WOW! Internet, Cable, and Phone

The top of this review is reflects our experiences from 6/20/14 when service problems began - thru 7/1/14. The comments at bottom - dated 7/2/14 reflect new comments. In a nutshell - we are really new WOW customers and our experience overall has not gone well. So if you do not like long reviews - you can stop here as you may have already read enough. When comparing cost of services between Time Warner and WOW, the one area where WOW is good is in their pricing. They were much more competitive than WOW and provided more - especially with their Whole House DVR's. We did not have any from TW and even after WOW provided 3 Whole House DVR's (which is more than we needed) - they were substantially less than TW. The internet and phone services - at least on the surface, were comprable. That is where the 'good stuff' ends for WOW. As a rule - I am not sure I have ever given a negative review on any company - but then again, in the many years I have been dealing with service providers, I have never come across a more dysfunctional customer service area than what WOW has - at least in Columbus. I could go into infinite detail - but there are only about 9100 more characters that I can write in this space, so will do my best to keep this limited - but lot to get off my mind! Issues Following Initial Setup New outside wiring was incorrectly laid from box to house- and actually had cuts in it. They had to lay new wire. Internet sporadically goes out - at least a couple of times a day. Not all TV's (even newer ones) could pick up signal. Most of the TV's not set up at all. (Based on my conversation, it was my impression that they would do so on all, not just some) Because of these issues - I called and Wow sent out a technician. He is the one that discovered the outside wiring issue and was able to fix the issue with the TV's not receiving a signal - but did not have time to set up the other TV's to their system nor fix the problem with the internet. At that point, he said he was calling his supervisor and I would be contacted the next day and arrange to have our issues corrected. Week went by. No contact. I called and got ahold of the technician (second try) who seemed surprised that I had not received a call and said he would call again and that I would definitely get a quick followup. That was 2 weeks ago - still no call back from WOW. I tried to call the technician again - but never heard back. So - on June 29th I called WOW directly and the best they could do was to set up a "day long" appointment on the 30th. This meant no set appointment time and they would call before coming out. Not give much choice, I agreed but told them that this had to be after 4 and gave them my mobile number to call before they came out. True to form - things got confusing. Instead of calling my mobile - the technician called our house instead and left a message. The message said that he was suppose to come out to look at our wiring and that actually, this request had been received some time ago but was given to another technician who was on vacation. So they now just passed it along to him. Upon arriving home. I immediately called him back but by that time the technician said he could not come out that day - but would the next day. When we called WOW on this - they insisted that the tech was still coming out tonight - and that there was no record of the technician not being able to make it. After further discussion on this - the thought became that the call we received at home - was the one that we were supposed to have received 2 weeks ago (and had been give to the technician on vacation). The WOW service rep then insisted that our service call was still to occur tonight by someone who was in our area - but had several quick appointments before hand. This was at 6 pm. While we questioned whether or not they could make it by their 8pm cutoff, the rep assured us that it would not be a problem. They never called back. My wife, who never gets involved in any of this - decided that she would try and she called. When got an overseas rep and asked for a supervisor. The supervisor said there were a lot of notes and again guaranteed that someone would call back within two hours. Did not happen. The next day - she called again and asked for a supervisor and was in the middle of trying to set something up she we got a call from the tech who I talked to the day before. (So - he did hold to his promise - the first one fulfilled by WOW) He said he could come out if we wanted - so we agreed. We did tell him though, that the chances were, that we were going to switch back to Time Warner because while we had issues with them - never to this extent. He said he understood but wanted to come out. 7/1/14 - These represent new comments following the service call from the Technician. The technician did come and as we understand it - his calling us had nothing to do with the calls we had made in the prior days - but rather from the call two weeks prior and that now had just got passed onto this tech. (Again - as we understand it - they gave the assignment to someone who was on vacation. Huh? The technical said he did not work directly with WOW - but was a contractor. I did not care as long as he was able to help - and explained all the issues that we had had with WOW - mainly on the internet, but also on the TV's. He spent sometime looking at our layout and even got a ladder and climbed up into our 'attic' which is only accessible thru a panel in a closet. He told me what he wanted to do and spent probably 2 - 3 hours going about doing it. I have to say - he really worked hard and tried to explain everything to us about what he was doing. When he was done - he said he hoped we would stay with WOW and if there was an issue to call him. I appreciated this. Since he was here - so far, so good! The bottom line is this. WOW seems to provide great pricing - but VERY little else in terms of service if calling their service centers. I know of course, that none of the Internet/TV/Phone providers are anywhere near perfect - - and there are issues with each of them, but service will win out for me over price anytime. I was set on moving back to Time Warner - but because of the work of this technician - will see what happens from this point on.

