 Review by jtl 
Posted: 72 days ago
member for 6.5 years, 195 visits, last login: 4 days ago
 Arlington Heights,Cook,IL
 $140 per month
 about 15 days
 "Reliable and Fast Service, Good Customer Service"
 "No Notable Problems Yet"
 "True Competition for Comcast... Glad I Switched!"
| Pre Sales information:
Install Co-ordination:
Connection Reliability:
Tech Support:
Services:
Value for money:
(ratings match consensus)
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I switched to WideOpenWest in May of 2008 after nearly 10 years with Comcast and its predecessor companies.
There were two motivators for my switch: the first was the fact that my promotional pricing for Comcast's bundled services (telephone, cable TV, internet) was about to expire; the second was the fact that I'd heard nothing but good things about WOW's services.
In my area-- Arlington Heights, Illinois-- there is pretty serious competition for bundled services between Comcast, WOW, and AT&T (their telephone-DSL-Dish offering), and as a side-effect we're constantly bombarded with discounted offers for these services. WOW had a bundled services offering with prices that are guaranteed through January of 2010, so I decided to go for it.
The ordering process was actually a pleasure. The salesperson was very helpful and friendly, and answered every question I had. I went into the call with the requirement of 6 Mbit Internet, telephone, and basic digital cable TV. These services were not part of an existing package, but the salesperson was able to work a deal for me when I bought all three. Of course, she tried to upsell me on premium TV services, but when I declined she didn't push any further. (I like it when a salesperson takes "no" for an answer.)
After I agreed to the services and an installation date, I asked the salesperson when I should call Comcast to cancel. She suggested I wait until after the WOW service was installed, because Comcast has been known to disconnect services before the actual scheduled cancellation date. I heard this with a bit of skepticism, knowing that if I called to cancel I'd be routed to a Comcast Retention Specialist and WOW could lose the deal, but since I'd already made the decision to switch I figured there was no harm in waiting until WOW was installed.
The installation date came and the technician showed up at the expected time. He knew to go to the pole to switch the connection to the house (something the Comcast engineer neglected to do when they installed their services here-- check my Comcast review), and plugged in the cable/telephony modem (the same Arris model Comcast used) and the digital cable TV box. The data and telephone connections followed, and within 30 minutes I had all services in place and programmed. Perfect.
There was no software to install on my computer, which Comcast seems to insist upon. All I had to do was set up my WOW account online and I was up and running.
As I write this (June 2008) I've had the service for about a month, and I've only had one outage, when a thunderstorm came through and knocked out the cable. I called WOW customer service (using my cellphone, since I had no services in my house) and a telephone rep told me there was an outage in my area. My only complaint about this call was that, for some reason, the Customer Service person was very difficult to hear through background noise on her end. The service was reinstated about an hour later.
I will provide further updates as my experience with WOW progresses. So far, I am a very happy new customer.
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