Dealing with Stubborn End Users

matthewramsden3528 · 2013-11-14T15:37:26.000Z

Hey Guys,

I have just done some MS Office upgrades (2007 to 2010) and most of the users are fine with the changes but there was one that doesn’t like change and has spent a while ranting at me about how he cant find anything anymore. I, of course, was polite the entire time and said sorry there are changes but the upgrade needed to happen and i’m sure 2010 is designed to make things more user friendly.

I was just wondering how you guys dealt with users who don’t like change?

krisvosper · 2013-11-14T15:40:48.000Z

Wait, are you saying then, that there are users who DON"T complain when something changes?

I don’t believe you… o_O

doctor-who · 2013-11-14T15:41:05.000Z

Let one rip while they are ranting, they won’t bother you much longer. And they now know if they need your help, you’re disgusting, so they’ll figure it out on their own.

sqlrage · 2013-11-14T15:41:34.000Z

Tell them that their replacement doesn’t mind change or that if they don’t change with the times then they won’t be able to do their job. This is how we got things moved over from lotus 123 last year.

cpunty · 2013-11-14T15:41:45.000Z

Ignore them, I’m not going to run obsolete software on one PC just to placate a user who’s title doesnt include “Executive” or “President.”

brendywrx · 2013-11-14T15:41:46.000Z

Forget users, Im like that with Windows 8! I refuse to let any of my users upgrade neither as it will involve a lot of questions and tutting.

keithjudkins0564 · 2013-11-14T15:41:58.000Z

Send pics or it did happen.

scovillain · 2013-11-14T15:43:35.000Z

Let them rant, they eventually sputter out. Sometimes they just need to vent and you happen to be the face of change. I pretend that they aren’t yelling at me but complaining what my evil twin sister has done (I am the eviler twin). I’ll pass the message but I dint do the bad.

irj · 2013-11-14T15:44:55.000Z

Just make up some fake technical jargon of why its such a good idea to upgrade. Users dont argue with what they dont understand

chrisw · 2013-11-14T15:45:19.000Z

I have similar issues here. I ignore low level complaints and try to address high level ones. Level as in corporate level. ie: I try to make my boss happy and tell the rest to deal. lol

matthewramsden3528 · 2013-11-14T15:47:35.000Z

Haha some good ideas. Im loving yours RAM =p

Weirdly there are actually some users who don’t complain, Kris7191, but then again they are generally the more tech minded users =)

jimclay · 2013-11-14T15:49:34.000Z

I have actually told users that “Yes, it is different, but” … MS has spent millions of $$ researching the user interface and that within a month or two most people prefer the new interface and that they need to give it some time. Many were skeptical, but most ended up agreeing with me. Those that didn’t? Well, they basically had to suck it up. It is what it is. You can’t please everyone.

j-l · 2013-11-14T15:52:03.000Z

Public floggings. Then point them to Microsoft Office training website.

support.microsoft.com

Microsoft 365 help & learning

Get Microsoft 365 support, help, and learning resources. Organize your life, expand your creativity, and protect what’s important with Microsoft 365.

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/training/

krisvosper · 2013-11-14T15:55:04.000Z

I would like to have some of these non-complaining users please.

matthewramsden3528 · 2013-11-14T15:56:49.000Z

haha nope, they are all mine =p

lamen · 2013-11-14T15:59:01.000Z

RAM.:

Let one rip while they are ranting, they won’t bother you much longer. And they now know if they need your help, you’re disgusting, so they’ll figure it out on their own.

Ah, the ol’ Pavlov’s Fart trick. Effective.

jmurphy · 2013-11-14T16:03:53.000Z

I prefer to bring managers in. As long as they feel they have the right to yell at you when they’re unhappy, rather than work out a solution or pick up a little slack themselves, it will continue. It doesn’t have to be threatening or confrontational; just send an email to the user and the manager stating something like, “There was some concern regarding the new layout. As you know, a rollback isn’t an option at this time, but I’d be happy to get together and discuss training options.” They’ll either back out because it might reveal that they’re unwilling to learn, or you can point to several MS training programs, YouTube videos, etc., which they’ll then have to utilize because their boss is involved.

I certainly have no interest in being confrontational with a user at all; I’m there to help them, and to make them comfortable with technology. Getting in an argument is never acceptable. But I am not there to be blamed when they’re scared and unwilling to do their fair share.

jcotton5 · 2013-11-14T16:12:23.000Z

just take office off of their system completely and see how much work they can get done then,

User: Bro where are my office programs?

Me: Oh im sorry I cant find them?? Its all so new to me and I didnt have the time to sit and figure it out myself. good luck!

User: dafux?

Me: (crooked eye stare)

preissner · 2013-11-14T16:23:51.000Z

Generally this is a non-issue. Giving users an option generally isn’t an option.

We generally take the approach of “It’s OK that you don’t like Meatloaf, but that’s whats for dinner”/“You don’t have to like it, you just have to eat it”.

joshmcwilliams · 2013-11-14T16:24:51.000Z

I had one user who complained about how her upgraded Outlook is horrible and she can’t find anything (she went from 2007 to 2010) but that her new word opens up faster than the old and her Adobe works much better without the form field view issues the old one had (Shes really running Kingsoft Office and Nitro shhh)