Washington Broadband, Inc.

Since August of 2015, our household has experienced regular problems with our internet serviceThese problems have increased in severity over timeThe company has been repeatedly notified and yet a lasting resolution has never occurredThe primary problem: consistency of speeds and service delivered versus advertised speedsOur package is a mbps down and mbps up business class option with Washington BroadbandAs per MrM***, acceptable ranges are in the 5-10+ category for eachWe have regularly received far less than this, to the point that it has left us completely unable to run our home-based businesses, as he is well awareWhen contacted, MrM*** has given us a number of explanations, yet none of them lead to a resolutionHe has advertised, per his own Company News section at WashingtonBroadband.com the various maintenance and improvements he is doing to his line in order to improve speedsNone of them have panned outSince November, our lines have shown regula

They blame ur computer for slow internet I pay for download and 2upload and bedn getting .5-download and they refuse to help find the problem instead blame you.and keep taking your money and delete posts on facebook page

I find it unfortunate that Mr*** chose this route to make a complaint When I returned his call he followed up by removing the radio equipment from his house and dropping it by our office I was in the office and he chose not to talk to me as I was visibly at my office desk
When his connection has not worked well we have acknowledged it, offered and issued credits whether documented or not Wireless in rural areas is in relative infancy and we warn people who live/work miles from town that speeds are often variable and Mr*** was well aware of this
We moved him to a licensed-lite spectrum and while he was the only person on this particular access point to watch speeds so closely I'm sure it was for business use and we worked hard even moving his account to a more open spectrum It is clear Mr*** is a heavy user of the Internet and with the abilities of Fixed Wireless improving nearly monthly, in fact the month before we left we were able to assign 20Mbps connections in his area on a regular basis with another spectrum newly offered for our use which we immediately purchasedIn addition new licensed spectrum with wider available speed abilities are being released including the new 3.5Ghz spectrum that would have easily cured inconsistent speeds but he chose not to wait in addition in the future we will be extending fiber to the home in his area, if he chooses to rejoin our company it will be the first wired solution available in his area
Mr*** chose to cancel rather than try additional options and we don't blame him for that, A fixed wired option is preferable for his heavy use and should be a consideration when locating businesses miles from that type of infrastructure As Mr*** chose to leave our company I see no basis for this complaint and request it be closed as responsive
Respectfully,
Forbes M***
President - Washington Broadband, Inc

The issue that has been going on here with Washington broadband is the fact that their Internet speed is really really bad I have been in this house for about five months now getting this service at my locationI have paid for the $package and got in less than one megabyte per second speed during nonpeak hoursI have sent numerous emails to get support about this continuous problem and have had yet to have any resolutionThere has been no attempt to lower the costs of service pro rate or even giving us a discount Due to the issuesTonight I am trying to do work for my masters degree online and I cannot connect to the Internet to watch videos that are required my spirit is MB per second it’s almost a slow *** dial up InternetTypically they just have you go to the steps of pulling the plug restarting the router and that should resolve the problem as they usually state due to the issuesTonight I am trying to do work for my masters degree online and I cannot con

I want to like this company so much but have had nithung but trouble since I first had the system installed months agoThe summary is it is better to go without internet then deal with this company
Good: you get close to what you pay for between 2am - 6am (also known as when everyone is asleep.)
Bad: Unfortunately almost everything else
First - Install
I actually had to climb a ladder myself and install the receiver or wait a couple weeks after waiting a week or so to just get the system installedThe installer was nice at leastAfter installed and tested, my signal wasn't very good so I had to go back up the ladder and uninstall then reinstall a new dishWhich finally gave me better signalOr so I thought
As time went on and they bumped me down from what I think is a "honeymoon" phase they put new customers on to give them a good starting experienceMy internet slowed down dramatically
I would constantly power down the system and then turn it back onCalling to get helped only fixed the problem for a day at most
As time progressed farther, I would get billed twice for the same months service only to have new excuses for why they did this every timeTo getting talked down to and talked rudely to by customer serviceI understand people can have bad days, but their customer service doesn't need to take it out on their customers
First time trying to cancel service starts the many excuses for why my service is so slow and the promise of things getting fixed soonI would call back to only be told new excuses and let's fast forward through a couple months of biding my time and getting charged twice on another month and trying to cancel only to be promised of more fixes happening soonI even downgraded from a 8mb/s service to a mb/s service only to be told I could then to be told I was lucky not to be charged a fee later in the week for that(I wasn't and am still not even getting 0.1mb/s)
It's now my most recent attempts I cancel InternetI am getting told by an employee that she can do whatever she wants as far as far as billing goes and that the boss won't or doesn't know about itShe says she understands and continues to keep telling me how they are making fixes and how it's now their own system making the problem with itselfUgh, I just want outNow it's been essentially months of service that I have not come close to what I have paid forShe was gracious to offer giving me a couple months of free service to stay on as a customerBut even months free service on no/dial up speed service is not worth anything anywaysI am still trying to get my service canceled only to be told I will be charged $100+ fee for canceling even though I have not gotten service that I signed up for and they can't provide me with that service it is somehow my fault and I have to pay the fee for itIt has been a week since last contact and I hope to get this resolved ASAP
All I can say is that I am not the only one having bad experiences, they took in way to many customers and the equipment/towers can't handle the loadEven their techs and after hours support say they (Washington broadband) are at fault
Trying to go ahold of the owner is impossible, my guess is because there are so many unhappy customersI do hope they are able to fix the problem, in the meantime, I just want my service to be canceled
I caution anyone on Washington broadbandYou are seriously better off with satellite internet or cable if your lucky enough to get cable or just increase your cellphone data plan

