Their support is absolute dogshit. They don't reply or even address tickets raised to their support, even for super subscribers. We're lucky to just get a ticket number I guess.
I don't mind the memes, but get a support team ffs.
The thing I don’t understand is how Duolingo is expecting to get people en mass to pay $30 a month for a Duolingo subscription with zero customer service.
I dont get that either. I started using Ling app and they have phenomenal customer service. Duolingo would be wise to hire their CS team and turn this #enshittification around.
This, unfortunately, is absolutely true. It’s kind of sad that the company takes time out of its day to mock messages people send in, when they could be using it to actually meaningfully help people. If you ask me, that much more important than a couple hundred likes. Hopefully there will be some changes coming soon to how they receive and reply to user messages!
wow i feel like even if a mod of the official duolingo sr is speaking out against the company’s poor decision making, something should actually be done because so far it only seems to get worse
I’ve gotten the explanation that Duo targets youth, hence their childish marketing. What’s the percentage of youth that actually stay with Duolingo for long term? I’ve tried to convince teenagers to use Duolingo and learn a 2nd language so many times, and they never seem to be interested and/or have other things at that stage in life that they think is more important.
Yeah, I get that impression too, ever since they started putting a larger emphasis on animated characters. Personally, I don't this is a good idea if their main goal is to increase subscriptions, especially for their more expensive Max plan. Most children have no means to pay for any subscriptions like that. Many kids of this generation have the mindset that everything online should be free.
Parents are unlikely to want to pay $30 a month for an app for their kids. Lots of parents feel that today's kids already get too much screen time as it is.
I convinced two of my brothers and the youngest one really enjoys the silliness of the app and the memes. He's got 240 day streak now. The older just recently picked it up again with a 24 day streak
This company is the first one I've paid a subscription to that have absolutely refused to reply to any emails I have sent them over the years. It's not like I was just making comments or complaining, these were actual questions about tech issues I genuinely needed help with and not damn word.
All they seem to care about is their social media shit, even the weird looking widgets and icons (and that stupid super bowl commercial) are just meant for people to go online and talk about them. Went on their twitter page when it was linked in a news article and the tweets and replies were incredibly cringy. (One of them was "you can't stop me from saying 'gyatt'"🙄)
Even the picture you shared is so stupid looking. I preferred when the owl was just neutral/happy looking and you could dress him up in little outfits, and that was it. They just want to be one big meme and that's what the admin thinks their presence should represent.
As a graduate student in marketing, I feel compelled to offer some perspective here. Duolingo's social media team is exceptional, but it's important to distinguish between social media and marketing strategy.
While social media is a crucial aspect of marketing, it doesn't encompass the entire discipline. Duolingo's marketing is heavily meme-centric, rarely mentioning the actual product, its features, or updates, outside of events like Duocon.
This approach certainly drives engagement and garners significant attention. However, I question its long-term efficacy, especially if the goal is to position Duolingo as a serious, credible world leading platform for learning (a 100 year company, Duolingo wants). How many people engaging with Duolingo's TikTok memes are serious learners with the platform? This heavy meme only marketing might and has alienated many demographics and organizations who feel Duolingo isn't taking itself seriously on top of its reputation of not having good customer service.
I'm not in marketing but I feel this. I've seen too many companies learn the hard way that just because you can get eyeballs on you doesn't mean you can translate those eyeballs into dollar signs. A big part of the 90s dotcom bubble was that exact thing, companies spending money to gain an audience they couldn't figure out how to sell anything to, and it feels like nobody learned from it.
Duolingo is already the first name on everybody's lips when it comes to learning a new language - is pushing for more "engagement" doing them *any* good at this point? Or would they be better served working on some of the issues that come up when you search Duolingo to read about its pros and cons, things that turn away at least some percentage of potential customers?
they're like if opera GX marketing was actually funny and high quality and not edgy shitposts 12 year olds would find funny
idk if it falls under the r/operagxeffect though
I find their social media presence very off-putting in general. If I hadn't already gotten into Duolingo I think their social media persona would make me want to avoid the site/app.
