Yoodo SOS 1.0
Hi everyone,
Many users lately complaining about the Yoodo app being down and it's really frustrating being in a bad situation where you need to the Internet or need to make a phone call and you want to buy plans but you can't.
I'm here to suggest a backup solution that might be doable or at least I hope it inspires Yoodo team improving Yoodo app experience for the users.
My suggestion is to enable users to buy plans with the old fashion USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) but without the need to remember such codes like *123# etc.
Let's call this solution Yoodo SOS 1.0.
Yoodo SOS is a totally offline tool that is built to load fully from the source code of Yoodo app on the user device.
This tool will give the user SOS prepaid plans to choose from, which will help them survive bad situation when they're in the middle of nowhere, have no Internet access or the Yoodo app is down.
When the user open this tool, it will use USSD to check in the background whether or not the user has money in their Yoodo wallet which it will use when they buy SOS plan. The USSD command will be sent to Yoodo and it will communicate with the backend system.
SOS plans as follows:
Option 1 at RM20: 2GB, 50 mins & 50 SMS
Option 2 at RM30: 5GB, 50 mins & 50 SMS
If the user has no enough money in their Yoodo wallet, then they will be presented with 2 options, 1) borrow from Yoodo, or, 2) borrow from another Yoodo user (must has enough money in their Yoodo wallet).
Once done, the user can check their SOS plan status in a separate SOS dashboard which can be accessed from the Yoodo app side menu, the status will also use USSD.
When the Yoodo app is back to normal, Yoodo SOS plan status should be transferred to the main dashboard instead of the SOS dashboard just like any plan the user bought and managed in the past.
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With USSD, the user only needs to have signal on their device to pay prepaid plans. To achieve user-friendliness, the USSD commands will be programmed to run in the background, the user will only choose the plan and confirm their choice and see action feedback.
This idea might or might not be practical but I hope it does inspire for a backup solution in order to improve the Yoodo app experience for all of us in Yoodo community.
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USSD actually connects to the USSD gateway server, which in turn connects to the main server.
If the server is down, all the channels, whether USSD, SMS subscription, IVR subscription, etc. will be down.
The right corrective preventive measure should be to ensure there is no single point of failure at the backend system.
In the current cloud computing era, this is pretty achievable with Kubernetes, and running the backend system in HA containers.
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I see. And that's why I said it might not be practical.
I have to admit, the terms used in your suggestion were new to me 😅, so after a quick reading on Kubernetes and High Availability (HA) containers, it seems that is what could improve Yoodo's backend system if not already used, where data in the containers is replicated to improve availability when one container (let's call it server) is down, a failover server is ready to be used or something like that, I'm sure the server team in Yoodo is already working on a solution and I wish them success in every step they take.
For anyone interested in reading about the importance of high availability backend services in business, read here: https://blog.layershift.com/why-high-availability-for-your-business/
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USSD code will not work if the main server is down, as all the payment and wallet credit would be stored in the main server database. But if there is a redundancy in the server setup, the server would not go down in the first place. The reason it goes down means that either there is no redundancy, or even the redundancy goes down together.
USSD code is definitely nice to have for those using Yoodo on featured phone. I still would love to have the USSD code because I do have a Yoodo line on a featured phone. But maybe it is just too much to ask for as USSD is a old technology. Totally can understand that Yoodo does not want to spend any resources to build old technology, that will only benefits small group of people. Unlike those old big brother telcos like Digi/Maxis/Celcom, they already have USSD gateway from the beginning.
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Perhaps Yoodo is just targeting smartphones, because even if a customer wants to get Yoodo SIM card to use it for calls only, they would still need to use Yoodo app to activate it and buy the voice plan. And I can imagine for example my mother using a classic or featured phone where I use my smartphone to buy minutes for her on Yoodo app, and one day those minutes are used up and I'm away or there with her but Yoodo app is down... nightmare.