We are certainly sorry for the service issue that *** has had, it is always our intention to provide seamless quality service. The particular area he lives in has suffered lately with some new competitors and area farmers turning on 5ghz radios that cover our signal. As it is unlicensed
spectrum we are especially susceptible to these unplanned and uninformed interferers. Once notified we change frequencies of our radios but the careless cause of interference makes it difficult to stay on top of our over access points. *** has notified us by email and left messages, when it is brought to our attention we promptly change the frequency of his radio and it seems to work. I looked just now and he has a perfect connection so the last fix worked and his service is well within what he is paying for. As for credits for system shortages we are always receptive to those requests and our records indicate we have worked with *** on his requests. As for the statement that we have no problem shutting off for non-payment that is an automatic function of our billing system and only occurs with delinquent payment.We have 24/availability even after hours with a message left on our system we are quick to respond and very willing to make sure MrLittlewolf is working properly. I show no tickets entered for changing out radios and his last email on March 9th we believed fixed his issue. If this is not the case we are a locally owned company and very receptive to making whatever change is needed to assure a good Internet experience for all of our customers.Thanks for letting us know, my apologies for the delay in response.Forbes M***President - Washington Broadband, Inc

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business' response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com,
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 10843118 and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
Regards, Travis M[redacted]
I accept the resolution of letting me out of the contract. I want to state for the record that I never called his bookkeeper a "[redacted]" and I did use the f-word but it was not directed to her it was directed at the quality of customer care I was recieving. I have been having these problems well before their other towers and I was told they are more important than I am and I needed to wait. I was told in several occasions that I would receive a call back and never did is the reason I kept going into their business and complaining. I am happy to not have to deal with this company in the future because they are dishonest and not customer friendly. I was warned before I even got the service and I should have listened. I will chalk this up as a lesson learned because this company still doesn't think they did anything wrong. Thank you for helping me resolve this dispute.

Mr. M[redacted] had one thing right, we had a very difficult week.  In the several unnecessary visits he made to our office he could see equipment strewn about and frantic employees trying to fix a failed tower that served 500+customers.  He was unimpressed with that fact and wanted us to...

drop everything to come out to his house.  His account is generally accurate, his Internet worked perfectly until the evening, no other person on that tower was complaining of slow service which hurt the diagnostic ability to nail his individual problem down.During the crisis of our tower outage we offered an olive branch of a free month of service, he was again unimpressed and we understand because consistent Internet service is important for our customers and us as well. His visits to the office were uncomfortable as he just stood there expecting us to ignore our larger problem for him and when he came in during the day there was no problem with his Internet so we could not recreate it.  The many reasons it could be down, as he stated, was our attempt to find why one customer would have this slow down.  We finally found an interference that was localized in his area and believe it is now fixed.I would call to ask how his service is but Friday he called the office and completely lost it, He called my bookkeeper a "[redacted]" and used the "F" word so many times she couldn't count.  My Bookkeeper is one of the most kind and patient people you will meet and did not deserve that tirade of obscenities. Had he spoken that way to me I would have just discounted it as frustration but to talk to a female employee that way is inexcusable.  That's why she hung up, I have strict instructions that if a customer curses they are to hang up on them and notify me.  After Friday he became a customer who violated common courtesy and while it's a shame that it happened just as we were able to finally find and repair the unusual issue.  Our service uses unlicensed wireless and therefore is more prone to a localized problem caused by a neighbors new router or other competitors that turn up on our frequencies inadvertently or carelessly.As a small business we are not Charter or CenturyLink, people are not just a number with us, they are a family of customers, we don't act like a large corporation, never raising prices or adding fees we treat our customers like we want to be treated.  As Mr. M[redacted] has lost personal control over his own good senses we will release him from his contract and allow him to seek service elsewhere as he is no longer welcome in our family.  There are plenty of options in that areas so we are not costing him money or leaving him high and dry, simply we prefer civil customers who appreciate the local personal touch we have given to the Internet Service Provider business in our community.Forbes M[redacted]

