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TechCrunch article re Evernote 2018.09.04


CalS

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What do they expect? The product is as buggy as ever, people are TICKED at the fat margins from the table redux no one asked for, no one likes how PDFs are handled in new versions, and bugs are rushed to publication to hit arbitrary dates. There is no way in heck I'd recommend this to my company in this state, and they just came out with a pretty cool concept to integrate into Microsoft Teams, but I wouldn't invite the bugs into the workflow. Even though IMHO OneNote is sub-par for many things, it is at least pretty stable. I cannot recall the last time any of us had sync errors, a freezing interface, note conflicts, etc.

But, we have emoji and a new app icon, so it's all good.

I do not want to see Evernote go under by any stretch, but they have got to right this ship or even loyalists will jump. 

 

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I was very happy to see this because I too am fed up with Evernote releases being so busy, randomly taking out features, and just having sub par performance. Like the highlighting inconsistently I mentioned in another thread, the fact presentation mode doesn't have a "Back" in the Windows version, all the issues with PDF, that emailing notes doesn't include the URL anymore, and yet we continue to see price increases. I'm really glad the market has spoken and hope the new management cleans up the software.

 

Any way for me to get the reduced Premium pricing? I renewed in May.

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7 minutes ago, notetakeingguy said:

Any way for me to get the reduced Premium pricing?

I'd suspect not - likely to be a 'new or upgrade customers only' deal,  not available to existing Premium users.  You can always ask Evernote..

 

 

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Evernote may be in a "death spiral." I don't know. I haven't got any inside information, and even if I did, I doubt I'd be giving "tips" to tech blogs.

But, here's what we know from the article: 1) high level executives have left and 2) someone thinks the company is in a death spiral, and 3) employees are changing roles at the company. #1 is rarely a good thing, though it has happened to Evernote before, and it is still around. #2 is an opinion -- a rumor at best. #3 is par for the course at a lot of places, and not necessarily a sign of imminent death. That's not much to go on...

There are also plenty of things I'd disagree with in the article. For example, I think the privacy policy PR blunder was mischaracterized. After all, Google, Dropbox, Evernote, Microsoft, and just about every other tech company can poke around your data and read it if they'd like -- in some cases, others have done just that and gotten in trouble for it. That wasn't the problem, was it. That's incompetent reporting, in my opinion, and if you are going to publish a damning piece like this that could dramatically impact a company (a "hit job?"), then you ought to at least be careful and get your facts straight. 

As for the article's comparison / contrast with other apps, that seems to be sadly true. Apple Notes, for example, has (wait for it...) a great encryption option--one of the most elegant out there, in fact. OneNote has a Mac app. Google Keep is... well, it exists. I think they all have major drawbacks, but they certainly have improved a lot since the new CEO took over at Evernote, and I don't see any similar advancements at Evernote in that time. Evernote's really solid in many ways, but there are (as has been pointed out here and elsewhere) some really fundamental issues that still need to be addressed. 

Anyhow, I hope it sticks around, because I get a lot of use out of it. But, these things happen to companies, and as far as I know, the current CEO hasn't mentioned wanting to make the company survive 100 years or more (that was a hope expressed by the previous CEO), so maybe there isn't a long-term strategy. Whatever is happening, I'd say it's worth taking a deep breath and waiting to see what Evernote's response is to the piece.

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On 9/5/2018 at 12:46 PM, notetakeingguy said:

I was very happy to see this because I too am fed up with Evernote releases being so busy, randomly taking out features, and just having sub par performance. Like the highlighting inconsistently I mentioned in another thread, the fact presentation mode doesn't have a "Back" in the Windows version, all the issues with PDF, that emailing notes doesn't include the URL anymore, and yet we continue to see price increases. I'm really glad the market has spoken and hope the new management cleans up the software.

 

Any way for me to get the reduced Premium pricing? I renewed in May.

No!

Have asked EN support today. The answer:

" This promotion offers people the ability to test-drive the benefits of Evernote services at a discounted rate for one year. As an existing subscriber to Evernote Premium, this offer does not apply. "

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On 9/5/2018 at 3:46 AM, notetakeingguy said:

Any way for me to get the reduced Premium pricing? I renewed in May.

Yes, create a new account.  It's an introductory offer valid for the first year.  ?

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 9/6/2018 at 5:02 PM, eMWe said:

No!

Have asked EN support today. The answer:

" This promotion offers people the ability to test-drive the benefits of Evernote services at a discounted rate for one year. As an existing subscriber to Evernote Premium, this offer does not apply. " 

Not very nice to see that EN is not taking into consideration its long-term customers. 7 years and price up from 30 to 84 yearly. Hello there ... some of us are in Europe here, our salary did not increase by 10% yearly ... as is the case in other far-away overseas countries !

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3 minutes ago, LaP said:

Not very nice to see that EN is not taking into consideration its long-term customers

I don't think introductory offers are an indication of anything.  It's just something businesses do.

