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WOW! (They sure do suck!)

The place to chat about audio/video devices & software, mobile phones & mobile plans, computer hardware & software, and other electronic gadgets.
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MWmetalhead
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WOW! (They sure do suck!)

Post by MWmetalhead » Wed Mar 10, 2021 7:52 pm

Friends don't let friends become Wide Open West customers - EVER!!!

This episode is so eerily reminiscent of an extended video service outage that occurred in late 2014 or 2015, if I remember correctly. Tried getting through on their phone line for days & days, only to get a busy signal each time. The following week, I finally was able to speak to a customer agent and canceled my service. Have not looked back since.

Headline:
WOW outages persist for many frustrated customers in southeast Michigan

https://www.freep.com/story/money/busin ... 939366002/
Outages continue to plague WOW customers, one week after the cable and internet service provider acknowledged a daylong outage.

A spokesperson for WOW did not respond to an inquiry from the Free Press Wednesday.

To further frustrations, some customers report that outages have been intermittent and when internet is connected, speeds are far below the megabits per second rate promised by the provider.

(Here is a gigantic slap in the face): A one-time $5 credit will be added to affected customers' upcoming bill to make up for the inconvenience.
Wow - a one-time $5 discount! How noble of them!



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Turkeytop
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Re: WOW! (They sure do suck!)

Post by Turkeytop » Wed Mar 10, 2021 8:48 pm

We had WOW in Florida. I never knew what the acronym stood for. When I signed up, they assured my that I could suspend my service temporarily whenever we came back home each year.

The day before we left I called up to request a suspension. She told me that wouldn't be allowed. That I would have to continue to pay monthly for service when we weren"t even there

Had to spend half of my last day in Florida. Driving around looking for their office so I could return the equipment and cancel my service.


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

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MWmetalhead
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Re: WOW! (They sure do suck!)

Post by MWmetalhead » Fri Mar 12, 2021 7:19 am

They should've allowed you to keep the equipment (you'd still have to pay the monthly equipment fees) and simply discontinue video & internet service and then reactivate it at the appropriate time. Really crappy customer service on their part! Cannot say I'm surprised!

Private equity ownership of the company changed a number of years ago (2011 or 2012), where Oak Hill Capital Partners and ABRY Investments sold to Avista Capital Partners. Then, a second ownership change occurred in December 2015, when Avista sold to Crestview Partners. I believe that's about the time I encountered major technological issues and undermanned call centers.

Today, Crestview Partners is the largest shareholder at 37%. If that name sounds familiar - it's because that's the same company who once was the largest shareholder of Cumulus Media when the Dickey Brothers were unleashing their reign of terror.

Jeff Marcus, former Chairman of the Board at Cumulus, is Chairman at Wide Open West. For a while, he was chairman of both companies concurrently. Under his watch, Cumulus' revenue and ratings performance slid into the shitter. He *finally* grew the cajones to fire the Dickeys and their proteges, but that process should've occurred much sooner than it actually did.

I would have little confidence in any Company where he serves as Chair delivering a competitive product or service to its customers!



thatonedude
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Re: WOW! (They sure do suck!)

Post by thatonedude » Fri Mar 12, 2021 3:44 pm

What the hell? I had them when I lived downriver; they were always reliable, and the techs knew their shit. Guess I shouldn't be surprised they've slid into the shitter. And only a $5 credit? What a fucking joke...


take this job and shove it

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MWmetalhead
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Re: WOW! (They sure do suck!)

Post by MWmetalhead » Sat Mar 13, 2021 7:01 am

When HD cable channels first became a "thing," for a time, WOW did a better job of expanding HD offerings than Comcast. WOW was also first to add Big Ten Network, and I want to say they might've even been the first to add NFL Network. Some of their cable boxes also supported picture-in-picture, which was great.

First started getting irked at WOW when they refused to add MLB Network in the early 2010s. Then, they dropped NFL Network. Then, Comcast began adding a bunch of new HD channels whereas WOW's lineup remained flat. Comcast eventually offered more channels in HD than WOW, although for some odd reason, Comcast to this day has never added TV Land in HD.

The horrible customer service after a week's worth of perpetual signal loss with no updates on the company's social media is what caused me to ditch WOW for good. Price was no object at that point, and by then, Comcrap's pricing was competitive with WOW in any event.



radioandtventhusiast
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Re: WOW! (They sure do suck!)

Post by radioandtventhusiast » Sat Mar 13, 2021 1:13 pm

MWmetalhead wrote:
Sat Mar 13, 2021 7:01 am
When HD cable channels first became a "thing," for a time, WOW did a better job of expanding HD offerings than Comcast. WOW was also first to add Big Ten Network, and I want to say they might've even been the first to add NFL Network. Some of their cable boxes also supported picture-in-picture, which was great.

First started getting irked at WOW when they refused to add MLB Network in the early 2010s. Then, they dropped NFL Network. Then, Comcast began adding a bunch of new HD channels whereas WOW's lineup remained flat. Comcast eventually offered more channels in HD than WOW, although for some odd reason, Comcast to this day has never added TV Land in HD.

The horrible customer service after a week's worth of perpetual signal loss with no updates on the company's social media is what caused me to ditch WOW for good. Price was no object at that point, and by then, Comcrap's pricing was competitive with WOW in any event.
Dish Network still doesn't have TV Land in HD after all these years later either.



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Turkeytop
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Re: WOW! (They sure do suck!)

Post by Turkeytop » Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:07 pm

After we dumped WOW in Florida, we signed up with Spectrum.. They allow customers to suspend their service for a maximum of nine months. They are waiving the max this year due to the covid. I suspended our service almost a year ago and it will be at least six more months before we can get back. I'm paying around $10/mo while we're away.


I started out with nothing and I still have most of it.

km1125
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Re: WOW! (They sure do suck!)

Post by km1125 » Sun Mar 14, 2021 3:15 am

Turkeytop wrote:
Sat Mar 13, 2021 9:07 pm
After we dumped WOW in Florida, we signed up with Spectrum.. They allow customers to suspend their service for a maximum of nine months. They are waiving the max this year due to the covid. I suspended our service almost a year ago and it will be at least six more months before we can get back. I'm paying around $10/mo while we're away.
It's absolutely nuts that people pay them for that "privilege" !! With the old analog systems, subscribers could still "steal" service that they said they weren't using, but with the current digital systems that's just not possible. You're doing them a favor because they don't have to roll a truck to disconnect and reconnect service, yet they retrain you on their list as an existing customer for their subscribers counts.



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