Spectrum Store — Attraction in City of Ithaca

Hideously poor customer service, completely unjustifiable surcharges, random price gouging, and average to mediocre intnernet/tv/phone service. I've had the distinct displeasure of having no choice but to use Spectrum for the years I've lived in Ithaca and if there was a single other internet provider in the area that individuals could access, I would have switched the first time my bill went up with no explanation. When I tried to adjust my services over the phone with a representative, she took THIRTY MINUTES of my time trying to convince me to sign on for other services, constantly repeating the Progressive Insurance slogan of "the more you bundle the more you save," even after multiple repetitions of "no thank you I am not interested in keeping the service I'm trying to drop, nor am I interested in adding another service."

I have been patronized in person by store employees about my cell phone provider and station in life, again berated for what felt like an eternity because I didn't want to sign up for Spectrum mobile. I would sooner get rid of my cell phone altogether than sign up for Spectrum mobile. The Spectrum model of having monopoly over internet services in an area and taking that power as a license to financially and verbally accost and punish their customers is a genuinely evil MO. Every money saving "offer" has a time and money eating downside when it expires, as overnight your monthly price skyrockets and employees will deploy every tactic to try and make adjusting your services as frustrating and difficult as possible. Every good looking deal will turn into a financial drain that you wish you could escape. Every positive review on this site, I strongly suspect, is created by an engagement bot to correct the sheer number of 1-2 star reviews this establishment deservedly received from dissatisfied customers. Avoid...

Not a pleasant experience with services at this office and the overall ISP options available in Ithaca. Unfortunately, I've been here a few times because there are not many viable ISP options available; hopefully Verizon and others can get it together and provide competition/alternatives.

She was clearly over-worked; there was not much support from staff which also reflects how poorly this office is being managed.

while returning a cable modem, the TW woman threw the device and accessories onto the floor 6 feet behind her. I thought maybe these were going to be destroyed anyway so it wouldn't matter. I was incorrect; they hand these out to new customers.

in another instance, i stopped by to pick up a cable modem. TW used to provide a nice box with everything you could need to get started on installing the cable modem at home (extra long coax, splitter, etc). This is no longer the case. I got an old modem that looked like it had been thrown around. I politely requested extra parts that should have been included. She didn't comprehend my needs. She was unwilling to provide accessories so I had to buy them on my own. There was no point in arguing with her for something that was just $6 at the nearest electronics store. Plus, there were 10 people behind me who have been waiting for service from an office that just had one person working: highly disliked (borderline hated this experience)

In summary, this office is poorly managed, had an overworked customer rep. who clearly lacks customer service skills. Too bad you, as an ISP customer don't have much of a choice. Hopefully by the time you read this, there will be other...

Actually, this is not a review for the people working here. It's about Spectrum the company as a whole. Here is my story:

I'm a new user of Spectrum in June 2017. When I open my account, I said I just want to use the Internet with $44.99/mo without wifi(I have my own). But the website agent insists that I should try the full package($29.99/mo for each of the Internet, TV, and voice) because I can downgrade to only Internet service WITHOUT PENALTY. I said I just want the Internet service again, but she tried to persuade me to try them and turn them down later because there is NO PENALTY by doing that. I said OK, why not give a chance? Then, the nightmare began.

Today(6/26/2017), I talked to a Spectrum agent using web chat to downgrade the service to Internet Only service. S/he said on problems, the price is $69.99/mo. I said no, I was told there is no penalty, so please give me the original price. S/he said that is for the new user, now you are not new Spectrum user anymore.!!!!!!!

I insisted and they give me a call and then refer me to talk to their "leadership". Their "leadership" is so arrogant that she said to me there is no way to get the original price and I have the choice to use it or not. How arrogant she is! She knew perfectly that I'm in an area covered only by the Spectrum. If I can use AT&T or Verizon. I will give up Spectrum immediately.

I felt deeply used by Spectrum...is there any way to protect ourselves from such a...