Saturday October 1
I realised yesterday that it is almost two months since I started using the Orcon Genius. The fact that I have written little about it below in that time, and that I haven't really noticed I've been living with the system, speaks volumes I think. I've been with Orcon for some time, but I don't know if it is the fact I have a new router more or less set up for me by Orcon, or whether that I simply have a new hardware item in the house (although my previous router was great), but I have been very impressed.
That said, there are still some quirks that I have experienced and I think Orcon need to do more for their customers at the time that they first come on board with the Genius. I said early on that in the first email I got confirming my order, there was no detail as to what I had actually signed up for. I commented at the time that I really hated call waiting, and now I suspect I didn't sign up for it...but finding whether that is true or not has been more of a challenge than it should have been. There should have simply been a "Here's what you've ordered" email delivered immediately, followed up by a "Here's how to use each of these things" at the time I went live. Getting a response from Orcon by posting criticism on Twitter isn't a way I like to work (but it gets the response needed) and not how Orcon should be working. Their Help Desk needs to become more responsive!
The only other criticism is a minor one, and that's living with VOIP. I've said previously that I've worked in a couple of organisations with VOIP phones and in those organisations you can really tell the difference in quality between someone calling you on a VOIP phone and someone making a traditional call. I've not experienced any drop in quality with Orcon...in fact I've had some of the clearest phone conversations I have had in a long time. But with all VOIP systems there is that potential for that millisecond of delay between people (especially when you interrupt what the other person is saying) and I do notice that occasionally. I certainly did notice it when a friend called from the UK on another VOIP system. But it's not enough to be frustrating, and it's not enough to make me want to stop using the Genius. I'm saving money and I'm sold on it.
I see they are putting the price up in the next couple of days, so I suspect that if you're interested in the Genius, this weekend is probably a good time to sign up!
What follows is a couple of things I noted down over the past two months...
