WOW! Cable wins the Worst Customer Service Ever Award!

This is purely a personal case study, but it is my second really bad experience with WOW Cable and Internet service and their really awful customer service. In this economy, you'd think that supervisors (or at least that's what they claim to be on the phone) would learn just a little bit about how to treat a customer, even if they aren't always right.

I was lured back to WOW with a really great deal in December 2011. Okay, admittedly, my other really great deal with Comcast Xfinity was expiring and they were going to begin charging me 74 gazillion dollars per month to maintain  my service, but WOW got me to come subcribe to their service because they were offereing me a phenomenal package and would honor it until 2014.

I know many people say that WOW Cable sucks and that WOW's customer service is rude, arrogant and on a good day condescending, but I was going to give them another chance. [Note: I'm going to keep saying things like WOW Cable has terrible service so that the major search engines find this article and I can inform other unsatisfied WOW customers to find another cable and internet alternative to the really lousy customer service provided by WOW employees.

So, anyway, my deal with Comcast/Xfinity expired and I called WOW. I told them about my previous deal, and here's what they offered me:

Three HD/DVR boxes at no charge (my bill indicated that each one was $13 per month, and right below was a line item that said: "100% off for 12 months" for each box. This is their bill! This is their acknowledgement that they offered me the deal.

Then, after only three months, they sent my new bill with no credits for the HD/DVR boxes. Okay, probably just another in a long line of WOW billing screw ups, but a phone call should fix it. Wrong!

When I called and the issue was looked into by the snotty, pompous customer service jerk, he came back and told me that it expired because it's been a year. Hold on. Let me get my calculator out. December 2011 plus 12 months should take me somewhere in the vicinty of December 2012. Not March 2012. I always try to be nice and let these people know that I'm aware that the problem probably isn't their fault, but this guy was really pissing me off with his piece of crap attitude. I politely informed him that I just came back to WOW at the end of the year and that my deal (although originally was to be good until 2014) should at least be honored until December 2012 as it states RIGHT ON THE BILL THEY SENT ME.

He said he was sorry, but he couldn't approve that deal because no one could authorize giving away three HD/DVR's for 12 months. Excuse me? Someone DID authorize that deal and it's right there on the first three bills they sent.

I was pretty astonished and calmly stated, "So, what you're telling me is that the deal you offered me to get me to cancel my service with another provider, which I have in writing from you, will not be honored." He said, "Yeah, that's right. Sorry."

Unbelievable. Even if for some reason he had to convey awful news to a customer who is willing to spend about $1,500 per year for their inferior service, they should at least be trained to treat the public with decency and respect.

So, I asked to speak to a supervisor. He said he was a supervisor, but he'd get another one to verify what he told me. After again waiting on hold (after already investing nearly an hour) Jason came on the line. I think it was the same guy. He told me the same thing. Again in the awful customer service manner that I've grown to know and hate from WOW!

I might as well have been talking to "Peggy" from those credit card commercials.

So, the bottom line is this:

WOW service is sub par. They couldn't get my wireless router to work (other providers had no problem) and "forced" me to use theirs or not have wireless service.

They screwed up my billing and erroneously threatened to disconnect me after they changed my billing date BACKWARDS making me immediately delinquent. For that mishap, I was promised two vouchers for free On Demand movies. Never got them.

Then, after constant complaints about Internet speed by my family, I did an Internet speed check. Less that 1 meg. That's 30 times slower than what was promised. That time, when I called I spoke with a very nice and helpful rep who got me back to an acceptable MPS.

Please forward this page to anyone who is looking for TV, Internet and phone service and advise them to stay away from WOW.

After my first really bad customer service experience with WOW a number of years ago (that time their rep argued with me that there was no way Comcast was going to offer me the deal that I told her they were offering, even though I was holding the offer right in my hands and reading it to the witch), I cancelled my service. After contacting Comcast and getting their service turned on, I got a call from a really nice guy at WOW offering me the farm. Too little, too late.

I should have learned my lesson then and stayed away, but I was lured back, then summarily bent over and...well you get the picture.

All I can say is WOW!

Here are some questions you may ask:

Is WOW a good cable service provider? No.
Is WOW a good Internet service provider? No.
Does WOW have good customer service? No.
Does WOW have high customer satisfaction? I doubt it.
Does WOW employ rude, arrogant, pompous customer service representatives? Absolutely.