Grande Communications

Reviews 3

AN

Anthony W.

*This review is for my experience with both Grande as a whole and this local branch* I use Grande for 300mbps down, 20mbps up. My household has far too many wifi connections, multiple streaming devices including 4K streaming, a massive amount of cloud syncing by multiple devices, home automation, and currently 3 streaming security cameras, 2 of which upload to cloud storage 24/7. Store Visits: Somewhat lengthy wait times on every visit, considering Ive yet to have anyone in front of me besides the customer at the desk or a rep not assisting a customer. The reps Ive dealt with always seem to be overly stressed, considering all of my visits have consisted of me explaining exactly what Im doing, why, what the phone rep or website says, and handing in my modem for exchange (each of my speed upgrades have required new equipment). Internet (Downstream): With my previous 200mbps down I had a consistent 180-200mbps with the occasional burst of up to 220mbps for a minute or two at a time. I havent had my current 300mbps plan very long but so far I have seen anywhere from 180mbps to 270mbps (typically during a large download). A larger gap, but with the modest $5/month increase I am satisfied even if my speed stays as-is. Internet (Upstream): All of my plans have had 20mbps upstream. Ive yet to ever see my up speed lower than 18mbps, no matter my network activity. This includes all listed above as well as VPN and remote desktop connections, and I must emphasize my constant, have upstream usage. There is never a time that something on my network isnt uploading. While I would always love to increase my upload speed given my insane usage, my need of consistency has always been met. Billing: Not once have I had a problem besides modem cost increase. On questioning, Grande provided a list of modems I can use to offset the fee (I much prefer networking hardware that I have control over, so this is greatly appreciated). Over-the-phone Tech Support: in 5 years Ive only hadhad 2 issues, both resolved in less than 36 hours: 1. 5-star Experience: Outside line, diagnosed on first call with minimal effort on my part. 2. 1-star experience: Previous, outstanding support suggests this as a one-off issue. The rep may have had a bad day, but she should keep in mind that I had nothing to do with it*, read below. Over-the-phone Customer Service: I call once or twice a year to see what plans have come available. Every call has either provided a slight discount for the same services or a nominal increase for a significant speed increase. Every CS rep has been professional and helpful. *: One night, we had a strange issue accessing multiple, popular websites & streaming services. I troubleshooted my local network (bypassed home equipment directly to modem) before contacting Grande. My modem pinged and showed no issue on their end. According to her, and I verified as listed below, twice: 1. Tickets are based on customer issues and referenced by Tier 1 for troubleshooting. 2. Customer issues are not reported to the network team. 3. The network team creates tickets based on customer issues without referencing customer issues. 4. Tier 1 receives these tickets to assist customers. This rep was unprofessional, rude, and clearly unaware of how her company handles technical issues. She also claims the internet is "either On or Off". Im sure any certified IT specialist out there would argue the opposite.

JA

Janel Griffey

I have used Grande since they came to my area of Waco in the 80s. At that time they were called Clearsource. The only time I have not used Grande is when I moved into this subdivision where Grande was not available. As soon as Grande laid their lines and was available, I switched back to them. Each of the two times that I have moved prior to my upcoming move, I have had HUGE ISSUES getting the service installed. Ive had to call supervisor after supervisor and finally left a message for the CEO of Grande. The problems I was having then were immediately solved by the end of the day. Im downsizing to a house that is 6 houses away from the one I am in now. It took me over a week for someone to confirm that 1. the house existed, and 2. that Grande could service the house. Funny thing is, I have a Grande box in the corner of my front yard at the new house. Yet, they could not verify that the house existed. After talking to a female supervisor, I was passed on to a male supervisor who finally was successful in getting what I wanted done done. Im supposed to have Internet installed today between 1-5pm today. The problem is that I came home Friday to find that Grande had called but had left no message. At the end of every call, I hear "Thanks for calling Grande, were here 24/7". Well I just learned, after being on hold for 2 hours and 21 minutes that Grandes routing service must be down because the call should have been forwarded. It wasnt. I called a different number and was able to speak with Justin in a matter of minutes. Unfortunately he is in technical support, I need the billing department in order to confirm that my appointment has not been cancelled. I can call back at 6:00am to find out. It is now 1:32am. I doubt I will be awake at 6:00 in the morning. I asked if he could leave an email or some sort of message asking someone in billing to call me. NOPE Direct TV, Dish TV, AT&T TV all are beginning to sound like better choices than Grande. I wish I could attach the picture of my phone showing just how long I waited to be routed to a person in technical support. Yes, I understand their whole call center was destroyed by the recent rain, but it shouldnt take this much effort to get service started at a new house. If things change, and Grande comes through and can provide the service I need tomorrow and next week, Ill change my rating.

ST

steven kane

Grande Communications is the absolute worst provider in Waco. I am a Baylor student so Internet is a necessity. Grande provided me with not only the slowest internet possible, but also internet that cut out every 12.5 minutes on the dot. With a 3 minute reboot time, one could expect to get about 20-25 minutes of internet usage per every 45-60 mins. When I confronted Grande about this problem they assured me that it would be resolved within the next 2 business days. 9 days, 17 calls and 11 emails later, someone finally arrives at the apartment only to tell me that they couldnt do anything and that they would call this "Nick" fellow in San Marcos who invited Accelerate. The employee, Marco, provided me with his work number in case "Nick" never contacted me that day. By 6:30 I had heard no word so I proceeded to call Marco back only to find that he had given me a number to some old lady who had never heard of Marco or Grand Communications. This was the final straw for me so I proceeded to try and talk to someone higher up about getting the problem resolved or getting out of the contract only to have several employees tell me that I must talk to customer service, who must be reading straight from a prompt, to have my problems fixed. I still to this day cannot get a hold of anyone and when I try to call the company I get hung-up on after asking to speak to an upper-level employee. The absolute worst service, worst connection and ultimately the worst provider there is in Waco and probably Texas. Avoid if you can.

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