Their customer service is excellent. They listen to your concerns and provide onsite support unlike our prior carrier that wanted to do everything over the phone, even when the expected outcomes weren't achieved.

Guy was great explained everything made sure every think was working ok before he left got there on time

The technician who responded to my phone call was very helpful. We went through a number of steps to recover service which were successful. He was very knowledgeable and had my problem solved in a short time (not more than 5-10 minutes). It is such a help that I did not have to schedule a in-home visit. I would not want to have another company take care of our cable, internet, and phone service.

The customer service rep made sure that we understood that we can cancel the HBO service at anytime, and that our first month would be prorated.

We called the 1-800 number for WOW about 7 times and each time they told us that WOW was not available to our condo. They said they'd send someone out but no one ever came & we got an automated call that said service wasn't available. I finally demanded to talk to someone local and was given a number. I got a hold of someone local and after about 2 weeks we had service. It took a lot of fight to get it but we finally got it. I'm happy with the service now but the customer service at the 1-800 number was lacking just that...customer service.

Generally it is okay, it is better than another provider was. The internet speed is very good. The pictures are very good. They are very good when you reach them, but there are times when you can't reach them.

Signed up for new service with WOW after being thoroughly disgusted with Time Warner, which I had been a customer for over 30 years. I was promised service would be installed on 1/9 between 4 and 6 PM. The tech arrived at 4 PM. After almost 4 hours, he finally had the internet running, but no television service. He left. He promised I would be the first one on his schedule the next day, 1/10. He promised he would call first thing in the morning. He didn't. So about 8:30 AM, having not heard from the tech, I called WOW and the robo answering system informed me I had a a service appointment scheduled for 8 to 9 AM. I confirmed that I wanted the service call. At 9:10 AM, I called WOW and talked to a service rep, who, after about 40 minuntes on the phone, assured me the tech would be at my house within the hour. At 11:30 AM, I called again, and after about 30 minutes on the phone, I was informed that I had an "all day" appointment, which basically means to sit on your butt all day until they get around to you, if ever. This is how they treat a bran new customer? I might have to eat some crow and go back to Time Warner. I have never experienced anything close to being treated this way BEFORE service is established! It is now 12 PM on 1/10/82014 and I have heard nothing from anybody. I am tempted to take all the equipment and leave it on the front porch for the tech when he finally arrives. I wonder if he'll get the message?

I called AT&T, Time Warner (our previous provider) and WOW. WOW was much much pleasant and helpful and English was not a second language. The price from WOW was about 10% less than either of the other two for nearly identical services. It was installed in less that one week, between 2:00 and 4:00. I received an automated call telling me he would arrive at 3:15 but he actually arrived at 4:00. He was friendly, quick and took the time to explain the service in detail. Everything works exactly as advertised. The 15 mbps internet speed actually clocks at 16 mbps. We've only had it one week but so far I'm very satisfied.

Be aware that WOW must sink a new cable. Prepare to repair anything buried in your yard!! They will not follow through on their repair responsibilities.

My HD TV cable channels did not work more than worked. I had the techs at my home at least three different times re-wiring and replacing hardware yet every other time I turn on my TV, the HD channels show an error message instead of the TV for which I'm paying. Don't really see the value in a whole house DVR if the recordings don't work because of system errors.

When we moved to Columbus, we initially signed up with WOW! for their internet/tv/phone bundle, which sounded great from reviews we had read. We work from home, and use a VPN phone connection to be able to communicate directly with the company phone system in NY. Despite assurances that WOW! could accommodate this protocol (as our previous provider, Verizon FIOS did), WOW!'s fancy "state of the art" system DID NOT work with the VPN. We were forced to DOWNGRADE to a lesser service (which was what I can only call "user surly" and archaic), in order to make the VPN operate. But, we were very unhappy with the lousy TV - I had better cable service in 1983!!! We finally gave up and switched to AT&T Uverse, which is immeasurably better. This was all after many hours (easily over SEVENTY hours total) of phone calls, conversations with reps who were clueless, missed appointments, etc. Finally, when we arranged for the removal of the service we were given a window from 1:00 to 5:00, which they missed. I called, complained, got some pushback, rescheduled - and they didn't show up again. I sat in the house for two days waiting for the doorbell. Finally, after complaining to various government regulatory agencies, I got them to come and uninstall their system. Their customer service was about as bad as it gets. I am so glad to be done with WOW!

