I love them, then I hate them, then I love them again, then i hate them again then i love... (Orange Network)

Member Name: pania22

Product:	Orange Network
Date:	13/06/09 (138 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: When they get it right, they REALLY get it right.

Disadvantages: When they get it wrong they get it so badly wrong its a nightmare

Orange Mobile, a curious name, as is my relationship with the company, curious that is. I frequently alternate between despising the office spaced air that they breathe to wanting to rush to their offices and bestow flowers and wine on the lovely staff member I have just dealt with. Orange staff undertake SAS style training into the art of "good cop bad cop". You call to discuss an issue, deal with a member of staff who bewilders you beyond measure, so much so that you loose your phone and your sanity in a fog of tears and expletives. You ring back and encounter the most helpful, angelic person that has ever fallen from heaven and walked the earth. Your problem is solved in a jiffy, usually involving refunds and goodwill gestures.

I can see that there are many Orange reviews, but on a browse these seem to be amazingly varying in length and detail and seem to be very much "yeah they are fab" or "they are carp" (deliberate spelling error there peeps). My experience with orange varies so much that there will be a balanced view!!! I'm not going to do a chronological list of the problems that I have experienced as that would be boring and a little like jackanory. But in a nutshell the problems have been

· Changing my tariff without authorisation resulting in a £175 increase in my phone bill. The response being "we thought you'd enjoy a £5 reduction in your bill" erm, lets think about that for a second.... When that £5 reduction is half the minutes I previously had and results in a whopping bill, forgive me for not being overly excited at that!
The bill was refunded after a lengthy debate only for the same thing to happen again the next month... this was also refunded after a repeat of the good cop bad cop scenario. (Laura at Orange customer services I love you beyond measure. Amit at customer services, you are the Anti-Christ.)

· When my handset developed a fault I called to order a replacement. Let me at this time tell you that Orange insurance do a wonderful job they really do. I am the mobile phone killer. Handsets scream when I open the box and they see me peering back at them. I have dropped them... From my lap, from the car roof, down the toilet, in a pint of squash in a never to be relived, incredibly impressive, well aimed dive off the sofa arm and also on one more colourful occasion, in a tin of paint. So the £6.99 that orange mobile insurance costs me is worth its weight in gold to me and would come highly recommended.

I have had occasion to replace my handsets many times throughout my orange life and have without exception been impressed with the service.
Orange will charge you a delivery fee if the phone is damaged rather than faulty and also, a failed delivery charge, which is fair enough.

However on the last occasion the phone was delivered, as promised, on time, except the handset was the wrong one and completely useless to me. I rang, had a very minor moan and re-arranged delivery for the next day. I had a hospital appointment and arranged delivery for the morning between 9-1. the phone was delivered at 3, incurring me a hastily refunded £13 failed delivery charge. Once again showing my love, hate relationship with Orange. I love the insurance, would never be without it, but once in a while orange choose to remind me that not all is sunny in the Orange groves.

· That brings us to this morning along with a number of previous occasions. I get paid weekly which I hate and as a result of that I have to stagger my bills to co-inside with the money coming in. As a result of this on the odd occasion my phone bill gets a little close to the payment limit before I am able to pay it up in full. I called to pay my bill yesterday, 11.03am to be precise and received the automated message to say that the payment had gone through. I was awoken by a text message at 0620 this morning, I kid you not, by orange playing a little game with me and barring my phone, Just for a giggle you understand. Chortling merrily at their joke I called and expressed my enjoyment of such a game to a member of staff at orange. Who very promptly in light of my call lifted the bar on my handset!! He could not explain why it had happened and confirmed that my bill was clear, just another little effort to keep me on my toes!

Orange offer a whole minefield of different tariffs, all named curiously after animals and all offer a different package, related to the animal that it is named after, for example a panther is generally a silent creature. Therefore the package offers unlimited texts but restricted amount of calls, whereas a racoon is a chatty little animal and therefore the package offers higher call minutes but fewer texts. I tried to choose a tariff myself on line but I was confused as to which would be best for me. Talk it through with a member of sales staff who I have always found helpful and knowledgeable.

Orange have two absolutely massive bonuses that as yet are unique within the market place. Firstly is the "magic number". Orange allow you, once every six months to add an additional number to your magic numbers. This entitles you to make unlimited free calls and texts to these numbers and these are not deducted from your standard minutes or texts. Apparently this is only for animal tarriffs though a fact of which i was unaware.

Secondly is the Orange Wednesdays cinema deal, which I use frequently. The cinema has increased massively in cost since my younger days and a night out for two can frequently add up to over £35. Orange Wednesday allows 2 for one access to the cinema, which can lead to a saving of over £8 in some cases. Using this frequently can lead to the savings really adding up!

My overall opinion is that Orange are the best out of a bad bunch. I had a nightmare experience with 02. Would never even touch 3 and vodaphone won't touch me. Generally Orange are great and my custom with them remains assured. Their unique features and the service from the lovely staff members are certainly unique selling points within the mobile phone market. I just wish that they wouldn't find it necessary to keep me on my toes so often!!

orange loose 2 stars for the above problems, their hit and miss customer service and the endless games they play with my tariff and connection!

Summary: overall recommendation, just with reservations