Disable License Request Features
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It's been described as the Smartsheet Pyramid Scheme... which I thought was REALLY funny... I was JUST talking with a group of my users yesterday - they were all wanting licenses - which they don't need... and I hate having to explain that!
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Thanks for posting this idea @msharpy !! Would up vote 100 times if I could.
For anyone in the Mobilizer group, I have a thread on the topic if you want to chime in (linked below)
@Smartsheet Product Managers (or whoever monitors these ideas)-- please check out my post and consider the scope of impact this is having across your users. I know the marketing intent was to probably boost your accounts, but it's hurtful not helpful.
Can we turn off the "upgrade" banner on my unlicensed user accounts? — Smartsheet Community
Thank you for prioritizing it accordingly!
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YES! Please remove it! The only "loophole" I've found is how you as a system admin can control where they go once they click that button. However that is NOT the right way to go about this. I agree 100% with everything that has been said here and in the mobilizer community page. It creates confusion and makes unlicensed users feel as though they "need" a license. We have to give WAY too many licenses to folks that never create sheets, or do other things that require a license.
Also, as someone that does't have the banner but sees it when helping my colleagues, it looks very gimmicky. It's as if it's trying to be shoved in the user's face 24/7 that they are on a "free version" and they need to "pay to unlock" more levels or something.
Stacy Gumula
Associate Director | Texas Tech University | https://www.linkedin.com/in/stacygumula/
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Agree with the other comments on here, this banner needs to be removed
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The worst part of all this, is for users who are working with smaller monitors or laptops (under 21"), as it makes it very difficult to see their sheets when this banner takes up a good 1/2" of visible space on the site. I have to tell the users all the time, stay around 80% View Size (zoom views), then depending on their browser settings, use the FULL SCREEN on both the Browser (F11) and the program (CTRL + F1) to remove the extra BS so they can focus on the content more.
Although this is a quick solution, this shouldn't have to be their daily checklist before starting in the program all so that Smartsheets can push their agenda to users who have no power to make the decisions necessary to remove it. It only causes more work for us SA's who are already fighting other battles that are unnecessary on this program.
Please either remove it for paid accounts, or put the option in the Admin section to tick it off.....
Julie Becker ☠️
Construction Project Engineer / Coordinator & Software Program Oversight Mgr. 😉
Successful People Are Not Gifted; They Just Work Hard, Then Succeed On Purpose‼️
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On multiple occasions, I've sent a link to a Smartsheet workspace or sheet only to get an email back with an attached Excel containing the updates because the user "saw a banner notification that they didn't have the ability to edit the live sheet" as they were not a licensed user. I then have to review their email or Excel and manually update Smartsheet. Pre-banner, I loved looping in new users because they got to test out the application and eventually wanted a license to create their own sheets/workflows. It seems like the banner has the opposite impact for users unfamiliar with Smartsheet and it's causing my team more work.
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I read through the 14 months worth of posts, several of which have been upvoted multiple times, on this topic I find that I am perplexed. To receive a request and send a reply every time a new employee is onboarded or added to a new group is time consuming. The end-user also gets lost/frustrated not understanding they do not "NEED" a license just to "manage" or work in a sheet. I understand the underlying "opportunity" for SmartSheet, but that said, I agree this should be an option in Admin Center.
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Agreed, we have an Enterprise Account and are in regular contact with our Smartsheet Account representative to ensure we have the licenses needed to support effective utilization of this tool. Posting a marketing message to our unlicensed users causes confusion for users and a lack of trust amongst administrators and executives.
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Yes, @John Bray , it really seems Smartsheet isn't listening to us on this one. I'm sure there are similar threads going way back beyond 14 months. It's irritated me, and I've voiced that, for over a decade.
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I agree with the comments on this subject.
Not only does this marketing practice degrade the appeared quality of the SmartSheet product. It is seen by most users as a sign of a cheap or low-grade product that does not have customer interests at its heart. In fact, our users think that for a software company to resort to such desperate marketing tactics there must be something wrong with their leadership - e.g.: "a company trying to "trick" unwary users into thinking that they need to purchase a license for product functionality that we already $ub$cribe to and have". Our users think that is a self-destructive form a business practices. This is now the #1 thing that all users and customers know SmartSheet for representing.
I think that Budweiser has recently proven beyond a shadow of a doubt, just how unwise it is for a customer-based business to listen to moronic Marketing people and their unsound, hair-brained ideas.
Let's do a simple analysis.
1) Ignore the voice of your customers and do something that your customers overwhelmingly hate and despise your company for?
2) Listen to the voice of your customers and do things that keep them loyal? E.g.: listen to those "people" who influence the purchasing, payment, and recommendation of your product.
I vote for #2. Anyone else?
This statement is very true among our SmartSheet user-base, "Posting a marketing message to our unlicensed users causes confusion for users and a lack of trust amongst administrators and executives."