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3 minutes ago, DTLow said:

I don't think introductory offers are an indication of anything.  It's just something businesses do.

I read what you say - indeed, long-term customers can take a 10% price increase yearly for paying introductory "offers" to new customers. Great.

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49 minutes ago, LaP said:

indeed, long-term customers can take a 10% price increase early for paying introductory "offers" to new customers. Great.

Where did you get the idea introductory offers are connected in any way to a price increase?
It could even lead to a price decrease, although I expect increased income would be directed to such things as development

edit: a water cooler for the staff would be ok too ?

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Let's be clear.

With the greatest respect, I think you twitch my initial statement - please re-read it. 30 to 84 price increase from 2001 that is an average 10% price increase yearly. Let's repeat: initial price was 30 in 2011, now is 84 !

By the way, I am amazed when some "customers" are a little too aggressive with other customers on the official forum ! That's not bad but is not serving the business.

I read your comments, and let's agree to disagree.

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31 minutes ago, DTLow said:

I expect increased income would be directed to such things as development

I would prefer it if increased income led to development.  This introductory offer thing is not unique to Evernote - most companies are guilty of it at some stage or other;  and Evernote have been doing this in one form or another for most of their existence...

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5 minutes ago, LaP said:

By the way, I am amazed when some "customers" are just way a little too aggressive with other customers

I'm sorry I came accross as "a little too aggressive".  It's not my intent to be aggressive.

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@DTLow: wonderful then - as a matter of fact, I will also correct my previous statement.

It's my fault --- it is NOT a 10% price increase yearly. From 30 in 2011 to 84 the price in 2018 it is a 280% price increase over a period of 7 years. For loyal customers.

Other than a new white elephant (or pinky, or whatever other trendy colour in the future) ... I do not see notable improvements that are justifying the price increase of this amplitude.

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20 minutes ago, LaP said:

I do not see notable improvements that are justifying the price increase of this amplitude.

It's entirely possible that the product was heavily underpriced when it was launched:  I'd rather have a relatively expensive product that will stick around,  than a very cheap one that won't be here next year.  Plus Evernote have no need to 'justify' price increases - they can charge what users are willing to pay.  And since a reasonable percentage of their 225 million user base are paying customers,  they don't seem to have been far wrong up to now.  Plus - like drug companies - software houses have to do a lot of work that's invisible to users in development and testing before they market their product.  Someone has to pay for that too...

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27 minutes ago, LaP said:

it is a 280% price increase over a period of 7 years.

I blame the investors for this.  If they had contributed additional money, there would have been no increase.  ?

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6 minutes ago, gazumped said:

And since a reasonable percentage of their 225 million user base are paying customers

I'd question this, but Evernote seems happy with the rate (under 10%)
The theory with the Premium offer is the more we use the product, the higher the conversion rate.  These free accounts are being incubated.

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1 minute ago, DTLow said:

These free accounts are being incubated. 

 

Incubated to a 280% increase (that's 3 times more expensive) over a period of 7 years. Is the salary triple over a period of 7 years ?

Take a visit outside the incubator - you look totally disconnected from the reality. 

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1 hour ago, LaP said:

With the greatest respect, I think you twitch my initial statement - please re-read it. 30 to 84 price increase from 2001 that is an average 10% price increase yearly. Let's repeat: initial price was 30 in 2011, now is 84 !

If that trend continues, then sure, that's a fair point. I'm not sure that it will though, not at that rate anyways. You're welcome to disagree, but we're both guessing. We'll see.

1 hour ago, LaP said:

By the way, I am amazed when some "customers" are a little too aggressive with other customers on the official forum ! That's not bad but is not serving the business.

This is primarily a user forum, and for people who have problems using Evernote, users/customers like DTLow and others who are not Evernote employees provide a lot of help, freely (and free of charge!). In a topic like this, though, discussion is more wide open, and customers can (and do) express their opinions freely. I don't see anything too aggressive here so far, and nothing that does disservice to the the business.

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8 minutes ago, DTLow said:

blame the investors for this.  If they had contributed additional money, there would have been no increase.  ?

Blame investors ? No, blame the greed that needed "investors" - go figure, maybe for the executive salary increase of 280%

The Evernote business was just doing very OK, was developing well, innovating, and creating a win-win relationship. You know, the old-fashioned way.

In 2008, it is an amazing evolution:

  • we have advertorial content from "revenants" - sure thing that we believe
  • some whatever "customers" provoking other customers on the official forum (not serving the business, you know)
  • heavy pollution from 10k+ posters ... is this a daily job or a no-life
  • and the list goes on.

All this and more, just to deviate the attention from real issues: 280% price increase over a period of 7 years, with no notable improvements of the product.

You are doing a great business, just keep going what you are doing.

Irritate enough a loyal customer and he/she will take the business away. Playing with fire is never a good idea.

 

PS. I can pay whatever is needed, but I don't see the utility on a personal level. So please, don't provoke just because you like, you never know who is behind the keyboard.

