Orange!

The past few weeks have been somewhat of a struggle since the primary communication portal we were counting on, internet and local phone service, still does not work. This leaves Shereen feeling isolated during the day, with only unsatisfactory trips to McDonalds for internet. Fortunately we now have a cell phone from work that we can use for local calls. At least we are now able to keep in touch. We had canceled both of our US cell phones, and once Shereen’s expired over a week ago, it was nearly impossible to get in contact during the day.

We signed up with Orange to provide internet/telephone service over 5 weeks ago. Normally it takes about 15 days to setup. We are discovering that customer service at the previous national France Telecom, but recently privatized Orange is abysmal. Which, unfortunately, seems to be typical of most French services. Multiple calls to Orange have produced responses that the line is established and should work. We have received the appropriate hardware in the mail (so named “Livebox” that despite its moniker plays dead). But our daily attempts to connect produce no more than the mocking “flashing 4 times per second” of the ADSL light indicating the line is not active.

Two weeks ago, with the assistance of the charming Monique, we called Orange to schedule a service call, with the earliest appointment being a week later, last Wednesday. We gritted our teeth and impatiently waited for the promised time of 8 AM to arrive. I stood at the gate to our apartment complex just to make sure there would be no issues with the intercom system (our name has not been added to the digital directory next to the apartment number yet). Well, no one came. Shereen used a pay phone to call a secretary at work, who called Orange. The answer came back that our appointment had not been confirmed. This was a shock, our hopes of connection were dashed. I had been with Monique when we scheduled the appointment and there was no mention of a confirmation. She was surprised as well after learning of this later.

After weighing the options (canceling Orange for a competitor, setting up a cable line) we decided that our best chance of establishing a connection would be to setup another service call with Orange. The earliest appointment is, once again, a week later on this Tuesday. So we wait and stew. My suspicion is that Orange has connected a neighboring apartment; that being the reason they believe the connection is active but we can’t get a signal. We shall see. I asked if threatening to cancel would produce a more timely response, but the locals indicated this would not change the situation.