In any telco it's normal that as a user you run out of credit and you need to reload, in telcos other than Yoodo there's the option of buying a reload from local store or online banking etc, but with Yoodo until now that's not an option because everything must be done through the app.
With the introduction of Yoodo Unlimited, it's great that you will stay connected as long as there's a good signal, however it's the data that's unlimited not the phone calls, and the data can be used to make calls whatsapp call and other similar apps but you need voice plan (minutes) to call landlines and numbers that use classic/featured phone like my mother's phone 😅. So if the app is down (aka. backend system failure) then you cannot buy minutes to call such numbers.
So, how about unlimited plan that offers unlimited calls 😆? That way, users will be less complaining when the app is down as long as they can use the internet and make phone calls.
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How about implementing an auto-reload option for data, minutes and sms?
Currently Yoodo has auto-renew for the monthly plan which is good but while the Yoodo app might be unavailable, a user might run out of minutes before the auto-renew of the plan happens.
Having an auto reload option just like TnG wallet, when the user data or minutes hit a low level, it should be reloaded automatically and they must add debit/credit card saved to their Yoodo account in order to use this option. The user can define the data, minutes and sms threshold amount when they want the auto reload to take place, and also define how much they want to reload.
Payment deduction for the auto-reload should prioritise Yoodo wallet, if no enough money there then the saved credit/debit card shall be used.
An SMS confirmation is good as a feedback whether the auto-reload succeeded or failed.
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Good reading and loads of new info. Thanks for making my brain explodes with yummilicious infomations.
For me, i would suggest alternative reload method too if the app is down. What i can think of is utilize yoodo main website to do reload payment besides relying solely on their app. Even telco like redone or onexox offers payment through their website which is good.
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JAN JUN KAI Having an alternative reload method as you suggested is good especially if you're helping a friend and you can use it to reload for them. And speaking of helping, Yoodo can add this feature in the Yoodo app as well, purchasing a plan for a Yoodo user from another Yoodo user account.
The problem is I used to think it's the app that is down, but the app is not the problem I guess. It's the server. So, as FOONG PENG PIAW said, if the server is down then I think the website for reloading will be down too. The app is just an interface that reflects back the data that it receives from the server and I think both the app and reloading website will be depending on same backend server system.
To summerize, the following should be considered by Yoodo:
1) Having improved and robust backend system to avoid or reduce downtime to the least amount possible.
2) Having a backup solution, when the above fails, that would enable users to buy prepaid plans.
2) Adding Auto-Reload option which will help users buy a booster when they're running low of data/mins/sms, and hopefully that option isn't down when the server is down.
3) Adding 'buy a plan for a friend' in Yoodo app because maybe this friend doesn't have money in PayPal, Boost, bank account or cards, a totally broke friend, that's just one scenario.
4) Adding account management page on Yoodo website that allows users to manage their accounts via web browser.
And I know of course that all the above would be analyzed thoroughly to be aligned well with Yoodo business plans and goals and might not be achieved soon but I hope for all users in Yoodo community to always enjoy seamless and uninterrupted experience.
Thanks everyone for chipping in. Let's all voice out our thoughts and suggestions, let's all work towards making Yoodo the BEST :)
#youdoitbetter
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Hi FAISAL SALEH NASSER ALASWER!
First of all, WOW! Well thought out post, good suggestions and good ideas. I'm very glad to see everyone also chipping in and passing along their thoughts as well. I'll admit even I learnt some new stuff so thank you!
Secondly, I'll make sure to relay this to our tech team, we appreciate the suggestion(s) and I'm sure our tech team will greatly appreciate your thoughts on the tech side of Yoodo. We understand that app as well as network outages aren't ideal and we're constantly looking for new solutions to keep being the best for you guys.
Thank you for the good read Faisal and everyone else!
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Hi ANIPPP :)
You're most welcome 😊. We are one big family and I'm really happy to help in anyway possible :)
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