One definition of 'suck' = "To draw in, as a whirlpool; to swallow up."
My definition = this image here >
If you recall I recently blogged about problems with 'Contact us' and spam. I think this tale is one to beat that.
When I first moved to Spain from Germany one of the first things I did was to get a pre-paid sim. I was not sure how long I would be there before going off on another project. It was longer than I planned but that is another story.
The most readily available cards appeared to be those of Amena so I got one. Six years down the line and several countries (Pakistan & Australia) later we still have the same sim. The only difference is that I have more grey hair and Amena have been bought out. By... see picture above.
With my new project in the Netherlands I decided it might be a good idea to switch it to a contract and maybe get a roaming deal. NO problem... or so I thought.
As my Spanish is not that good. Since the takeover they have stopped the English, German, and Dutch help lines. Are they completely mad? How many tourists are there in Spain? Really good strategy to win customers is that decision. So I then ventured to the 'O' web site. Once again has someone in their marketing department forgotten how many foreigners live in Spain? There used to be German and English pages. Very helpful and informative. Now? Nada. Additionally I encountered the bane of every international traveling web surfer... localisation. If you have been there you know what I mean. You google "good restaurant in Riga" and get ... results in Latvian. Great. If you speak Latvian. And before you say 'but you can save your language preference in Google', I know. I flush out my internet cache every time I leave Firefox.
If you encounter this problem there is an easy solution (or two). First there is GMBMG which is simply 'Give me back my Google'. Second, there is the much simpler option of typing in the address bar instead of the search bar. After that it recognises your language...
Cutting a long story short I ended up at the international 'O' site. Now before you decide to try this I would suggest reading on...
Here are the 'Contact us' details for the 'UK Corporate Headquarters' of a major telecommunications company:
Orange UK Corporate Headquarters
50 George Street, London W1U 7DZ United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 870 376 8888 Fax: +44 (0) 207 984 1601
If you really want to be bothered, ring the number. Unless this has changed since my attempts you will get a "For pre-paid press 1, for contract press 2" or similar. Try pressing one. Great. You get the same message as above. Try pressing two and you need to have a UK orange phone number. Hey! I am an Orange customer here but my number (naturally) will not work.
So, a little detective work later, I arrive at the 'owners' of Orange, France Telecom. Once again, the 'Contact us' leads me around in circles but I do find a 'If you are an Orange customer in France here is the number for English speakers, and here is one for French speakers'. The English line is permanently 'busy' and the French one does not (is there an 'Agincourt' story in here somewhere?).
I give up on the phoning idea and decide to email them through their web page. DO NOT DO THIS unless you want to receive a bucket load of spam in your Inbox. Their web administrators have not done a good job at protecting their web site/s and there appears to be a spambot sitting right in the middle. Alternatively, it could be a twisted form of revenge for something else.
In the end I gave up completely and have now got a mobile with another company. More on that in a future post about moving to the Netherlands.
Other attempts at 'Contact us' with other company web sites have led me to the simple conclusion that most company web sites are not meant as a means to allow you to communicate with them. They are invariably there as a barrier and a means to showcase more product. I am still waiting replies from several technology company web sites where I have emailed their support line through their web pages regarding products I have purchased of theirs.
More of that anon. In the meantime, let me know of your experiences with 'Contact us' through web sites. Good and bad. I may even set up a "Top 10 worst of" like here or even better with this. Currently Orange are top of that list. Look after your customers for goodness sake. They pay your bills.
Curious that the national colour of the Netherlands is orange. At least it does not 'suck' like the colours of this web site. And what on earth do they mean by 'mild winters'?
50 George Street, London W1U 7DZ United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 870 376 8888 Fax: +44 (0) 207 984 1601
If you really want to be bothered, ring the number. Unless this has changed since my attempts you will get a "For pre-paid press 1, for contract press 2" or similar. Try pressing one. Great. You get the same message as above. Try pressing two and you need to have a UK orange phone number. Hey! I am an Orange customer here but my number (naturally) will not work.
So, a little detective work later, I arrive at the 'owners' of Orange, France Telecom. Once again, the 'Contact us' leads me around in circles but I do find a 'If you are an Orange customer in France here is the number for English speakers, and here is one for French speakers'. The English line is permanently 'busy' and the French one does not (is there an 'Agincourt' story in here somewhere?).
I give up on the phoning idea and decide to email them through their web page. DO NOT DO THIS unless you want to receive a bucket load of spam in your Inbox. Their web administrators have not done a good job at protecting their web site/s and there appears to be a spambot sitting right in the middle. Alternatively, it could be a twisted form of revenge for something else.
In the end I gave up completely and have now got a mobile with another company. More on that in a future post about moving to the Netherlands.
Other attempts at 'Contact us' with other company web sites have led me to the simple conclusion that most company web sites are not meant as a means to allow you to communicate with them. They are invariably there as a barrier and a means to showcase more product. I am still waiting replies from several technology company web sites where I have emailed their support line through their web pages regarding products I have purchased of theirs.
More of that anon. In the meantime, let me know of your experiences with 'Contact us' through web sites. Good and bad. I may even set up a "Top 10 worst of" like here or even better with this. Currently Orange are top of that list. Look after your customers for goodness sake. They pay your bills.
Curious that the national colour of the Netherlands is orange. At least it does not 'suck' like the colours of this web site. And what on earth do they mean by 'mild winters'?
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