I visited Basecamp in April to do some drop in coworking and check out the space. tldr- seems like a great spot for those renting office space but I had a less than satisfactory experience with their hot desk offering.
I have been on the hunt for a coworking space to join and was really interested in Basecamp. I filled out the contact form for a tour and when I had not heard anything back a week later, I decided to just do a drop in day to check it out. I paid and got the email to create an account. When signed in, there was not any information on how to access the space, connect to wifi, etc. I also didn't receive an email on how it works. Oh well, I show up the day of my reservation and getting in is no problem. However, I can't find the wifi password anywhere and the only other person working appears to be on a call. I wander around and there also appears to be no reception, the reception desk shown on the floor plan on the website doesn't exist.
I tried to scan a QR code posted on the wall to connect to the Facebook group thinking that I might find more info there but the link was broken. The Basecamp website had no contact info other than the form I originally filled out for a tour and got no response from. I ended up creating a support ticket through my Basecamp account about the lack of access to wifi and carried on using the District building wifi. However, the signal wasn't not strong enough to take my first call of the morning.
When visiting a coworking space, I feel like the bare minimum expectation is that theres somewhere to sit and wifi to connect to. This was a strange and confusing experience, maybe Basecamp caters more to the businesses renting office space. Reviews seemed to reflect a good community here, which is why I was excited to check it out. However, if you can't or don't want to cater to drop in customers- why offer the service?
Disappointing because the space is nice and others seem to have a good experience at Basecamp. I can't speak for the Basecamp experience as a whole, but my personal experience did not leave me wanting to join or recommend the space to those looking for a spot to drop in and work. I think a simple "Here's how it works" email or a QR code on the hot desks with how it works or a how to guide after login or any sort of information would have gone a long way. Maybe the expectation is that they are community-minded and I should ask someone for help or WiFi- but there was no obvious person to ask and the only other person there was working (as it is a coworking space).
Anyways the space was nice, there was plenty of seating and the proximity to Otis Coffee was a great consolation. However, I did end up leaving so I could take my calls for the day on reliable WiFi.