They seem to be very responsive when I call them when I have a problem. The internet service is good and the speed is good too so the download time is less. It is very reliable on the most part and we have some downtime sometimes and so the phone and internet would be down. I think we are satisfied with their service overall.

I was with Wow Internet Cable and Phone/Wideopenwest for over ten years. When television changed from analog to digital, they changed the services they were providing and required you to have a cable box on every one of your televisions. You had to rent one to get channels, other than the basic networks - ABC, NBC and CBS. I didn't want to pay for a cable box on all of my televisions. I've also had a lot of service problems. I had them out here two or three times. There was no contract. I just discontinued their services and picked up with another company instead. The box they wanted you to have wasn't reliable and they were charging $20.00 a month for each box. If you have three televisions, you have to have three boxes. The picture was worse after they switched. They came out all the time, but they just couldn't do anything about it.

It went fine. I was told it would cost more to put a wall mount, so they made a small hole to the basement. I ended up having to set up my second tv myself. The problem for me with WOW! is ongoing performance. My internet connection is unreliable and I often get freezes when I try to watch TV on the internet. I also frequently (at least once a week) have to reset my modem. The flip side is that working with WOW! is less of a bait and switch as other companies in Columbus seem to have in terms of price, and I appreciate that. I'm not sure there are any really good internet choices in Columbus.

The internet seems to be fast. We have trouble with the cable loosing the connection temporarily but for the most parts, we have been very pleased with it. With the phone, I assume we are paying extra but we have unlimited long distance. Our cable is high definition, so we have the DVR for recording programmers and so on, we have been happy with that. We got them partly because we looked at consumer reports on internet providers and WOW seemed to be recommended highly in almost all areas above AT&T and Time Warner and partly because we have been with them for ten years, so the thought of changing our email address and trying to get in touch with everyone to let them know would be an ordeal. We haven’t used anyone else in ten years and ninety five percent of the times, we have been happy with their service. They have been wonderful with their customer service. When we call them, they spend forever walking us through various procedures, for example, we just got a new laptop and we had trouble getting our mail to work and they must have spent forty-five minutes one night, walking us through all the settings. So that is another plus, that customer service is very friendly and very helpful. We have only had them out for service for three times in ten or eleven years and they were good, they would give us a window of ten and twelve and they would do it. One of the times, we had a bad storm, so there were electric issues as well as their cable issues, so there were a couple of times, it was out for several days but the electricity was off for that long as well, but they have been effective in getting out and getting the repairs done quickly when needed. We have not been disappointed with anybody we ended up talking to or working with and they all have been really nice.

we did have any problems with the tv or internet services

Wow internet cable installed. Cable and internet seem to be excellent. Installer did not introduce himself and had no identification the he was with wow. He seemed rushed and did not volunteer to explain anything unless asked. He did not install email and I will have to do it myself through their website.

The technician who came to my home was very pleasant, professional, and knowledgeable. He was very concerned with making sure I understood the services he was providing. He took the time to make sure I knew how to operate the remote control so that I could get maximum benefit from the upgrade.

Phone and cable were good except installer left no manuals explaining how to use cable system and DVR's. Also left no station directory. Internet was out of service for 5 days because of incorrect modem settings. Unable to get in touch with customer service via phone. Put on hold for more than 30 minutes at least 5 times and finally gave up. Often their phone rang busy so never went onto hold. Resolved modem issue by writing down settings and e-mailing them to WOW. Since we didn't have internet/email, we had to make a trip to our cellular company store and ask permission to use their Wi-Fi. WOW reset the modem on 12/1 and we had Internet Service. Filed a complaint with Angies List on 11/30 and I believe that they were instrumental in getting a contact from WOW. Wow's representative provided local contact information, an apology, and 1 month of free service. All systems continue to work well, but we haven't heard anything on the manuals/instructions. Have received 2 phone calls from WOW asking if everything was ok.