I've been using this company for the last five years now and I can honestly say for the most part I've been very happy with my service. My son uses it for gaming and I used it for school an internet service. Where I live there are very few choices for internet provider and Washington Broadband is the best and the prices haven't change any since I signed up with them. Yes, sometimes it gets a little slow, but for the most part it's still much better than what I had...

Thanks WBS
Joe H.

Excellent service 24/7/365

Review: Washington Broadband, a wireless internet provider based in Yakima, is misleading customers by making unfair and deceptive claims of the speeds of its internet service and by making false claims about its customer service.

The company advertises 5mb of internet connectivity for $57 a month for a 12 month contract. I began using the service in April of this year and almost immediately noticed speeds far less than promised. Many days the speed is less than 1mb, making it impossible to conduct routine business over the Washington Broadband network.

Numerous calls, letters (copies available) and a visit to their offices have generated no improvement. Instead I received conflicting accounts of temporary service outages, system rebuilds in progress and other statements by company personnel, none of which seemed factual or at any rate did not lead to promised fixes. Company personnel were at best indifferent to their poor service. Even the company president disregarded letters directed to him. At no point did the company offer a full refund despite the fact that my service has been less than half the advertised rate. At no point was I informed that my location posed technical challenges to receiving the promised level of service. To the contrary, I was assured my location and installed receiver would provide optimal service. The company has ignored my request to visit my residence and diagnose the problems.

I have gone online to review what other customers have said about Washington Broadband. I have found similar complaints, which suggests to me that misleading and false claims are a routine business practice.Desired Settlement: I believe I should receive a 1) full refund for the substandard service, plus 2) immediate steps to provide promised service for myself and any other customers experiencing this treatment, and 3) a revision to their posted pricing to reflect actual speeds.

Since Washington Broadband is the only provider of service in my rural area of Yakima County, I further request that the Revdex.com prevent any retaliatory action by Washington Broadband. I deeply appreciate Revdex.com's assistance in this matter.

Business

Response:

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint, we are very aware of Mr. [redacted]'s complaints as he calls and writes us frequently. I will reply inline to his statements:

The worst customer service I have ever received. Stated I would pay for service if I didn't show up for appointment. Took off work to be there and washington broadband did not show up. Would not compensate me the same as they wanted if I didn't show up. Then stated it was my fault. Would not use their company if their customer service is that poor!

We live out in the county in Yakima so our Internet choices are very limited. We have been with Washington Broadband since they were called Northwest Info Net. Our experience has always been positive. Recently there were some adjustments made to the tower we receive our service from and it made it so our service was slow in the evening hours. We contacted the office and they were right out to check things out. In the end the service is better than it has ever been. We are extremely happy with the level of service we have received over the years.

Review: I am paying for internet service of 5mb download and 1 mb upload. Starting around the 1st of September I started seeing my internet drop down to .5mb download and .4 upload. I contacted washington broadband every couple days to see if they figured out the problem yet. Everytime I talked to them they gave me a different reason why I was having problems. Their after hours support would tell me they put in a ticket and would call me back the next day and never contacted me. I would go into the office and talk to the owner (Forbes M[redacted]) and he would tell me a differnt reason why I was having problems, but could never fix the issues. I talked to the owner on 9/28/15 and he said he thought he found the problem. Forbes told me they had to many people on my tower and that in the evenings it would overload the system and that was why my speed dropped. He told me to give him 2 days and he would have it fixed. I went back into the office on 10/1/15 and Forbes told me that he fixed the issues. I told him that nothing has changed and I showed him my speedtest results that show I am not even getting 1mb download. He told me that he has other problems in other areas that are more important at this time. They needed to fix those problems first. I told him I have been dealing with this problem for a month now and he said he was going to credit my account for a months service. I stated that doesnt fix my problem that I am having. Forbes then told me that he was going to have to have someone come out and do a complete reinstall of my equipment even though I already had one of their techs come out and check my equipment on 9/28/15. Technician stated there was nothing wrong with my equipment and that the problem was with the tower. I asked when I am supposed to have someone come out and do a reinstall and he said he didnt know because he was too busy. I called the office on 10/2/15 to try to schedule an appointment and got in an arguement with the secretary because she overheard Forbes and my conversation the day before and didnt want to schedule an appointment. She asked me if I wanted out of my contract and I told her I am in a 2 year contract and she looked at my account and said I dont really have any options at this point. I told her I wanted my service fixed because thats what I am paying for. Secretary hung up on me which made me even more upset. I called back and she answered and I asked her to have Forbes M[redacted] call me when he gets back in the office and she hung up on me again. I want out of my contract and this needs to be addressed. This is by far the worst customer service I have had in my life. The people are rude and constantly giving me the run around. I tried for a month to give them all the opportunities to resolve the situation and they treat me like I am unimportant. I was told they have more important things to deal with than just 1 customer.Desired Settlement: I want people to know how horrible the customer service is and I want out of my contract due to the fact that they cannot/will not fix my internet. Them telling me that my problem is not important to them means they do not want my business.

