topic Re: App on Mobile Phone in Plusnet Feedback

App on Mobile Phone

francklavie — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:19:27 GMT

I would like to have an app from PlusNet where I can follow billing and especially my minutes allocation and usage. I am a Tesco Mobile user and their app is great, perhaps PlusNet could look at it and do something similar.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Chris — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:22:47 GMT

It's something we'd really like to do but justifying it against the other items in the roadmap isn't easy. Ultimately you shouldn't need an app as the website should be simple enough to navigate and get this information even on a mobile device.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Strat — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:25:26 GMT

There used to be an Android one around written by a customer but I guess it was withdrawn.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

francklavie — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 12:30:19 GMT

Thanks for this info. Surely PlusNet should be happy that someone else is doing it for them.
Chris, reading your replies it seems that either it's "unfortunate" or "not easy", is there anything else that PlusNet is willing to do, e.g. listening to their customers and consumers? Surely these blogs and polls are used for marketing research purposes or are they stopped at the front line of customer service? Let's put a bit of positivity whilst people are still happy to use your service.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Chris — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 14:08:48 GMT

Please don't feel like I'm dismissing the idea, it really is something that we would like to do. We do have to balance out nice to have things such as an app against those that we need.
We do listen and feedback from these forums is passed on internally for review.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Townman — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 16:05:16 GMT

All of the information is already available in the user portal.
All smart phones are capable of accessing the user portal.
Why spend time and money producing a new item of technology which requires separate development, testing, release, maintenance and support when there is more than enough ESSENTAIL systems work waiting to be done?
There is ZERO benefit to delivering such facilities. The focus needs to be on...
Reducing the reasons to contact the support centres, which means fixing...

BTw / BTOR
Order progress issues / communications
BTOR Appointment failures
Support ticket response times - both actual and perceived
Billing system
On-line phone fault reporting
Fixing known issues in the infrastructure - especially BNGs / DNS
Improving the service offering
IPv6
Secure email
Get web services back to where they were - well you have to have a dream!
Alternative routers
Work is progressing in some of the above, what is not needed at present is "nice to have" bells and whistles which actually deliver nothing new.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

gswindale — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 20:43:13 GMT

Quote from: Townman
All of the information is already available in the user portal.
All smart phones are capable of accessing the user portal.

However the portal is not easy to use on a smart phone.
In fact; I don't think the portal has changed at all in the time I've been with PN!
We've had "niceties" such as the community site (and forum) being created away from the old forum; but a lot of the back-office stuff and user interfaces seem stuck in the late 90s early 00s and really could do with being updated.
A revamped portal with property accessibility should be up there on the "to-do" list.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 20:57:39 GMT

Quote from: geofftswin
In fact; I don't think the portal has changed at all in the time I've been with PN!

I remember when I signed up in 1999, the website looked like this -

There even used to be a kids zone for playing little online games !

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Anonymous — Tue, 16 Dec 2014 21:24:44 GMT

Amazingly I just discovered that the old "F9 Kids" part of the "Force9" website still exists ! - http://kids.f9.net.uk/

Re: App on Mobile Phone

francklavie — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 12:27:48 GMT

It's interesting to read that for some people that being stuck in the 20th century works for them. Although I am not one of these techy guys and all singing and dancing on new technology and the latest iphones etc. (I have a Samsung Galaxy S3) I would still consider that having an app is an advantage e.g. can be used as a tool for marketing and could increase the customer base for example brining more young adults who are much in touch with technology and new developments. If you look just for the sake of moving the discussion forward at the Tesco Mobile app you will see what I mean by it.
The website is old fashioned, difficult to use on the mobile phone and too many clicks to get the information one wants. If I could keep track of my spending by being able to check easily and in a flash how much more money I am spending by calling international numbers then it would be great.
The other thought was that PlusNet sends a text to alert their customers for reaching their allocated usage of minutes. I am on Anytime International 300 and this month my bill is over £50 just for the phone calls, instead of the normal £8 so I am sure you can appreciate where I am coming from.
Thanks for participating in this forum with technological jargon which means nothing to me and using capital letters for shouting your disapproval. Please be nice! I am only a new middle aged customer with PlusNet.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

PeterLoftus — Wed, 17 Dec 2014 14:06:10 GMT

@francklavie welcome to the forums
11 posts and you've decided what's needing fixing. Looking at the posts above I see only agreement with you and the heavy types certainly isn't shouting
You will find this subject has been discussed at length in other posts

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Pettitto — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:24:05 GMT

I think, personally, that we'd be far better off making the whole site mobile/tablet friendly so it works regardless of the device you're using, like the Sales page does at the moment. That way you don't have to download a different app on your phone/tablet and the other devices you might have.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Townman — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 19:45:09 GMT

Hi Chris,
That indeed would be a better solution, negating the need to go back to quite old fashioned thick-client server architecture solutions which is what these mobile apps really are. Technology which pre-dates websites and browsers.
One client side application (the web browser) being able to access a multitude of services / supplier's systems is a much lighter foot print on the mobile device than the multitude of special bespoke single use apps many would advocate.
To be honest, I do not see the issue being complained about here. Yesterday I looked at the portal on my iPhone (which unlike some mobile platforms makes very clear to the server that it is a mobile device) and was therefore presented with a smart "mobile friendly" sales page, which seems to meet one of the claimed benefits of a specific app (its ability to promote the vendor's service). Click on the three white bars and select the "Member Centre" option. Enter username and password and from the next screen click "View my phone bill" which immediately displays all of my current period phone calls. This seems to deliver exactly what is being asked for, without fuss and more importantly not inventing more old fashioned technology.
...that said "fashion" should NEVER be the judgement criteria for changing IT. The only criteria justifying change is "Does it do what it is supposed / needs to do correctly?". If it functions correctly, move on to the next thing which actually needs correction, or essential functional enhancement.
Following fashion (oh don't do it that way, its 'oldfashioned') can cost substantial amounts of money - I have seen changes to Government business systems cost more than ten times what they needed to do because the department concerned chose to "follow fashion" and develop in new technologies, rather than enhance the existing system.
As ever Chris, there is great wisdom in your thinking!
Kevin

Re: App on Mobile Phone

Anotherone — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 21:35:55 GMT

Quote from: Strat
There used to be an Android one around written by a customer but I guess it was withdrawn.

I thought I'd seen that (or reference to it) somewhere recently, but can't remember where atm. If I recall where, I'll post back.

Re: App on Mobile Phone

reader — Fri, 19 Dec 2014 06:59:31 GMT

I dont understand why there is always the need for an "app"
Most websites including our account pages are accessed via a bookmark in a browser. Why should a smartphone be any different. Sign into to PlusNet account and select the option to create a bookmark on the homepage and bingo no app storage on your phone. How is this so different?