Is it advisable to create a document in Indesign, export to PDF, then export to Word?

Question

I've been asked to create several documents in Word format because the people who would be using them won't have access to InDesign or Acrobat Pro to edit and change them as needed.
Since Word is so quirky IMO and I don't know it as well as InDesign, I'd like to avoid creating the documents directly in it if at all possible.
My concern is that translating from ID to PDF, and then again to Word might create some strange anomalies in the resulting document, like maybe incorrect dingbat characters or maybe even non-printing characters, or items falling into Word's header or footer no-man's land incorrectly. I wonder if it might end up being just as time consuming?
Has anyone else tried this workflow? And did you have problems with it, or did it work well enough to justify doing it that way?
Thanks.

Answer 1

I agree with Peter. Depending on the nature of the document(s), your proposed InDesign > PDF > Word workflow could indeed cost you time rather than save it. A word processor just doesn't support the same levels of typographical detail that InDesign does, and Microsoft apps don't handle even features that appear common the same way that Adobe apps do, so by not working in the native Word environment, you're complicating the results; not simplifying the task. Word will feel just as quirky after you convert, and getting it all right will amount to rework, whereas you could have just done it once.