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Angry developer

W

wabbitt1970

Member
I'm pretty mad this morning.

I get an email from a guy who says I should write another live wallpaper based on a variation of a free one I have the market already with some changes. He says it will get more downloads and comments. Here is the email;

"Can you create another one more realistic?but free.trust me you will get great comments and more downloads"

So I replied that I'm working on other apps that actually earn money and haven't time unless he is willing to pay for the development. Comments and downloads don't pay the bills I'm afraid.

Bear in mind the current wallpaper has 95000 downloads and over 1000 comments, I'm not really fishing for more feedback and comments.

Now, this morning I've received an utterly tasteless reply saying "I can understand how hard it can be for a person like you.So don't let me get in the way of doing what you have to do."... etc.

Maybe I've took it completely the wrong way, but this has really annoyed me to the point that I really don't think I'll do any more free apps as obviously it isn't good enough. Or maybe I'll just stop developing for Android altogether and stay with the iPhone/iPad.

I really don't understand why I even put out free apps after a reply like that. I'm fuming.

... or maybe I'll cool off in a few hours :confused:

Urrrghghh...
 
Yeah, people are stupid, and forget that they are still people when they log in to the interwebs. Sorry you had a bad time, but forget that moron, if it weren't for folks like you Android wouldn't be nearly as cool as it is. Thanks for your time, dude, and don't worry about him.
 
How about this:

I gave a lady FREE health care in the order of about $700 worth of tests. She comes in 2 months later and asks me for her prescription so she get her glasses at Walmart instead of from us!

Now you know what it's like to own a business. ;)

Get used to it.
 
I think maybe the emotion didn't come across in the email correctly. From your small excerpt, it actually sounds like the person understands you have a full plate, and wasn't trying to tear you away from putting food on your table. But, JMO.
 
I wish I had 95k downloads -- I'm just under 9k at the moment. And about 50 $1 donations. Woo. (This is all for roughly 2-3 months of full time work). Though my app was left stagnating at v0.2.3 for the 10 months before the most recent 2-3 months of work.

Anyways, I'm not sure how long a live wall paper takes to develop, but I hear ya on the sentiment. The Android community can be demanding and critical, especially for free stuff, but they can also be wonderful and supportive. So hang in there.
 
They asked and you said no. Anything beyond that is their problem, not yours.

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to get his fish for free from your competition and you'll run him out of business. ;)
 
As has been said, this is the real world, not just app development. IME health care is the worst. People expect something for nothing all the time.
 
lordofthereef said:
As has been said, this is the real world, not just app development. IME health care is the worst. People expect something for nothing all the time.
Click to expand...

I will second that. But if you ask THEM for a discount??? Woo, the world just came to an end :eek:

Here's how I contemplated charging/ appointing patients(in my mind):
1) Car dealers: exam price + a set up fee + a doc fee.
2) Lawyers: exam price + a fee for phone calls, faxes, and every piece of paper we use.
3) Contractors: Oh the Doctor didn't make it in today, it's raining.
4) Cell phone company employees: exam fee, plus a monthly fee.
5) Yellow pages employees: First exam at a 20% discount, then $40 more every year after that.
6) Cable, telephone utility company employees: The Doctor will in sometime between 8am and noon or between noon and 4. Just sit and wait for him.

And one time when I got the old "rich Dr." reply from a patient I sat in front of him and figured out this number:
$400,000. (education and lost income figured at the average income of an average person)
That is the amount of $ I was down to the average-income person the day I started practicing. Then I asked him how much he would charge for an exam. Suddenly he got real quiet. That number is now 20+ years old. Probably more like $600,000 now.
 
"I can understand how hard it can be for a person like you.So don't let me get in the way of doing what you have to do."... etc.

what he said there.. can be taken in 2 different ways.
But I will give you the benefit of the doubt.

there are a lot of people that are clueless.. and think the world owes them something.
Dont let 1 or a few rotten apples ruin your pie.

now.. stop bitchin.. and get back to making my free app! :D
 
nothing in this world is free... everything costs someone something in the end.

some say Android is free...
wrong.. someone has to pay for all the development. we, the users are generating revenue for google with our eyes doing searches on these phones. the advertisers pay the bills. you are doing work.... making google money!
 
PSkeptic said:
I think maybe the emotion didn't come across in the email correctly. From your small excerpt, it actually sounds like the person understands you have a full plate, and wasn't trying to tear you away from putting food on your table. But, JMO.
Click to expand...



Thats what I took it as. It sounded like, to me, he asked, you said you don't have time, so he said, "thats cool, I understand how hard it can be, don't stop what your doing just for me."

I might be missing it totally, but I really don't see anything bad in there.
 
PSkeptic said:
I think maybe the emotion didn't come across in the email correctly. From your small excerpt, it actually sounds like the person understands you have a full plate, and wasn't trying to tear you away from putting food on your table. But, JMO.
Click to expand...

+2 that's how I read it a well.
 
cipher6 said:
Thats what I took it as. It sounded like, to me, he asked, you said you don't have time, so he said, "thats cool, I understand how hard it can be, don't stop what your doing just for me."

I might be missing it totally, but I really don't see anything bad in there.
Click to expand...

I can see how the wording sounded a little confrontational, but I agree that this could be what he meant.

Either way, it's the people like you who make Android great. Keep it up, and know that the majority of the people downloading your apps appreciate it.
 
free app or paid app.... customer service is customer service. I wonder.... if I pay for one of your apps, if you don't just 'get too busy' to fix problems after my money transfers over because you have other things that make more money taking up your time.

Speaks volumes
 
The biggest challenge in any business is to find out where the money is. Second is getting your name out there so the public knows you. 90,000 downloads is a good thing, now you just have. To figure out which apps people buy the most, and from there find the opening that best fits your skills.

And I'm not talking down to you as if you're clueless about all this, I'm just saying as a fellow small business owner, make it as easy on yourself as possible.
 
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