Facing adversity
I don't know how I'd cope under real life-threatening challenge, suffering and pressure, as I have been brought to my knees by the French after just three weeks. Remember I told you that we were waiting for a phone call about our strimmer? That's right, we're still waiting. We used it once, it went back to M. Bricolage in the first week of ownership. It cost a lot. We still don't have it back. Ten days so far.
But this wait pales in comparison to the 'Orange Ordeal'. We opened our account on 24th June. We have paid our first monthly installment. We have a SIM for our mobile phone that brings with it about three minutes of internet. No land line, no broadband, no TV. Despite being told by Orange repeatedly that it is all up and running... We even received a text on Saturday telling us that the engineers had visited us and we were ready to go! No. We can never be ready to go while the cable is coiled up, hanging from a pole, 200 metres from our house. We have now been told that an engineer will do the job on 20th July. 20th July! No, it is not possible to get there before then. We decided to visit the Orange shop in Tulle, as we have spent HOURS hanging on the line waiting for Orange Customer Service to treat us with contempt. Do you know, this morning, the engineer on the phone said, 'Well, you should have asked for an engineer right at the beginning. You have not asked until now!' I told him that it was all I ever spoke about during my hours on the phone to them. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Orange tend to insist that I am mistaken.
Anyway, the Orange shop... we found Julien. Even though he couldn't bring forward the engineer's appointment, and he did try, he said he understood our frustration, and would be there if things continued to go wrong for us.
So, after three weeks, we still have nothing Orange... apart from a SIM card. And our skin. It's hot here!
There is more. Today we drove 34 miles to have our windscreen replaced by French Autoglass. I've paid my excess to them already. As we pulled up on their forecourt, they sent us a text to say the windscreen wasn't there yet. We went in to receive a shrug. We drove 34 miles home. He said to come back on Wednesday at 3pm.
On my knees...
But this wait pales in comparison to the 'Orange Ordeal'. We opened our account on 24th June. We have paid our first monthly installment. We have a SIM for our mobile phone that brings with it about three minutes of internet. No land line, no broadband, no TV. Despite being told by Orange repeatedly that it is all up and running... We even received a text on Saturday telling us that the engineers had visited us and we were ready to go! No. We can never be ready to go while the cable is coiled up, hanging from a pole, 200 metres from our house. We have now been told that an engineer will do the job on 20th July. 20th July! No, it is not possible to get there before then. We decided to visit the Orange shop in Tulle, as we have spent HOURS hanging on the line waiting for Orange Customer Service to treat us with contempt. Do you know, this morning, the engineer on the phone said, 'Well, you should have asked for an engineer right at the beginning. You have not asked until now!' I told him that it was all I ever spoke about during my hours on the phone to them. Despite all evidence to the contrary, Orange tend to insist that I am mistaken.
Anyway, the Orange shop... we found Julien. Even though he couldn't bring forward the engineer's appointment, and he did try, he said he understood our frustration, and would be there if things continued to go wrong for us.
So, after three weeks, we still have nothing Orange... apart from a SIM card. And our skin. It's hot here!
There is more. Today we drove 34 miles to have our windscreen replaced by French Autoglass. I've paid my excess to them already. As we pulled up on their forecourt, they sent us a text to say the windscreen wasn't there yet. We went in to receive a shrug. We drove 34 miles home. He said to come back on Wednesday at 3pm.
On my knees...
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