Block & Flow: Stay focused 4+

Very helpful

I also find the app to be very efficient and helpful. It would be good to have a more detailed history based on the number of hours spent in a day, instead of the number of blocks(since you can change the amount of time you spend on each block, which makes some blocks longer than the others).

Other than that, great app :)

USED to be my favorite app

I paid for the upgrade and full version years ago which was supposed to be a one time purchase. Now I can't even do the basic version without paying a relatively high subscription fee. That is incredibly bad service for those that have been with you and bought it under old terms and conditions. I read a long response from the developer about 1000 true fans etc but I think he is also missing the fact that there are free apps out there and if you want to go viral it needs to be shared widely. I fully support and pay for apps that offer a free limited version and then a paid more fancy version. But this development in inordinately increasing the price for even those of us who paid for the full version years ago is bad business and I can't in good faith recommend them again. I used to even advertise this app in my lectures on productivity and to my grad students but no more. What I will say is he refunded me two years of the paid subscription as an offer of good faith.

Previous, outdated review: "This app is my favorite pomodoro app and I've tried dozens. I love the elegant design and the graphical representation of your work flow."

Developer Response ,

RESPONSE TO EDIT
Thank you for editing your review. I am pleased that you received the refund. I wanted to make the refund generous and much more than your original in app purchase price. I appreciate that you have recommended the app in the past.

Best of luck with finding an app that works well for you.

ORIGINAL REPLY
Thank you for taking the time to write a review. It is helpful to hear both the negative and the positive. I appreciate your frustration and would like to see if we can find a way to move forward and for you to enjoy using the app again. If you would like to send me an e-mail via the ‘Feedback’ button in the ‘About’ page in the Block & Flow app, I would like to try and help.

I would like to address your points and to also be candid with you. With regards to how the people were treated that had upgraded, I do feel I could have done this better. My big failing here is that I did not explain the change. Of course people will support or disagree with my course of action, but at the least I should have explained the change.

I understand your expectation about the in app purchase upgrade. I have reviewed the in app purchase upgrade and it enabled someone to create a further eight categories, to be able to export their data, and does not offer anything else or make any promises for the future. Irrespective you still had an expectation and if your contact me, I will try to make it right.

The in app purchase upgrade earned a tiny amount of money and was not enough to support the future of the app. If I had continued down this road the people that love using Block & Flow would end up not having an app. App pricing and business models can be tricky and I am trying to find a business model that creates a sustainable business and that works for the people that love the app. The first step has been to introduce ‘Pro’ subscriptions, which means I have a responsibility to provide a great app and to keep improving it, and in turn this is funded through a monthly or yearly subscription. When I introduced this, I did not know how people would respond and whether anyone would subscribe. I am grateful to the people that choose to subscribe and I believe Block & Flow has a great future because of their support. Thank you to the people that have subscribed, it is a big encouragement to see.

I did think long and hard about introducing the pro subscription and how to treat people that had previously upgraded. My aim was to give people the best experience of Block & Flow and for all the features to be available to use in the free one month trial. The intention was to keep it simple, and that if someone finds the app useful, they can continue using the app after the free trial month and purchase the monthly or yearly pro subscription.
For someone that had previously upgraded, they were given three months before being prompted about the pro subscription.

I really did not know whether people would choose the pro subscription or not. People do write to me with their stories of how they use Block & Flow, and what they have accomplished with the help of it. My thinking was that I need such people to support the pro subscription and that these people would probably be the people that had previously upgraded. I needed to find out if they would support me and the app going forward. It is a relief that people have as a majority been supportive and I am determined to do my best for them.

Having taken the first step, I do intend to revisit the free to pro subscription experience and to improve it. There are aspects of it that I do not like, and that could be done in a way that makes for a much better experience. I have had several good suggestions and am open to ideas for how to approach this.

Once again thank you for your feedback. I do hope that you contact me and that we might find a way forward.

I loved using this but...

The developer added a new subscription feature to support development of the app. That’s OK unless you purchased the app under a previous agreement. You could’ve done one of two things. First, you could have continued with this app and called it the classic version or something of that nature. You could’ve continue to update it and allowed for further use out of it for those of us who purchased it in good faith and wanted to continue to use it. Failing that and to me what would have been the better option would have been to grandfather everyone in who had already purchased the app under your old agreement. This way, you would’ve had a built-in base that would have advertised the app for you virally. Instead, I’m going to delete the app and go back to using “Forest” which has been upgraded frequently with no additional charges. I had purchased it also but ditched to B & F for reasons I had at the time.

This was bad execution for your customers. 👎🏽

Developer Response ,

Hello Scott, thank you for the candid review. I also want to say thank you for the encouragement and useful feedback that you have given over the last couple of years.

Your points are valid and there are definitely some actions that with hindsight I would have done differently. If you send me an e-mail to stefan@blockandflowapp.com, I will try to make amends for the situation.

In case it helps, I am sharing my thought process and how I handled the switch to a subscription model. For people that had previously purchased the upgrade in app purchase, I did give a 90 day window to use the app before moving to the subscription model. When considering what to do, at the time, I was really concerned about whether anyone would support the change to the subscription model and it failing was a huge fear. For Block & Flow to have a future, it does have to generate enough revenue to be a sustainable business. Whether people supported the change to the subscription or not, would decide the future. My reasoning was that if the people that have used Block & Flow for 1 year, 2 years, or more, do not see the value in the subscription, then the app does not deserve a future. This is why I choose 90 days, versus grandfathering, as I needed to find out if people valued what I have made.

Thankfully people do value Block & Flow, choose to subscribe, and choose to continue their subscription. This means a lot to me, and creates a great opportunity for the future. I am full of respect for the people that use Block & Flow, want them to do well, and want them to keep going with the different challenges that they set themselves. I imagine the change in a person if they keep doing the good work that they do with the help of Block & Flow, and imagine how far they will be after 7 years of such effort. I am trying to steer the future in a direction where Block & Flow becomes more and more useful, and that it is there for people for many, many years.

There are still many challenges ahead and I will keep taking them on one block at a time. I care about the people that use Block & Flow, and do keep pushing myself to keep improving, so that I can do more for them. They are very special people.

Once again, thank you for the fair feedback. I have been lucky to have you as someone that has used my app.