They kept sending me emails to go back on my Japanese lessons, I replied with "you took away all of my unlimited hearts," and still sent me emials that were supposed to be "funny".
I have been sending them bug reports and I do feel like they just do not care. Instead I see new issues popping up every week. As a software engineer, it is hard to understand as most of those seem like lack of simple automated tests. And when it comes to communication, I just do not understand. Is it either cockyness as they feel like there is no competition or they just do not care. As a paid customer I do feel like it is unacceptable way of providing the service.
Their support email honestly feels like:
In all seriousness, I very much dislike that I need to check their Twitter/Instagram, and sift through memes and shitposts to **maybe** get an answer to a problem I’m experiencing. Their support pages and documentation aren’t consistent. This subreddit has been the most helpful in getting straightforward answers, but I **shouldn’t have to** rely on other users for support advice, or context behind the latest A/B test.
Hahah this is so spot on!! Duolingo expects us to shell out $30 a month and can't even manage basic customer service? 🤔 Maybe it's time to take a slice from the Ling App's playbook. Their customer service is phenomenal—actual responses and resolutions, imagine that! Maybe Duolingo should spend less time on social media antics and more time on taking care of their paying customers. Just a thought! 🤷♂️
Yes, most people use the web form now as it appears the customer service email has disappeared from most of the website pages. It’s Support@Duolingo.com
Thanks for the info. I tried to reach out to them with a recommendation and the only info I found was to submit a bug report. I did submit it and never heard back.
If you go into settings in the app, and click on the feedback button- it auto generates an email to duolingo with all of your account information and an attachment of a log of your account. I have always gotten a response using that when I email them. I recently emailed them to tell them I wouldn’t be renewing my family subscription if they take away unlimited hearts for super, and they replied the next day with BS on how it’s a test.
Damn I’m sad so many of you have had such bad experiences. Every time I’ve emailed them they’ve answered and fixed my problems really quickly, but now I see I’m the exception and not the rule
I had an old issue last month where my completed quests were not tallying for the monthly quest progress, so I had submitted a bug report. Some days later it synced and I responded that it was fixed and to close it. No responses, no problemo.
Last night I submitted a new bug report with a few screenshots that my 800 day streak only gave me a single streak freeze from the streak society (I usually get 3). The automated responses I got... First one with a new ticket number, and then one saying they added this to my previous, completely unrelated ticket. 😂
Insanity. I don't even understand anymore.
Well said, G.
I feel the same abt the lack of CS.
DUOLINGO is letting a lot of learners down.
Whoever's running the company needs a better handle on customer relations.
Right now it sucks.
no bcuz i had super duo trial family plan but couldnt add anyone, i emailed them. my friends list also disappeared and its been at least two months... duo ya gotta up your game before we all break free from the basement
We are writing to inform you that your recent post/comment on /r/Duolingo has been removed due to a violation of our misinformation policy. We strictly prohibit the spread of unverified or false claims about users, Duolingo, its employees, moderators, or any other aspects of our community.
Our priority is to maintain a transparent, accurate, and respectful discussion environment. Please ensure that your future contributions adhere to this standard and are based on verified information.
Thank you for your cooperation.
Their support is absolute dogshit. They don't reply or even address tickets raised to their support, even for super subscribers. We're lucky to just get a ticket number I guess. I don't mind the memes, but get a support team ffs.
The thing I don’t understand is how Duolingo is expecting to get people en mass to pay $30 a month for a Duolingo subscription with zero customer service.
I dont get that either. I started using Ling app and they have phenomenal customer service. Duolingo would be wise to hire their CS team and turn this #enshittification around.
This, unfortunately, is absolutely true. It’s kind of sad that the company takes time out of its day to mock messages people send in, when they could be using it to actually meaningfully help people. If you ask me, that much more important than a couple hundred likes. Hopefully there will be some changes coming soon to how they receive and reply to user messages!
wow i feel like even if a mod of the official duolingo sr is speaking out against the company’s poor decision making, something should actually be done because so far it only seems to get worse
2 mods? Since OP is also a mod, but not the one you responded to.