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Agreed. Smartsheet spams us constantly. To the point that I've blocked any and all non-system mechanisms for sending emails. It's inexcusible.
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I have to agree with the many comments on this thread regarding the unnecessary Upgrade License banner that appears for unlicensed users. The banner is a constant cause of questions from users who don't need or have that control in our Enterprise Account. It would save Smartsheet System Admins from a lot of unnecessary explanations if this could be turned off using an Admin Center setting.
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Please provide the option to disable this button, or have it redirect to a page we can customize with information about how to properly request a license at our org. We just end up declining everyone and emailing them to submit a ticket. We would never grant licenses through upgrade requests.
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SMARTSHEET TEAM - Please please please give enterprise account admins the ability to disable the "Request License" feature. This feature and all the trouble it causes our organization is making our company wish we went with a different solution provider. I understand this is a feature that helps drive revenue for you, but it is a feature that crushes productivity for those of us that are dealing with the mess it causes our organization. It's not just an administrative tax, it is causing internal person-to-person relationship issues when we need to deny license requests and people get emotional about it (even though these individuals truly do not require a full license for their job function). In addition, even after we deny the license request, the 30 day trial stays active, which is DOUBLE bad. Please hear and recognize the voices in this community thread.
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Wow this thread was refreshing to find. We have been with SS now for 3+ years. I remember complaining about this to our 'customer care rep' shortly after we implemented it... and then filling out one of the feedback form to remove this banner. (pre this wonderful open request forum) I am laughing (in shared pain) reading some of these posts. I really can't add anything more than has been said. But what the heck, one more data point. And it renewed my need to vent again.
We are a small AEC firm. We spend more than a fair bit of $ on the enterprise version. Sure, we are not Apple or Amazon, so may not mean much to SS. But it's a lot to us. We simply could not afford to use this platform if we provided a license to all the users who requested one. Sorry. Wish we could. I felt like we did the right thing by NOT going with other platforms that were less customizable and licensed per user. Instead, we went enterprise, created what I think is a highly customized platform specific to our needs. My heart sank after we implemented the program to our firm, and I saw what the staff was seeing in the banner... because I instantly knew this small thing was going to be an issue. I always had a license setting it up, so had no idea.
Issues:
- HR issues... "why can't I get a license?" "Why do they have a license?"
- Time suck issues dealing with requests that will not be granted (See HR issues)
- Loss of credibility with our staff (as noted by others above)
- The software is bootlegged
- Our company is cheap
- Our company is poor
- Management is stupid, there are better software options out there
- Belief that the software doesn't 'work right'... So many times I have shown someone how to do something in SS, or reviewed a process in a managers meeting, only to hear "Maybe it works that way for YOU.. but I don't have a license." But what do you know... it DOES work that way for them to... because they don't need a license.
- Bad impressions with our clients - NONE of our project managers have (or need) a license. (That would require another 40 licenses) In meetings with our clients, they are pulling up project schedules, dashboards, etc in front of clients, all nicely branded with the inferiority banner.
- Lack of engagement with Smartsheet due to all the above
- The banners are misleading
So... they are not a part of our team??? And when once isn't enough... you need to put in two links?
What is the purpose of enterprise over business? Why, in an enterprise situation would I want users to be able to create any file they want, share it with whoever they want? Honestly... have you ever looked at a network drive before. I swear that a project folder on our network has a shelf life of 2 years before it's out of control with everyone's pet folders and special files. How do you manage documents and information this way? We are trying to implement a consistent platform... why would I want a user to create alternative templates, then sharing it around with other staff? We have enough trouble trying to regulate CAD standards and file management as it is...
In an enterprise solution like ours, using control center, where the templates and sheets are 'locked down' tight so that even editors can't change them, and sharing privileges are restricted... what benefit would having a license give them? They won't be able to change any of the sheets we have provided for them... they will only be able to make 'new things'.
Reading this, I likely come across as a grade A jerk micromanager who hates innovation... but here is the thing... I have a pool of 5 licenses that I try to rotate. I BEG creative team members to take a license and help innovate. Help us improve. Create new things... new processes, share it with the team, see what we can adapt in. But they are (rightly) to busy doing their actual job instead of developing cool data management systems. Giving out licenses and the freedom that comes with licenses could cause more trouble in some enterprise situations.
Sigh... I try to see the best in a situation. We are a for profit business too. I understand the intent. But keep this in mind... as noted by the many users here, there is a downside. You potentially have companies full of employees who view SS as inferior because of that banner. Be creative... find another way to upsell besides trying to embarrass companies into buying more licenses.
Suggestions, if you MUST have the banner:
- Have the upgrade request come up when they try to do something that needs a license (not my favorite) as mentioned by @Matthew L
- Put the banner on their home page only, or some kind of temporary splash screen (also not my favorite)
- But maybe also include the message that they ARE a part of an enterprise team, and that the license may not be necessary for this enterprise
Thanks
