Orange UK's chief exec gets shuffled

Bernard Ghillebaert, chief executive of Orange UK, is to step down from his post after a management shake-up by parent firm France Telecom. France Telecom announced today that Tom Alexander, a Brit from outside the group, will take over. Ghillebaert meanwhile will "be fulfilling a new group level role as executive vice …

[Nicolas Fanget]

Don't go there!

I'll grab this opportunity to warn everyone here how bad Orange can be, we've had no end of problems with our Livebox (more like Deadbox) and really bad connection to da interweb (1 week up, 2 weeks down on average, record being FOUR BLOODY WEEKS without connection) before being talked down to by incompetent and on occasion rude call centre people in India.

Now I'd understand it could be difficult to provide a good service in the Hebrides, but in London there is no excuse... They also buggered up our line somehow and the sound on the phone is horrible now.

Well they've lost good customers, me and all my relatives are moving to Tiscali, byebye Orange...

[Anonymous Coward]

moving from Orange to Tiscali?

Out of the frying pan... into the fire

[Nicolas Fanget]

@ Anonymous Coward + others

I will modestly defer to the accumulated knowledge of all IT gurus and BOFHs out there

</brown nosing>

Which ISP would you recommend in London?

[Steven Foster]

@Nicolas Fanget

Totally agree. I've been screwed by them on both mobile and internet.

Awful, awful company. Soon as my contract with them is up I'll give them the finger and never look back.

Future's shite.

[Vince]

the future's anyone-else...

ah Orange Orange Orange...

They started so well and over the post takeover years have screwed customers with lots of silly schemes, removal of valued services, hiked charges to silly levels and still insist on being slow to get new handsets to market.

I was a customer for years until they started doing that, then they lost my service for 22 days and that was me out.

Now I have a contract with them as a 2nd phone only because I'm using one of the promotions heavily for it's sheer cheapness (clearly designed so I'll use other money making stuff, but no luck with me), but as soon as that's over, i'm outta there.

[Tampa Dave]

Orange....??? This is a UK rag, right?

What's this about an orange?

I keep seeing ``orange'' ``orange'' ``orange''. You guys don't grow oranges! WE grow oranges!

Huh? yp/nis, anyone?? eh?? I think we need to sue.

And I don't NEED yo stinking Oranges!

BTW: be glad you ain't got ``OJ''! He'd kick Bobby's ass in a heartbeat.

David, Tampa, Florida.

God's own Orange grow'n land. (F*ck California!)

[John Warlow]

Orange has been pants ever since it was sold

When Orange was a UK company it was, in my view, the best of the four providers. Since it was sold it's gone down the pan. I can't wait till my contract expires so I can swap to another provider.

[pctechxp]

@Tampa Dave the redneck

Orange is a naff UK mobile phone (or cell phone as you yanks insist on calling them) service.

Well it started out as purely a mobile phone outfit but since being acquired it think thinks its a media company.

Oh and by the way, if you are going to post, use English as otherwise you make yourself look stupid (hence my title)

[Anonymous Coward]

Poor ole Orange

As an ex Orange Business Soln's employee, it is ABSOLUTELY the case that they have gone downhill since FT took them over.

Innovation stifled, long term investment reduced, no strategy to meet customer needs, ridiculous development cycles, a lot of staff in the wrong jobs for the wrong reasons.. A very sad end to a once great company (and it is the end - they will never get their mojo back)

If you want to understand how bad their ISP offering is, just ask how many employees take up the huge discounts and use it. Far better off paying a couple quid more for a small local company who will actually be interested in you.

I do have to say though, I think Orange get a raw deal as far as mobiles go. Cust support is still the best in my mind; although it ain't hard to be the best in that particular area...

[Shuntfield]

France Telecom - thats the root cause

I was an Orange Customer for around 12 years up until this year, and as previous comments say, they are awful now.

Ever since FT took them over, it has been nothing but a cash grab, charges for this charges for that, changing plans etc.

When Orange first started, it was an innovative company, 5 basic price plans with everything included, now its a wealth of complicated (expensive) plans with little of nothing included.

I was also fed up being treated as a second hand citizen when it came to upgrade time where new customers could get handsets but for upgrades they were always " out of stock"

The need to go back to the start and try again.