Orange’s broadband sales have dropped after the operator increased its prices and was recently named the worst broadband provider in an independent poll, store staff told Mobile.
Staff were left surprised when the operator introduced a £30 connection fee two weeks ago, despite negative publicity surrounding the broadband package over the past year.
Orange was named the ‘worst broadband provider’ by price comparison service uSwitch this month, and was criticised on Watchdog last year for being unreliable. Research group Aura also singled out the operator as being ‘poor’ in a customer satisfaction survey this week.
One Orange assistant store manager said: ‘Sales have plummeted to less than half they were before the connection charge came in.
‘Broadband has become almost impossible to sell and now it’s proving difficult to motivate staff to push it.’
Another Orange staffer bemoaned the timing of the price increase. He said: ‘It seems strange that they are raising the prices just after we were named the worst broadband provider. We aren’t selling any broadband at all at the moment.’
Orange has reacted to the problems by implementing ‘a long-term plan’, which is aimed at restoring faith in the service.
A spokesman said: ‘Our broadband network has been improved and comprehensive programmes are in place to improve it further.
‘The £30 connection charge brings the price in line with our competitors, and new customer offers are also in place.
‘We’ve got 1.14 million users and that’s up 7% on last year.’