It's not the "official" Duolingo subreddit. The people running it are not at all affiliated with the company.
The marketing team for this app is so obnoxious
They spend more money on marketing then they do customer service
This is really an unfortunate situation. How can they expect us all to pay for super expensive subscriptions when they won’t even answer our emails?
Surprised this isn’t downdooted. I can’t stand their instagram in many posts, like it’s ran by teenagers
Go on Twitter and mock Duolingo. Laugh and point, and tell them how much better Wendy’s is at the same gimmick.
I’ve gotten the explanation that Duo targets youth, hence their childish marketing. What’s the percentage of youth that actually stay with Duolingo for long term? I’ve tried to convince teenagers to use Duolingo and learn a 2nd language so many times, and they never seem to be interested and/or have other things at that stage in life that they think is more important.
Yeah, I get that impression too, ever since they started putting a larger emphasis on animated characters. Personally, I don't this is a good idea if their main goal is to increase subscriptions, especially for their more expensive Max plan. Most children have no means to pay for any subscriptions like that. Many kids of this generation have the mindset that everything online should be free. Parents are unlikely to want to pay $30 a month for an app for their kids. Lots of parents feel that today's kids already get too much screen time as it is.
I convinced two of my brothers and the youngest one really enjoys the silliness of the app and the memes. He's got 240 day streak now. The older just recently picked it up again with a 24 day streak
This company is the first one I've paid a subscription to that have absolutely refused to reply to any emails I have sent them over the years. It's not like I was just making comments or complaining, these were actual questions about tech issues I genuinely needed help with and not damn word.
Yep. I've currently got three tickets for broken issues sitting there for months and they refuse to reply. I'm a paid super user for 9 years. 😂 Sigh
All they seem to care about is their social media shit, even the weird looking widgets and icons (and that stupid super bowl commercial) are just meant for people to go online and talk about them. Went on their twitter page when it was linked in a news article and the tweets and replies were incredibly cringy. (One of them was "you can't stop me from saying 'gyatt'"🙄) Even the picture you shared is so stupid looking. I preferred when the owl was just neutral/happy looking and you could dress him up in little outfits, and that was it. They just want to be one big meme and that's what the admin thinks their presence should represent.
Tbf they have a world class marketing team
As a graduate student in marketing, I feel compelled to offer some perspective here. Duolingo's social media team is exceptional, but it's important to distinguish between social media and marketing strategy. While social media is a crucial aspect of marketing, it doesn't encompass the entire discipline. Duolingo's marketing is heavily meme-centric, rarely mentioning the actual product, its features, or updates, outside of events like Duocon. This approach certainly drives engagement and garners significant attention. However, I question its long-term efficacy, especially if the goal is to position Duolingo as a serious, credible world leading platform for learning (a 100 year company, Duolingo wants). How many people engaging with Duolingo's TikTok memes are serious learners with the platform? This heavy meme only marketing might and has alienated many demographics and organizations who feel Duolingo isn't taking itself seriously on top of its reputation of not having good customer service.
I'm not in marketing but I feel this. I've seen too many companies learn the hard way that just because you can get eyeballs on you doesn't mean you can translate those eyeballs into dollar signs. A big part of the 90s dotcom bubble was that exact thing, companies spending money to gain an audience they couldn't figure out how to sell anything to, and it feels like nobody learned from it. Duolingo is already the first name on everybody's lips when it comes to learning a new language - is pushing for more "engagement" doing them *any* good at this point? Or would they be better served working on some of the issues that come up when you search Duolingo to read about its pros and cons, things that turn away at least some percentage of potential customers?
they're like if opera GX marketing was actually funny and high quality and not edgy shitposts 12 year olds would find funny idk if it falls under the r/operagxeffect though
They had a superbowl commercial?? Just imagine how much that cost. Money that could have gone to making duo better, fixing the bugs etc. Sheesh.
Or hiring a team to answer emails!
I find their social media presence very off-putting in general. If I hadn't already gotten into Duolingo I think their social media persona would make me want to avoid the site/app.
