When I set up to get my graphic design and mask websites online (where I later posted the ArcMage mirror site), I went to some lengths to make sure I was getting the best deal I could. Shopping for a host, I went looking not just for economy and massive storage space, bu good support as well. Many online guides to webhosts are available, and quite a few of those post reviews by customers of the web hosts they list.
Besthost-1 got a brace of stunning reviews, and not a single negative one. I took that to be a good sign, when I probably should have taken it as a warning. Now, a year later, I've come to wonder if all those glowing reviews weren't written by various shills - friends & family of Besthost-1's staff, or something. They oughtta be called "Worsthost-1".
From the very get-go, there were problems. They couldn't straighten out my various domains and domain stacks, they didn't respond to support inquiries until I attached return reciepts to my emails and threatened to take my business elsewhere. It took me almost three months to get everything sorted out so all my sites were working properly. To be fair, I should note that when they finally did respond, they were gracious, apologetic and accomodating, and gave me a small discount on my fees as a conciliatory gesture.
Then this past June, large sections of my site vanished mysteriously. I was able to resore the files from backups, but my public FTP directories were gone, and I didn't have the passwords and authorization to recreate them. Once again, repeated inquiries to support brought no response. Since the site was back, and I wasn't using the anonymous FTP directories much anyway, I let the matter drop - I was just too damn busy to pursue it further once the sites were online again.
The third and final strike happened when my contract with Besthost came up for renewal. During the intervening year, my credit card information had changed. Besthost attempted to charge another year to the now outdated account number, and when the charge was refused, they simply took my sites offline. No notice, no inquiry to ask what was up, just bounced email and 404s.
(Excuse me, that's not quite true - the day after my sites went down, I got an email from them saying I'd been blocked for non payment)
Now, I understand there are deadbeats, and access to their web site is really
the only leverage a host has over them. What I find offensive are the assumptions, implicit in Besthost's "solution", that a) it isn't worth bothering to try to send advance renewal notices and b) any client whose payment isn't immediately and automatically accounted for must be a deadbeat and requires their use of that leverage, instantly and
automatically, without bothering to inquire as to whether there is a problem or a simple oversight.
If I were to miss a payment on my car, or my mortgage, my bank would have the common courtesy to send me a notice before they started forclosure or repossesment proceedings. My storage space would send me a late notice before they overlocked my unit. If I were late on my office rent, my landlord would send me a late notice before he began the
eviction process. Earlier this year, I had almost exactly this same situation with my ISP, over the change of the credit card number, and they sent me a notice a month before they were scheduled to shut me off, plenty of time for me to correct the situation without losing my service.
I can certainly understand their having a policy of blocking a site for lack of payment. What I don't understand or condone is doing so with no warning.
In a market where packages and prices are fiercely competetive, it's most often service which makes the difference. And in a service business, your client base is your real bottom line. What is efficient logistically & operationally is not always the most effective or efficient in terms of customer relations. Providing good service and support, insuring customer satisfaction, is more troublesome and expensive in the short run, but that trouble and expense pays off in the long run in terms of client loyalty, referrals, and the development of a good reputation.
One problem, even two, I was willing to overlook, write it off, and let bygones be bygones. But this arbitrary cutoff with no warning at all indicates an attitude behind Besthost's policies that values their own convenience more than courtesy and respect toward their customers. To continue to do business with a company whose policies betray such an attitude would have been just asking for more trouble in the future.
So all of my personal sites - Eagleson Design, Shapeshifter Masks, and the ArcMage Mirror Site have now moved to Dreamhost. So far, these folks have been quite helpful and accomodating, and I'm looking forward to a long & happy stay there.
For those of you who tried to contact me at my eaglesondesign.com or maskmaker.com email addresses, and had your mail bounced, my apologies. Please try again - those addresses are working now.
Duncan
DISCLAIMER:The opinions expressed on this page are purely and entirely those of the author, do not necessarily reflect the opinions or attitudes of Jeff McBride, McBride Magic, Inc., Tobias Beckwith & Associates, or Magic by Design. Viewer discretion advised, read at your own risk. No warranty is expressed or implied. No purchase necessary. This side up. Use no hooks. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.
©2000 Duncan Eagleson all rights reserved.
