[miffed]

OK , so I have just got used to the idea that talking to Orange CS is now an almost identical experience as talking to Three CS ....

But now , I see a stupid advert with a funny woman , colourful flowers and loads of hippy rubbish I can't be bothered to remember & assume it is an advert for Three ... BUT NO ! ... it is an advert for Three "wannabe's" , Orange

What IS going on ? surely no one would deliberately try to emulate Three ..... surely not ?

[Hands0n]

Orange lost the plot the day France Telecom took it over. We cannot expect a huge European ex-PTT to be consumer-focussed. The dynaminism that Orange had will have been crushed out of existence in the acquisition and subsequent assimilation processes. It could be that 3 will take a spot over Orange in terms of satisfaction with their CS.

Just goes to show that the Indian Call Centre just does not work anywhere else but on the balance sheet.

[maxspank]

Didn't Hutchinson used to own Orange? Maybe France Telecom want to give it back.

[3GScottishUser]

I have been a customer of both and to suggest Orange is anything like 3 is ridiculous.

Orange CS is still mainly based in NE England and the folks there are pretty helpful when needed. I have been back on Orange for about a year on contract and found the service pretty flawless. My Broadband, IP Phone and mobile services are fine and good value and when they needed to assist they did so efficiently.

Would I consider 3 again... I don't think so.... simply because if you read some of the consumer review sites they still have a flaky network that drops basic voice calls and customer service that would be suited to a state utility in the former Soviet Union. Thats probably why they can't attract customers on any other basis but price and even then they are not attracting that many as the dealers no longer want to know them.

[getti]

Would I consider 3 again... I don't think so....

think?..... there is hope then lol

*only messing*

[Hands0n]

............and even then they are not attracting that many as the dealers no longer want to know them.

Just to digress for a moment and respond to the point raised;

Its not so much that the dealers don't want to know them but that 3 have become much more aggressive at weeding out the dealers who have been playing games with their tariffs. Actively coaching customers to downgrade after the initial period and suchlike have actually hurt 3 financially. No business could stand that kind of work going on while trying to build a business. And of course, it could be argued, that 3 merely reaped what they sowed. Nevertheless, they are taking action now and it has inevitably upset the dealer community.

I am currently working on an IT contract with an outfit that also deals in mobile business and the trade rags and inside info on the goings on are remarkable. The dealer network, in the case of 3, were definitely hell-bent on slaughtering that particular golden goose! Exploitative in the extreme.

Dealers aside, 3's biggest headache is their Mumbai Customer Services outfit. It sucks like a very big sucky thing, and in that I am being unseasonably kind! It is dreadful in the extreme. There are not many Customers who are going to put up with that, and it has shown in the record attrition that 3 have faced since they started up. Mumbai have failed them utterly - but for some reason they just don't seem to get it. I fear that as much resource 3 put into the front end the Mumbians are going to sabotage at the back end. Sales in, disgruntled Customers out.

Now back on topic - Orange used to be the measure of Customer Services. But I fear this is no more, consigned to the bin of history. My own experiences as a former Customer and nowadays as someone helping out a friend who has their services reveals an Orange that is weak. Maybe not as weak as 3, but heading in that particular direction.

For sure, Orange's UK CS are okay - and I could not go better than that. But when you hit their Indian off-shore CS team the echoes of 3 ring out loud and clear. This is another disenfranchised CS operation that relies entirely on scripts to do their daily business. They have no empowerment to make Customer-satisfying decisions, and seem not to have the lines of communication to adequately refer your case to the UK [and empowered] staff.

If Orange's plans are to off-shore the entire CS from the UK they will fall into the same bearpit that 3 have been in since day one of their existence.

[Ben]

I just want to throw my hat in -

I've been with Orange for a pretty long time now, and was with them through the 3G trials period. My first handset on contract was the 8310, but before that I was on PAYG. I have been on Orange constantly.

Customer Services were better several years ago, IMHO. Orange CS really was the benchmark. Not to mention the free itemised billing, their SMS alerts of missed calls and their superb website (it's all relative) - all things that put Orange front and centre. They were the force to be reckoned with.

Orange CS is still ok today. They've adjusted various parts of it for the worse (was it mostly PAYG stuff that has been offshored?), and I've personally never had much luck with retentions or getting anything done. I remember when I had a big data charge for using Orange TV when it first launched. Did they sort that out? No. I haven't had a postive Orange CS experience since then - the support staff just seem so powerless. Even with a local transmitter fault I had to first let the CS rep lie about what handset I was using (computer says no) and then she said it wouldn't be investigated anyway unless other complaints were received. Ineffective :(

That Orange have lost their identity to the extent that they have bugs me, of course it does, but I'm not totally surprised. It's a company like any other and, with the exception of those few magical companies out there, that 'new' energy and optimism is eventually absorbed by the reality of being just another huge corporation.

Technically, Orange and Three must surely share vague similarities given who their founders were. They both use a network of microwave-linked masts do they not? Also, in hindsight, the pace of Three's rollout was quite remarkable, and their persistence in the market today is nothing short of amazing when you consider the technical hurdles they've had to jump.

Fortunately for Orange, their transformation into a total communications services provider gives them mass market appeal and a customer base that is less likely to churn. They're more like another Sky now in my eyes than just a mobile phone network. They're in a very strong position to be one of the key 'new utilities' going forward, and I doubt their CS operation will hamper this significantly.

[stuartturrell]

I have been a customer of both and to suggest Orange is anything like 3 is ridiculous.

Orange CS is still mainly based in NE England and the folks there are pretty helpful when needed. I have been back on Orange for about a year on contract and found the service pretty flawless. My Broadband, IP Phone and mobile services are fine and good value and when they needed to assist they did so efficiently.

Would I consider 3 again... I don't think so.... simply because if you read some of the consumer review sites they still have a flaky network that drops basic voice calls and customer service that would be suited to a state utility in the former Soviet Union. Thats probably why they can't attract customers on any other basis but price and even then they are not attracting that many as the dealers no longer want to know them.

With you here! everything i have spoken to orange about over the phone has been answered by UK call centre's and been answered there and then!
Only thing i don't like about orange is the itemimised billing being charged, but as i get it free as i get my bills from the net, i agree with it! (It saves paper people!)
Get your orange bills off the net for free, i don't even get a paper bill anymore, whats the point if i just downlaod my bill the day it is available!?!!?!