RE: getting users to RTFM

Subject: RE: getting users to RTFM
From: "Bowes, Rebecca" <Rebecca-Bowes -at- IDEXX -dot- com>
To: "techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com>
Date: Wed, 17 Sep 2014 17:24:34 +0000

One way to limit support calls might be to make support available by email only, with a response in 24 hours. I'd bet most people aren't willing to wait that long if a quicker answer is available in a help system or quick ref. Or at least that's the way it works with me :) -- having to wait 24 hours has kept me from contacting Flare support every time I have a question.

It could also be that users are much more likely to read the manual if the software is critical to what they are doing, it's their main tool, and they need its deeper features. OTOH, if a user's needs are shallow - they just touch the surface of the software and only for short tasks - they aren't going to invest time in reading doc. This theory is purely anecdotal and based on my own experience. I hate reading manuals, but I do delve deeply into many Flare resources, take Flare classes and webinars, and read lots of the Flare OLH. For other software I rarely use, I just muddle through.

Rebecca

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