Web Hosting Support Where Has It Gone ?

Pyxis-Host · 10th May 2007

Hello everyone,

First let me introduce my self to the community. I have about 8 years in the hosting industry. I have seen them come and go, even I did. But I left on a good note. Anyway thius time around I was looking for some space to host a couple small sites and below is the end result. I hope you enjoy this article and I hope you learn something new from it.
Thank You
Lee Cupp

Why hosting companies plaster "24/7/365 support" all over the web site when they do not even offer it.

A few months back I was looking for some web hosting for a couple small sites I have. Now I don't need a lot of support and consider myself vert intelligent when it comes to web servers and web hosting. So I look around and I came upon a few decent looking web host providers. All of these providers claimed "24/7/365 support". Now I am no rocket scientist butI do know what 24 hour support means.
It so happend that this took place on the weekend and I was sending test emails to these support teams. I only received one test reply back from a small company. Now the point I am trying to make here is this. Are most of these web hosting providers just using "24/7/365 support" for a marketing ploy ? Is there an advantage to having "24/7/365 support" plastered all over your website and then not even receiving an email back from them at all? I wander sometimes why there is companies and people who do these deceptive practices KNOWING that it is deceptive.

Most startup webhosts today think it is easy to run a web host. It is not. That is where the 24/7/365 come into play.When you are searching for a web host do a hois serch. (I prefer whois.sc) See how long that company has had that domain. See if there is a contact number, address, and email. Too truly test the support of a host use all available avenues of support they offer. If they offer phone support, call them up and just tell them you are doing a test support call. If they answer within a couple minutes that is a +. Email support done in the same way. but let about 2-4 hours go by first. Support tickets are usually answered through email. What happens is that a majority of hosts will have the support email piped to the support desk. Once again wait about 2-4 hours. This includes on the weekends also.

Next time we will discuss UNLIMITED space and bandwidth

(If you think this post is spam then that is your right, I am just educating the general publiic who know nothing about web hosts' today)

About the Author:

markcastle · 10th May 2007

Some hosting companies have intelligent support systems which will only pipe verified current customer support emails to the support staff; all other emails to the support address would likely be put in a holding queue to be examined / verified by hand. You need to perhaps consider that before prematurely dismissing every company that does not reply immediately.

RSH · 10th May 2007

Good points presented there...

For the webhosts, I believe it is always good to promise only things that they can deliver..

False promises just for the sake of promotion can lead to negative publicity.

For eg. If you can offer only 8 hours support, be honest and let your clients know that you can only offer 8 hours support. But if you promote it as 24/7 support and are not available for the rest hours of the day, it spoils the hosts reputation and the trust..

StevenW · 10th May 2007

The statement you made "24/7/365 support" is just marketing ploy does not apply on all hosts. They are few good hosting providers as well. Well if you have any problems with your host you should discuss with them and get it sorted out immediately.

othellotech · 10th May 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by markcastle

Some hosting companies have intelligent support systems which will only pipe verified current customer support emails to the support staff

We implemented this over a year ago in response to the growing number of support requests from non-customers, in some instances where they would even say that they're not a client, but their existing "host" hadnt replied !

I'm now seeing that our chat-live facility is being abused in a similar manner, and switching that to sales enquiries, and logged in customers only.

To the OP: the reason so many claim 24/7 support is because thats in the text and flash header of thestolen template they grabbed by bit-torrent 1
The barriers to entry having become so low with ebay "unlimited" reseller accounts, that anyone willing to forgo a packet of crisps on the way to school everyday can start their "hosting company" ...

UH-Matt · 10th May 2007

Its not a marketing ploy.

We have genuine 24/7 presence, at all times, reading emails, on the helpdesk, in our livechat.

its done by having staff in the UK, USA, and Australia. Everyone working a 9-6 gives us a proper 24/7 coverage without anyone working a "graveyard shift". this only came about as we have a large customer base in the USA, it wasnt necessarily aimed at providing UK customers with round-the-clock coverage but thats how its worked out and its great.

So I wouldnt write everyone off as using this as a scam and not providing, its not the case, you likely just made some bad choices when choosing your hosts!

Pyxis-Host · 11th May 2007

Hello everyone,
Thank you for the comments. This is just an article that I hope will help some people. I know there are a lot that do offer 24/7 and they come through. But lets face reality there is more who do not.

renddyy · 11th May 2007

Thaks for sharing your thoughts with us.

midnightsoftwar · 11th May 2007

Oh dear, another one

Pyxis-Host · 12th May 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by midnightsoftwar

Oh dear, another one

Not another one what ?

UKE-Craig · 12th May 2007

The best way to determine support service is to fire many emails prior to ordering a solution from the provider, the time it takes to receive a reply is the normal standard time you have to wait for other replies.

Cameron Gray · 13th May 2007

Craig, I'm sure that if you used that approach with a number of hosts that are members of this forum you'd find yourself banned from their systems prior to even making the order.

What is it that makes people believe that support departments are their just to mess with, even when you aren't a customer? I wouldn't blame anyone for banning an abusive user who isn't a customer - just because he wanted to know how long it would take for the support department to e-mail him back to say he isn't a customer and to bog off.

UH-Matt · 13th May 2007

I think Craig was just suggesting that before ordering service from a host, you send several emails to gauge an average response time. Its a sensible idea so you can understand what to expect in terms of response times.

Customer or no customer, its not unreasonable to email a provider several times before signing up...

Cameron Gray · 13th May 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by UH-Matt

Customer or no customer, its not unreasonable to email a provider several times before signing up...

But even you Matt should realise the difference between SALES or even pre-sales and SUPPORT.

Past efficiency of your local sales-droid is not indicative of the performance of any support personnel.

midnightsoftwar · 13th May 2007

Quote:

Originally Posted by renddyy

Thaks for sharing your thoughts with us.

I meant this ^^^