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41 minutes ago, AndreasM said:

Again, the gurus defending the company. How much are you being paid, maybe I will do the same.

If the gurus on the page are getting paid to defend the company I missed the memo. With that said, I have seen a lot of complaining online (not just here in the forum) about the product and demanding things change to a single persons liking. That's not how that works. Are there things that I would like to see come to EN and some I would like to see leave EN? Of course there are. But am I bashing or leaving the product because of it? No. As much as I like to think that I'm the center of my own little world, I do realize that there are others using the service as well. If it gets to the point with any app that I just "can't handle it" any longer, I will learn how to code and make my own.

If Evernote no longer suits your needs, find another program. Don't attack those of us who are still loyal to the program and the brand for enjoying a software that works for us.

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On 9/4/2018 at 10:16 PM, EdH said:

and bugs are rushed to publication to hit arbitrary dates.

Not saying it's an excuse, in fact it's quite sad, that this is tech today.  It's not unique to Evernote. Pitch it today, fix tomorrow.

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54 minutes ago, LaP said:

heavy pollution from 10k+ posters ... is this a daily job or a no-life

There's a wealth of knowledge in many of those 10k posts.  I'm no guru, but I defend the product as a novice, because it's better than others I've used.  In fact I'm floored how much better it is than OneNote for my way of doing things.  That doesn't mean I haven't vented on an issue or two; but big picture I've used nothing better.

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55 minutes ago, Gear64 said:

Not saying it's an excuse, in fact it's quite sad, that this is tech today.  It's not unique to Evernote. Pitch it today, fix tomorrow.

It is, unfortunately, sometimes the way of software development these days. 

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1 hour ago, LaP said:

maybe for the executive salary

I'm not party to the Evernote staff salaries.   Can you share more details.

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I have no issues with the current price of Evernote...BUT.... I expect it to be stable and relatively bug free and I don't think it is at a satisfactory level right now.

The functionally of the apps, the storage it offers and cross platform abilities I believe are worth the money, I just hope they can fix some bugs do I can confidently recommend it again to others and maybe I'll renew when my subscription is due next year.

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12 hours ago, AndreasM said:

Again, the gurus defending the company. How much are you being paid, maybe I will do the same.

You are again in violation of the Code of Conduct

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16 hours ago, Michael Goulding said:

I have no issues with the current price of Evernote...BUT.... I expect it to be stable and relatively bug free and I don't think it is at a satisfactory level right now.

The functionally of the apps, the storage it offers and cross platform abilities I believe are worth the money, I just hope they can fix some bugs do I can confidently recommend it again to others and maybe I'll renew when my subscription is due next year.

I'm in agreement with this. I refused to update the Windows app since v. 6.5 until they got most of the recent bugs ironed out in 6.15. It's been a very unpleasant and aggravating period lately for Windows users.

OTOH, frankly I think the fairly steep price increases in recent years could be viewed as the result of Evernote having been underpriced earlier. In fact, this recent article suggests that it still is, based on their research:

Quote

Evernote's pricing is still way too low

Many complained in 2016 when Evernote restricted devices and storage on the Basic plan. But these users are still getting a bargain....

The premium plan is $7.99/month, but the median willingness to pay (for customers who aren't even in the highest category of organizational acumen) is $10.72.

If you pay by the month, Premium costs about $96/year. To me, it makes more sense to get a yearly Premium subscription for $70, which is about $5.83/month or $1.35/week. Honestly, does anyone with a job and a household in today's world not have $5.83/month that they don't even know where it went? In one month, I pay Comcast more than twice what I pay for Evernote in an entire year; I pay Verizon almost three times as much. Maybe I'm stupid about cable and phone. But I think I'm right about Evernote.

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56 minutes ago, Dave-in-Decatur said:

I refused to update the Windows app ...

I'm in agreement with controlling my updates.
I review the posts and don't update if theres an issue or change I can't live with.
If I encounter something that won't work for me, I roll back to a previous version.

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I will chime in, and hopefully people can respond on which version I should update to.

My issue with Evernote is that I HAD a usable  Windows PC product, and it has become progressively less usable, despite me paying yearly subscriptions for it. I had settled on 6.5 for fear of upgrading. But then we all had to upgrade to 6.7 and I have so many problems. I can't tell you the number of times a day where I do to do a simple 4 letter word search and it says, "Not Responding" for more than 30 seconds. I still have never figured out how to go back in Presentation Mode, and a few other things. I am still not happy that when you E-mail notes, the URL doesn't get E-mailed anymore. And so forth. And one the more recent versions, where the PDF handling got changed. And the newest version of Chrome Webclipper conflicts with other extensions I have (e.g. any.do).

 

If anyone has suggestions on which Windows PC version to move to, I'd appreciate it. But these are all the reasons I'm upset with Evernote and upset with the price increases and not surprised by the news in this article.

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11 minutes ago, notetakeingguy said:

people can respond on which version I should update to.

You're tacking on a discussion not related to your issue.
This would be better posted in the Windows forum

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