Mystery shopper: Orange customer service, PAYG advice

Our mobile mystery shopper puts Orange’s customer service to the test and discovers how well an Orange rep answered our query on switching from pay-monthly to pay-as-you-go (PAYG).

For more details on our mystery shopping, the dream response to our customer service query, and a run down of how Orange compared to the competition, head over to our summary page.

Getting through to Orange’s customer service

Getting through Orange’s automated system wasn’t a lot of fun. Aside from being welcomed by the world’s most patronising recorded greeting, I was also presented with some rather vague and unhelpful menu options, none of which seemed quite right for my query. It was like playing a terrible game of 20 questions, it took far too long and I ran low on patience fast.

Eventually I went with the option that sounded almost relevant and I was shunted into the hold queue.

I was then treated to almost eight minutes of hold music and despite reassuring lyrics such as ‘Everything’s going to be alright’, I was beginning to lose faith.

Ryan to the rescue

I was eventually rescued by a rep (who here we will call Ryan), although he didn’t sound all that impressed to hear from me. I explained that I was currently on a contract with another company, but I was looking to cut back on my costs by switching to pay-as-you-go and asked if he could tell me what it was all about.

I’m not sure if Ryan audibly sighed before he started talking about it, I may just have imagined it, but he talked in a tired tone that suggested I was a troublesome pet that had just made an unsightly mess on the rug.

First of all he came out with the gem ‘Ok, you might want to have a look at the website,’ which didn’t fill me with confidence in his knowledge, but with a bit more prodding about what PAYG was about, he revealed that the minimum top-up for Orange pay as you go was £5 – although he was quick to point out that this was the same for all the networks. There was a level of assumption that I had the foggiest idea what ‘top-up’ actually was.

Dealing with the problem

It took a few more questions to find out exactly how to top-up, although prompting was required to discover if there was more than one way of topping-up and a quick glance at their website proved he hadn’t given me all the options, missing out ATMs for example. I was pleased to find out that I could – according to Ryan – buy top-ups ‘anywhere’, but I think he may have been exaggerating slightly (I might struggle to buy Orange top-ups in a Vodafone shop, for example).

When I asked about how likely I was to save money by switching to PAYG Ryan didn’t seem to really understand what I was asking – a running theme throughout the call that made me feel he wasn’t really paying that much attention. He then asked me if I was looking for a contract. Er, no…

After explaining my question again he wasn’t much more help. He told me it depends on how much I used the phone – which is true – but he didn’t actually ask me how much I used my phone. I was really starting to get the impression he had no interest in gaining me as a customer, and just wanted me to go away.

Eventually he directed me towards an Orange shop saying they would be able to help me – although he didn’t add the ‘because I obviously can’t’ that I was expecting – and we called it a day.

Orange customer service summary

Complicated menus and a lengthy hold made getting through a chore, and once I had, getting information out of Ryan made your average stone look like a haemophiliac. I eventually managed to get some of the basics but he didn’t offer anything else up and just seemed to want to get rid of me. I was left clueless as to whether switching to PAYG was right for me. A frustrating and disappointing experience.

For more details on our mystery shopping, the dream response to our customer service query, and a run down of how Orange compared to the competition, head over to our summary page.