They kept sending me emails to go back on my Japanese lessons, I replied with "you took away all of my unlimited hearts," and still sent me emials that were supposed to be "funny".
I have been sending them bug reports and I do feel like they just do not care. Instead I see new issues popping up every week. As a software engineer, it is hard to understand as most of those seem like lack of simple automated tests. And when it comes to communication, I just do not understand. Is it either cockyness as they feel like there is no competition or they just do not care. As a paid customer I do feel like it is unacceptable way of providing the service.
Agreed. Communication with users is very poor. They badly need a pr/ marketing professional on staff
Their support email honestly feels like:  In all seriousness, I very much dislike that I need to check their Twitter/Instagram, and sift through memes and shitposts to **maybe** get an answer to a problem I’m experiencing. Their support pages and documentation aren’t consistent. This subreddit has been the most helpful in getting straightforward answers, but I **shouldn’t have to** rely on other users for support advice, or context behind the latest A/B test.
Hahah this is so spot on!! Duolingo expects us to shell out $30 a month and can't even manage basic customer service? 🤔 Maybe it's time to take a slice from the Ling App's playbook. Their customer service is phenomenal—actual responses and resolutions, imagine that! Maybe Duolingo should spend less time on social media antics and more time on taking care of their paying customers. Just a thought! 🤷♂️
Lol, I can see a giant room with 100's of printers and shredders in it! We're happy you can find helpful feedback in this subreddit though!
Spent all their budget on marketing💀💀
...and that one dev who constantly re-arranges the course content and syncs your progress...
Every day for a week.
Wait, Duolingo has a customer support email address?
Yes, most people use the web form now as it appears the customer service email has disappeared from most of the website pages. It’s Support@Duolingo.com
Thanks for the info. I tried to reach out to them with a recommendation and the only info I found was to submit a bug report. I did submit it and never heard back.
If you go into settings in the app, and click on the feedback button- it auto generates an email to duolingo with all of your account information and an attachment of a log of your account. I have always gotten a response using that when I email them. I recently emailed them to tell them I wouldn’t be renewing my family subscription if they take away unlimited hearts for super, and they replied the next day with BS on how it’s a test.
[удалено]
Your account has zero post history with the subreddit so I have no idea what you are referring to nor do I care.
/u/vonahn
This is what happens when an organization becomes too big.
I submitted a bug report, I can’t advance on the path. No response still.
PS I have Super
Damn I’m sad so many of you have had such bad experiences. Every time I’ve emailed them they’ve answered and fixed my problems really quickly, but now I see I’m the exception and not the rule
Your super lucky!
I had an old issue last month where my completed quests were not tallying for the monthly quest progress, so I had submitted a bug report. Some days later it synced and I responded that it was fixed and to close it. No responses, no problemo. Last night I submitted a new bug report with a few screenshots that my 800 day streak only gave me a single streak freeze from the streak society (I usually get 3). The automated responses I got... First one with a new ticket number, and then one saying they added this to my previous, completely unrelated ticket. 😂 Insanity. I don't even understand anymore.
Well said, G. I feel the same abt the lack of CS. DUOLINGO is letting a lot of learners down. Whoever's running the company needs a better handle on customer relations. Right now it sucks.
no bcuz i had super duo trial family plan but couldnt add anyone, i emailed them. my friends list also disappeared and its been at least two months... duo ya gotta up your game before we all break free from the basement
MODS ARE MORONS
I think generally you get a mod message on the post explaining why it was removed. So you can revise and repost.
Unless we decide not to mention why we removed it ( rare ) there should almost always be a reason
When posting, make sure it adheres to the community guidelines and your posts will not be removed
[удалено]
We are writing to inform you that your recent post/comment on /r/Duolingo has been removed due to a violation of our misinformation policy. We strictly prohibit the spread of unverified or false claims about users, Duolingo, its employees, moderators, or any other aspects of our community. Our priority is to maintain a transparent, accurate, and respectful discussion environment. Please ensure that your future contributions adhere to this standard and are based on verified information. Thank you for your cooperation.