EditGrid, the online spread­sheet app that mimics Excel in format and function­ality, sent me a survey a week ago through email. The survey sought my thoughts on the following questions:

1. Use Cases: What are you using EditGrid for?
2. Features: What new features do you desire the most?
3. Usability: How can we present our features better to you and help you work more efficiently? We welcome your sugges­tions, from small refine­ments to major improvements.

I wanted to keep my answers concise, since I figured they were going to get a lot of responses. I wrote back:

1. I’m testing out EditGrid with personal spread­sheets and blogging about it (neilmcintyre.ca)
2. Just make it more responsive and more like Excel
3. Present the features as in Excel — I guess this entails copying their new format (Office 2007)

Respon­siveness would be at the top of the list, as I found it to be lagging a bit compared to Google Spread­sheets. Some specific features I use in Excel (reflex­ively) are still missing and I do miss them when I notice, but it’s the lag that kills the experience.

Reading over my response now, a few days later, I’m wondering whether point #3 is really all that helpful. Office 2007 doesn’t have that ubiquity just yet that 2003 enjoys, and the difference in interface is shocking. Copying the ribbon at this point may not be the best plan.

That being said, they’re on the right track.

Sending out a survey to existing customers is a great way to solicit feedback. Smart, proactive accounting firms are probably already doing this with their client base, and using the comments and sugges­tions to adjust their service offerings accordingly.