction.

    Seems like companies–in general, not all of them, but the majority–just want to “appear” like everything is there that needs to be, and then they wonder why people are disillusioned and jaded about their product.

  3. I can just picture the argument in a conference room over the phrasing of that question. It obviously ended in a compromise that nobody won because everybody just wanted to get past it. You can just feel the question trying to pull you in different directions.

  4. I work in education and at the end of every year we are required by our academic quality system to survey the students with a standard questionnaire. Over the years I have learned that no useful information comes out of the rote tick the box questions and that the only useful part of the exercise is the blank box at the end which asks “Have you any other comments”.

  5. The survey really wasn’t that bad. Later on you get the chance to rate how much you like each feature AND how satisfied you are with the current implementation of that feature. So rate LIs a 5 and the current implementation of LIs a 1. Done.

    Active disinformation is pretty immature and passive aggressive. Fortunately, they have repeatedly said they draw data from many sources including surveys, focus groups, community forums, and server data to analyze before making their decision, so I doubt your protest will even be noticed.

  8. Well, that question is baased upon trying to assess the INTEREST in a feature. Later they asked you to rate how you feel the feature is being implemented on a scale rating.

    I felt the survey was fairly well done, and asked pertinent questions that will help guide the future of the game.

    At least I hope it does…

    Oh Ethic – it was stated on the forums that it was a random survey, so I imagine lots of players did not get one.

  9. Active disinformation is pretty immature and passive aggressive. Fortunately, they have repeatedly said they draw data from many sources including surveys, focus groups, community forums, and server data to analyze before making their decision, so I doubt your protest will even be noticed.
    Reading comprehension fail.

  10. I hope they are reading it, but it does sound like the questions and answers may be slightly less than useful.

    FWIW, the first time I quit LOTRO, I wrote a long dissertation on why in the feedback. I actually got a response from a human about a few of my comments. One can hope.

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