Business

Response:

Mr. M[redacted] had one thing right, we had a very difficult week. In the several unnecessary visits he made to our office he could see equipment strewn about and frantic employees trying to fix a failed tower that served 500+customers. He was unimpressed with that fact and wanted us to drop everything to come out to his house. His account is generally accurate, his Internet worked perfectly until the evening, no other person on that tower was complaining of slow service which hurt the diagnostic ability to nail his individual problem down.

I'll be lucky if this review posts, since my internet is in terrible shape....again.
Ok, people, here's the deal with Washington Broadband, the good and the bad...everything you need to know if you are thinking about signing up. It's a two-star review, so mostly bad...if Washington Broadband wants to step up its game and get a better review, more power to them, I would gladly write a more positive review if they can improve my overall experience.
The Good: If you are in a rural area around Yakima, then it might be that Washington Broadband is the ONLY service available to you. Oh, there might be some terrible satellite company, perhaps, but out where I live there is no DSL, no cable - we are up the virtual creek, and Washington Broadband comes to the rescue. That's cool - I appreciate that their service finds its way out this far. Good job! In some areas you will find a local competitor....I have no experience with any of those, because in my case WB is my only option.
The Bad: First off, it is slow. If you are coming from the city get ready for whiplash. Frustrated with bogged down DSL? You'll kiss the DSL provider on the mouth after sampling wireless speeds for awhile. And cable? Our last cable connection, nothing special, was more than 10x faster than this, and cost less per month. Now, that's mostly apples and oranges, not really fair to compare the two and, as you can read above, those other options are no longer available for me, or probably for you if you're reading this. How fast do you really need? Well, for media streaming, like we do a lot of, you want 5mps....it's not amazing, but it will certainly get the job done most of the time. So that's what we signed up for, the 5mps plan. Sounds good....except...
Second, the service is terribly inconsistent. The performance fluctuates constantly, rarely delivering the promised speeds for any reliable length of time. We roll with a lot of this, but when it gets too bad for too long, I call tech support. They push a few buttons and bingo, back to 5mps. For a day or two. Which, to be honest, is pretty frustrating, because it suggests that they have it in their power to improve your network performance if they would bother to check how things are going. If they would deliver the promised speeds, slow as they are, I would be a much happier camper. (For kicks I ran a speed test just now...averaged .26Mbps...yes, .26...about 5% of promised speed)
Third, there is general low-level of professionalism in most interactions. I've met a couple of sharp tech guys, but the feel of the place, from billing to tech support, is odd, not much concern for the customer. We had a more serious interruption in service awhile back, leaving us without internet for a week. Tech visits were hard to schedule and days out. After another outage due to some WB equipment failure, I called to get a sense of how long we'd be down, and asked for billing adjustments for the lost service. Though promised a call back, it did not come. Only repeated calls to tech support got our service up and running again. Lame. The billing is paid in advance, so every day down is just taking our money and delivering no service in return. Some proactive problem solving and return calls would go a long way to improving this category.
I am still using WB because.....well....I have to. If I had any other options, I'd use them. Which isn't a great place to be for WB, because as soon as other options open up, which they no doubt will at some point, they will have no loyal customers, only former customers. I'd be happy to upgrade this review if WB can improve the service. (I just ran another speed test...up to .98Mbps!....that means up to ALMOST 20% of what we pay for!....things are looking up already!) My name is Duncan M., I welcome feedback from Washington Broadband.
There you have it - good luck in your search for an internet provider!