Katie Desmarais

Review of Gateway at Lubbock

I will be finishing out my second year here at Gat...

I will be finishing out my second year here at Gateway/THRIVE, and the quality has continued to go down since I leased here. Let s talk pros and cons.

(Quick summary if you re in a hurry: The units and clubhouse aren t bad. However, the hot tub won t work ever, the printers up front -although free- never work, the front desk workers are liars and idiots, the utility charges are absurd and there s no cap, maintenance takes forever, the internet and cable are CONSTANTLY out (literally, as I was writing this, all my channels went out), and the quality and customer service will continue to go down every month until you are fortunate enough for your lease to end.)

Pros: The clubhouse is beautiful (although I can see that they funnel money into their office appearance and not into their residents ). I do like the units, as I ve lived in a 3 bedroom and a 2 bedroom. The furniture isn t the most comfortable, the appliances are pretty outdated, but overall, I like the units. One of the best things is the storage space off the balcony which holds 8+ storage bins and more.

Cons: Buckle up. To begin with, they are incredibly cheap, starting with their cable and internet providers. Cable is provided by Pavlov Media and my channels are going out constantly. They go out in the rain, wind, and sometimes for no reason. I ve had channels freeze or go out for weeks. The internet is equally atrocious. As a student complex, we have homework that requires a reliable internet connection, and the internet often goes out for hours a day, several days a week. As we speak, I am writing my review using my mobile data because the internet is out. When they changed internet providers, they reduced the speed by half and offered the original speed at a monthly cost. A friend of mine purchased the higher speed package, but his internet never sped up. The front desk continued to say it would eventually work, but it never did and he dropped the paid service without refund.
Speaking of promises that aren t kept, I m going on my second year of being lied to. The hot tub has yet to be fixed, and we have yet to receive our gate openers, despite being continuously told Any day now!
THRIVE customer service has also dive-bombed since I leased. My first year, there were a few employees in the office that would do anything they could to help, and they took complaints and maintenance requests seriously. Currently, the office is full of incompetent regurgitators who spew promises to fix problems, but nothing is ever done. Maintenance requests take weeks to complete, if they even complete them at all, the office goes weeks and weeks without the printers working/missing ink, and their mail service is often so slow that my package will arrive Monday and by the end of the day on Wednesday they won t have it ready for me to come pick up.
My first year I got a $30 utility cap, which they took away without mentioning during year two. They withhold utility charges for the first 3 months, so I didn t know using air conditioning was costing me $80 a month until October. It s not illegal, but it s sleazy and jerky of them to keep this kind of information a secret unless asked for. Bonus! When I asked the front desk about a price miscalculation I d found when contacting the utility company (ironically named CONservice), the girl at the front desk tried several times to shoo me away and keep me from meeting with the financial advisor. When I did meet with her, she was convinced I was wrong and my high charges were correct. I had to match up each charge to the month for her line by line for her to see the mistake, and they begrudgingly lowered my bill. Ridiculous.

The bottom line: If you want working internet, cable, amenities, and to be treated like a human, don t move in. If this is the only complex you can swing, bring your own internet and subscribe to streaming services. Avoid the front desk, limit electricity, and have tools on-hand for repairs.