So my flatmate left over the weekend and before doing so he got the Phone/Internet/TV cut off and due to a stuff up on my part I can't join Telstra for another couple of years (long story). So I haven't had the Internet for a week or so nor have I had a phone (not that that gets used much anyway).
So I took the plunge and tried Orcon and ended up speaking to a chap by the name of Stefan. The whole process was smooth, quick, and helpful. All my questions were answered and although for some reason the NZMAC promo code didn't work he organised to get it added to my account anyway.
The product knowledge was awesome and when I enquired about the modem being used on my own Airport Extreme he confirmed it wasn't a problem and even confirmed they had Mac support. In fact every question I had Stefan was able to answer and the only things he had to put me on hold for was the promo code and to double check on the services that were available in my area.
The whole experience took around 20 minutes and led me to question why other ISPs aren't like this. Even Telstra can be a pain with their Helpdesk like for instance the time I had to call up their helpdesk in order to work out why our Internet wasn't working. Because it was all under my flatmate's name I had to wait until he came home from work just so that he could say that I could speak to them. In the end it was Telstra's fault for giving us the wrong IP Address.
If a small player like Orcon can have you in and out in less than half an hour why can't the big players with huge Helpdesks? It makes no sense.
Add to the fact that Orcon has been rated on a number of occasions to have the best Mac support it seems that the big players are just taking the mickey with their support.
I do have a theory though with Orcon's Mac support. Orcon is a state-owned enterprise and most government departments have a degree of platform support other than Windows. Think about Kiwibank, NZ Post, and the Census sites and you'll see what I mean.
Slingshot apparently has good Mac support as does iHug so it really shows up the big players when the small guys offer better support for Macs than they do.
It's going to be interesting over the next couple of years when the full potential of LLU begins to be seen as to what level of support for other platforms is going to occur.
On a personal note I wholeheartedly back Orcon for their services and support. Way to go guys.
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Philip Roy
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Re the NZMAC code....they are in the process of changing their system so the code will fail...but Orcon have been in touch and said all I need to do is pass on usernames. So anyone signing on to Orcon, try the code...if it fails, email me (philip.roy@nzmac.com) and Orcon will sort it out. |
Philip Roy
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PS...the Orcon page in the Mac Friendly section is exceptionally out of date..... http://www.nzmac.com/mac-frien...orcon.html Because I have an advertising arrangement with them, it would be wrong for me to update it as an Orcon customer...but if you or anyone else wants to provide information and links, that would be great. Thanks. |
munrog
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I would be careful about making the move to ORCON. Go to their website and look at the system status pages. In the history there you will see that for over two weeks last month ORCON customers could not really use the internet to access pages outside NZ. There have been days where their system is offline for hours at a time and most recently customers on their phone packages were unable to make calls for a day. They have a good customer signup and accounts dept, but their customer support is lax. The last support call I logged took 4 days to be responded to. Telephone support is a joke - it took me 30 mins per day for 5 days in a row before I got to speak to someone when I last tried. Its a shame because until Christmas I was very pleased with them. But it has all gone downhill this year...I think they are suffering from growing suddenly and not having the infrastructure or the people to cope. I am switching from them as soon as fibre gets lit at the end of my driveway. You have been warned...... :-( |
Philip Roy
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I'd respectfully suggest (as an Orcon user) that you fail to mention a key word they use in their system status notes.."some" (as in "some users"). Or in another case, the comment says "a small number". I'm not on their phone system but what you suggest implies "all" when this doesn't seem the case. I've experienced no outtages and have readily been able access international networks with no faults. That said, I'm sorry to hear of your problems. Declaration: Orcon are an advertiser on this site and therefore have an arrangement with me. However my comments relate to the service I have received as user of their broadband system...which I will gladly be sticking with  |
munrog
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Hi Phil, Fair enough. Until 3 months ago I was recommending ORCON to anyone who would listen, but the fact remains that in the last 3 months I have seen a marked drop off in line speeds (which is often outside ORCONs control), reliability and stability of the ORCON network and that waiting times on their help desk have skyrocketed. Talking to other ORCON users I hear similar complaints. Talking to Orcon helpdesk people I know that they have hired more people to cope with their increased demand. The international outage they had was a supplier issue. So it seems wrong to beat up on them when they are trying to put things right. I guess it is a case of appreciating that in a very sensitive market such as telecommunications no supplier is ever going to give you a head count for each issue they encounter. Nor are they going to tell you the full extent of the problem. However, if by SOME they mean some users in Auckland, Coromandel, Hamilton and Nelson then I suggest that SOME is a number a little bigger than they would have us believe... |
lowededwookie
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Apparently this problem is mostly in the Auckland region as they roll out ADSL2 . I've been with Orcon for a couple of months now and have had absolutely NO problems with them at all. I also think it's unfair to beat up on Orcon when the problem may not actually be theirs in the first place. True I don't know the full details of everything that's going on but my understanding is much of the problems actually come from putting the new gear into the exchanges. It's more than likely that Telecom is causing the bigger problem because they've got away with so much for so long there's bound to be some legacy issues creeping in because of Telecom's poor maintenance. |
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