ONE BAD THING - AERIOCONNECT
From:
dchang1153
Date posted:
9/2/2007
Years at this apartment:
2006
-
2007
Overall, I've really enjoyed living at the Visconti. Management and staff are great - Nelson, the property manager, really bends over backward for his residents, Ashley and other leasing staff are kind and friendly and Len, head of maintenance, is responsive and professional. Fitness center is first rate, and the interior of the complex is beautiful (which, in response to a previous reviewer, is partly b/c they actually enforce their balcony rules). I live on the courtyard side and my apt is isolated so I can't speak to whether the walls are thin.
The one thing that is universally complained about is AERIOCONNECT which is the WORST service provided I've ever dealt with (just ask management/staff of Visconti - even they will readily admit this). The biggest problem is that for some reason Visconti owners/investors made the incredibly foolish decision to agree to an exclusivity clause in their contract with AERIOCONNECT whereby only AERIOCONNECT can provide TV and internet service.
Obviously, this gives AERIOCONNECT very little incentive to provide quality service to its customers. They are also severely understaffed, e.g., good luck getting through to their "24 hour" support line late at night, on a weekend, or on a holiday. You can forget about ordering any pay-per-view programs during non-business hours as AERIOCONNECT has made it so that you cannot order through Dishnetwork, but must order through them. Totally ridiculous - why not allow Dishnetwork handle this kind of thing especially when AERIOCONNECT's 24 hour support consists of forwarding calls to an on-call technician's cell phone.
Their satellite installation is so shoddy that at least 10% of the time, when you turn on your TV, the receiver will have to reprogram, reconfigure or relocate the signal. And while you're watching an episode of your favorite show, all of a sudden the screen will turn black, and you will have to unplug and replug your receiver to get it working again. I was told this is b/c the signal in my unit is "weak." Funny thing is, the only other residents I've spoken to about this, one being on Visconti's staff, have complained about the same exact thing. So it looks like the whole building is getting a "weak" signal.
Internet is a shared connection, meaning you share the same connection as all of the other residents. This becomes a problem during "peak" times. And, to manage all that traffic in such limited bandwidth, AERIOCONNECT has configured the network so that residents cannot use P2P sharing programs at all. I mean, I'm glad that they've done that b/c previously, the internet was barely faster than 56k and you couldn't even think about playing any on-line games. But, it'd be nice to have that option. Also, if you're a fan of watching streaming on-line content, like Netflix' video on demand or ABC's online episodes, be warned that when it does work, you'll be forced to watch it on the lowest available resolution (you will NEVER be able to watch it on the highest or second highest).
Oh, and they're VERY good about adding on fees they never told you about, and HORRIBLE about refunding fees. For example, they will tell you that the second receiver in your unit will cost an additional $5/month. But they won't tell you that there is a separate "programming" fee for that additional receiver which costs $5.99/month. HUH' what the hell is a "programming" fee' And, when you call to tell them your internet hasn't been working for a month, and that your TV service is down again, they will NEVER offer to refund part of your bill. You have to write numerous emails over the course of a few MONTHS, many of which they won't even respond to. And when they finally do refund any money, it will be the bare minimum, i.e., if you've had service problems for 3.5 weeks, they'll maybe refund you two week's worth and hope you've lost the energy to haggle further.
BOTTOM LINE: Apartments and management here are great. They keep the complex nice and clean (except for maybe the parking garage which is layered dirt/dust), and the workout facilities, outdoor grills, fountains, pool, plants, etc. are also well maintained. INTERNET AND SATELLITE TV SERVICE ARE TERRIBLE AND YOU WILL HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO ACCEPT IT B/C OF AERIOCONNECT'S EXCLUSIVITY CLAUSE. I hope that at some point the people at GH Palmer will realize how important these things are to residents, especially downtown residents who are mostly students and young working professionals. Hope this was helpful.
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