topic Re: The Plus Net website in Plusnet Feedback

The Plus Net website

pfgpowell287 — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 12:39:59 GMT

What is it with Plus Net? I’ve just come to the website to set up a new email address but since my last visit the website has been ‘redesigned’ and what was easy to find - ‘manage email’ - is nowhere to be seen. Why not?

I don’t doubt we will get some kind of PR waffle about the redesign, but the fact is it is even less helpful than it once was and what once was was even less helpful than it was before that.

There HAS been a slow but very, very steady decline in Plus Net, its services and its attitude towards us, the customers, over the past 10 to 15 years. It began when BT took over Plus Net and cancelled various aspects of customer service, e.g. the ability to ‘raise a ticket’. Now gone.

I will say that when you talk to the Plus Net bods in Yorkshire, they are always helpful but you do get the distinct impression they, too, are jacked off with how things are going and wish they could be more helpful but the system . . .

All I wanted to do today was to set up an email alias, which I have done several times before for various reasons. Before not it was simple, but now I’ll have to hunt high and low on the website to get to ‘email settings’ etc.

Why don’t they give more thought to the customer? I’ll tell you why: money. The attitude is ‘we’ve had your money, now eff off and don’t bother us.’ Well, I might just do that. The only thing which is holding me back is the hassle involved of transferring this and that.

F-wits.

Re: The Plus Net website

pfgpowell287 — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 12:43:01 GMT

For example, where does it say 'Email' now. Anyone care to point it out to me?

Re: The Plus Net website

bmc — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 12:50:19 GMT

@pfgpowell287

Can't offer advice on your specific problem but PlusNet have withdrawn e-mail for new customers and anyone who leaves (since April I believe). This may well include setting up new emails on exisiting accounts.

There are rumours PN eventually plan to withdraw email entirely.

Brian

Re: The Plus Net website

RobPN — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 13:00:10 GMT

@pfgpowell287

I just had a quick look and as I don't ever 'manage my mail' I can't say whether it's been moved or not, but from 'Manage Account' there's a ~~'Manage My Mail'~~ 'Manage my email' link, at least there is for me, YMMV.

https://www.plus.net/member-centre/account

Re: The Plus Net website

Gandalf — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 13:34:50 GMT

I’m not in the office today, but looking at my own account in the “Manage Account” tab, I see “Manage my email” under the “Email settings” heading.

Alternatively, a quick link is plus.net/email

Re: The Plus Net website

Longliner — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 16:06:07 GMT

@pfgpowell287 I agree with much of your post but long ago I decided that Plusnet's clunky email wasn't worth bothering about. You get what you pay for, and PN mail is free, so .... I use an independent provider (Fastmail) which enables customers to change BB provider without the hassle of moving email as well.

Re: The Plus Net website

Baldrick1 — Sat, 02 Jul 2022 17:08:49 GMT

Moderators Note

This topic has been moved from Everything Else

Re: The Plus Net website

Townman — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 09:15:10 GMT

@JonoH

The interface has indeed changed substantially ... and not for the better!

"Manage Account" displays a page "Manage you account" which is predominantly name, address, contact details etc.

Even with a very large screen, the useful stuff is hidden off-screen at the bottom, rather than clearly presented as it was previously. "Manage your Plusnet mailboxes" is all but hidden way in small text bottom right, along with the other really useful stuff (Manage your webspace / domains, referrals and marketing preferences).

I thought that "new interfaces" by definition would seek to deliver improvements and an easier to use experience - guess that must be an old fashioned paradigm?

Re: The Plus Net website

JonoH — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 13:27:18 GMT

any chance of a screenshot, mine looks much different.

Re: The Plus Net website

jab1 — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 13:39:26 GMT

@JonoH Are you suggesting the access to the Member Centre problem 'we' have been discussing is resolved - because it isn't for me?

Re: The Plus Net website

JonoH — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 14:19:42 GMT

No, but I did get an update from an engineer that they've found an issue and it should be resolved in the next release or so. I have access to an old account that I use for testing some basic things, but it appears I need something more modern with modern products on it.

Re: The Plus Net website

jab1 — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 14:25:02 GMT

OK, so sometime never then? Sorry, but that seems to be the way we are going, and helps me formulate a decision I am making my way towards.

Re: The Plus Net website

Townman — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 15:49:41 GMT

@JonoH

Screen grab as requested...

The above image is taken from 43" panel display at 80% magnification in full screen window. Manage Account clearly displays the account details, but other aspects of account management take some looking for in the "after thought" area of the lower part of the screen.

At 100% magnification in a more "normal" size window / screen nothing is immediately visible below the "See you upgrade deals" on the right.

There is a difference between something being there and it being readily discernible. The links to these aspects of managing an account have been made less visible / less prominent, such is quite unhelpful from a user experience perspective.

Re: The Plus Net website

Dan_the_Van — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 15:55:56 GMT

I see this

Even before the landing page facelift

Dan

Re: The Plus Net website

Townman — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 16:55:58 GMT

I wonder if that is another browser version / platform issue?

I see the same layout style (if not exactly identical) as my post above with...

MS Edge on WIn11
MS Edge on Win10
Google Chrome on Win10
Safari on iPhone 11 (iOS 15.5)
Safari on iPad mini 2 (iOS 12.5.5)
Silk on Amazon Fire HD10 tablet (OS 7.3.2.3)

What you posted is what I used to see ... and think is far clearer than the "improved" interface.

Re: The Plus Net website

jab1 — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 17:02:45 GMT

@Townman I would check for you on FireFox, but for some unintelligible reason, I am currently denied access - which JonoH is aware of.

Re: The Plus Net website

Dan_the_Van — Thu, 21 Jul 2022 17:16:28 GMT

Windows 11

Edge ver 103.0.1264.62

Google (64bit) ver 103.0.5060.134 are as I posted

Android 11 - Samsung tablet

Google 103.0.5060.129 as @Townman posted

DuckDuckGo version 5.130.0 as I posted

Android 12 - Pixel 5

As I posted but formatted for a phone

HTH

Dan

Re: The Plus Net website

SpendLessTime — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 10:04:14 GMT

@Townman Using Firefox latest on Windows 10 latest, I get the view shown by @Dan_the_Van , on the same machine with Chrome I get the new view of "Manage Your Account"

Re: The Plus Net website

Townman — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 10:29:44 GMT

@JonoH

The problem is not simple, points to browser specific very different rendering and questions to be examined about test regimes. I would hope that (at least cursory) testing is conducted in all of the following popular browser environments...

MS Edge
Google Chrome
Safari (MacOS and iOS)
Firefox
Silk

Re: The Plus Net website

JonoH — Mon, 25 Jul 2022 08:46:33 GMT

I've spoken to the product owner for Member Centre and here's a bit of an update for you all.

The Member Centre version that some of you are seeing are the results of split testing. Half will see the old version, and half the new.

We're measuring how likely someone is to need us after viewing each version and should the new one prove to be better in this regard it will roll to all, if not it will it will of course be rolled back.

That being said, the Product Owner did say that it doesn't look like it did when he signed it off, because of some banner sizes and so on, so He'll be looking into that today.