Very badly. They were hard to get hold of - 45 minute phone waits. They had a message saying that they were upgrading their system and were sorry for the delay. The message changed week to week from, the system will be up and running in a few days, to the system will be up and running in a few weeks, to the system will be up and running next month. I was told when I finally did reach someone to order service that there would be no installation charge, then a $20 charge for a line showed up on the first bill. After several attempts and 45 minute waits to talk to someone, they said the charge would be removed - yet to be seen. I was told at the initial installation that someone would be out the next day to bury a cable line that was on the ground and across the patio. No show. When I called (45minute wait- actually I was told if you call at 3 or 4 in the morning there is less of a wait) the person I talked to said they were trying to get the installers to quit saying that because in actuality the city had to come out first (call before you dig). So I waited a week or two - no show even though the ground was marked with orange paint and I thought it would have been OK to dig by then. So I called (45 minute wait) or maybe they called me because there was also a mix up about the previous owners of the condo being charged $1300. for equipment that they didn't return even though the equipment had already been picked up, but I won't go into detail on that saga. Back to the cable - I talked to Rich in the Columbus office who said that he was issuing a special order to get the cable buried - due Friday. I came home from the store on Friday, to find a WOW truck in the driveway (this is 3-4 weeks after the initial installation). I thought , finally, the cable will by buried before the ground freezes for the next four months. But no, he was there to pick up the equipment that had been picked up two days previously and the employee who picked it up had sworn to me that the return would be recorded so the previous elderly owners of the condo would not have a $1300. bill hanging over their heads for equipment that I had tried three times to get picked up. This employee vehemently informed me that burying cable was not his job and the people in the office really didn't care about it anyway. So, last Sunday I was dreading the thought of calling WOW again on Monday and was looking through my Angie's list magazine to find that they have a mediation process. I thought that might be worth a try. So I sent an email asking for mediation and when I came home on Monday the cable was buried. I don't know if it was an Angie's list angel that got the work done, or someone at WOW who decided to, after an month do the work, but I am grateful that I won't be tripping over that thing all winter. Be careful who you sign up with.

They wait until about a week before the holiday to upgrade. My cable continues messing up and I cannot get all of my stations. There is also something wrong with my phone system and I can never get to a live person to help me. I keep calling and getting a message or it’s always busy. This is the second time something like this has happened to me. It is frustrating around the holidays especially because I have people coming in and I need my phone.

The second time when the Technician visit was scheduled after they set up a new account for me, he called me in the morning and asked for availability earlier. I said no and asked him to call me 30 minutes before coming during the scheduled window (4-6 pm). So, I got a call 25 minutes before he was to arrive i.e. at 3:35pm. I started as soon as I got their call but got delayed due to traffic. I communicated him that I am delayed and would be late by 10 minutes. H said that if I am not there in 10 minutes, he would leave. I said, you guys wasted my Sunday and I had to follow up a lot with you guys so you should give me some consideration and finish the job today. But he sounded rude and was not willing to wait beyond 10 minutes. So I told him if the installation is not done today, i am done with Wow and will look for alternatives. Then he spoke to his company and mentioned he would wait for few more minutes and finally I arrived around 4:23pm and he did the installation. So far, the internet seems good. I don't watch much cable tv so cannot comment on it. But their cable set top box software graphics is horrible. I also hope they will release Android/iPad streaming app for their customers. Overall, I found the professionalism and customer service dissatisfying. If you do not have internet speed requirement over 10 mbps, look elsewhere. I am hoping once all is set, I will not have to call them again as I had to call my last cable/internet provider hardly once a year or so.

I have been using their services since February 2012, which include internet, cable, and phone locally. Their service is pretty fast. I haven’t had any problem with them yet, but it was a long procedure to get the installation. I will continue to use their services again in the future if I need to.

l have used WOW in the past as well as Insight here in Ohio. I've also used Comcast in another state. Hands down, WOW has the best service. None of the cable companies have exactly what I want - in EVERY case I find I can't get what I want without paying extra for this or that. For example, I just want to be able to watch a movie I record in our living room in our bedroom or basement. I only have one HDTV, but in order to have whole-house DVR I also have to pay for their premo package including HD DVR's for the whole house. And there are ALWAYS problems with every cable service. Comcast's service sucked so royally that I refused to even tell them why out of sheer spite. I seriously considered starting a "comcast customer support group" - it was that bad. I begged my family to go cable-free, but alas, ESPN and the Disney channel were too important to let go and we had no other cable choices. But the one issue I did have with WOW was resolved happily. I had cancelled services when we moved out of state 3 years ago and returned their equipment via mail (long story). They claimed they never got it, and I just let it go. When we moved back and attempted to hook up services, they were trying to charge me $170 for the unreturned equipment from 3 years ago. They keep good records! I explained what happened, it took a day or so but they wisely decided that my continued business was worth writing off the missing equipment. I even had two representatives contact me to let me know the decision and to apologize. In the many years we had their service before and the month we've had it since we've been back, they've always listened to us, been kind, quick and responsive, and offered a good product. WOW is not perfect, but they are the best I've seen out there!