(last edited: 2 August, 9:00 am CET)

Hi all,

There were a lot of questions about server4you in the forums. That's why I decided to setup a small 'my experience' topic.
I will edit this start message as soon as something happens.

July 29
---------------
ordered a Dual Power server. The site says 'instant setup'

July 30
---------------
after 1,5 day I didn't receive any confirmation email. 'Instant setup' is definitely not true. I contacted sales department. It cost them 1 hour to tell me that my order probably didn't came through. They had some problems with a new ordering system.

I placed the order again and did receive a confirmation email promptly. The email says the server will be setup within 48 hours. So far, so good :)

July 31
---------------
Morning: still no news... but since I live in Europe they are probably sleeping now. 24 hours support seems to come right out of their beds.

Evening: nope, still no news... Yesterday (30 July) sales said they are overloaded with orders... Server should be up today.
So probably I will receive the logindetails at the end of the day...

12:00 pm
too bad... no news yet...

August 1
---------------
09:00 am
Maybe they'll deliver the server today on my birthday...
This is day 4... without any news...

06.30 pm
I expected to receive my login details by now... but unfortunately still no sign of server4you. So maybe instant setup means it will be setup on the same day, but the week after?

I start to loose my patience by now.

August 2
---------------
09:00 am
I hoped to receive the final email this morning.... but unfortunately still nothing....

People who need a server soon: don't sign up with them! If you don't call them all the time, they will never let you know when the server has been build. ( IF it ever will be build)

Keep you posted later today!

07:00 pm

Eventhough I understand that companies can have startup problems, I still would expect professional support.

I decided to chat with sales team.

You are now chatting with 'Rachel'
Rachel: hello
John: Hi rachel... I ordered a server 3 days ago and I am wondering about the status.
Rachel: please tell me the server name
John: my name is john ******* and my emailaddress is *******
John: I don't have a servername yet
Rachel: you have registered account with john ***** name?
John: yes, on July 30
Rachel: please hold on, i'll check
John: thanks
Rachel: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Rachel: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
John: tnx
Rachel: I will be right with you.
Rachel: I will be right with you.
Rachel: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Rachel: John, unfortunatly now i have problem with connection to database
Rachel: could you please contact me again in a hour?
Rachel: or you can mail sales@servwer4you.net
John: ok... i hope those troubles are just startup problems...
John: I will email you later or check back the site...
Rachel: please wait
Rachel: i think u have access now
Rachel: i_
John: ok, i will wait :-)
Rachel: I'm sorry for the delay. I'll be right with you.
Rachel: i cant find account named *********
Rachel: could you please give me your order id?
John: grr... that's the second time now... I did receive an email confirmation but there is no order id
John: my email: ******** should be somewhere in the syste,
John: system
Rachel: oh, unfortunatly i cannot make search using your email
Rachel: i need account name
Rachel: or domain name
Rachel: or order id
John: i don't have an account name, I never received one.
John: I also didn't receive any Order ID.
John: Crystal promised me that this time everything will be fine. She also confirmed my order in the system.
Rachel: Thank you for waiting. I'll be with you in just a moment.
Rachel: I will be right with you.
Rachel: i don't know what can i say
Rachel: i need this info
John: you also cannot look on phonenumber? that number should have been used for confirmation.
John: What can I do ???
John: I am already waiting long now
Rachel: sorry... :(
Rachel: i'll try to contact Crystal
Rachel: but while i haven't this info i cannot help you
John: ok, I understand. Always nice to have a good administration :)
John: thanks anyway...
Rachel: :)

Please note that this chat session (without any result) took place for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Can I now say that I am a prety patient person ???

To be continued.

August 3
---------------

My patience was rewarded with login details ;)

I received all login details. I must say that the server4you control panel looks prety cool. I ordered the Dual Power plan, which includes free reboots and recovery. The reboot function just works like a power-reboot-port. I tested it and it works great!

I tested the server immediately. Plesk 6 works fine. The speed from Amsterdam - US is good, about 120ms.

I am happy again.
The control panel also has the ability to change the reverse DNS details.

The server is up and running for 2 days now and I hope the speed will be as good as it is right now (or better :)

I think I just ordered the server at the wrong moment... server4you started last week and they had some startup problems.

Sales promised me that things are going more smooth at the moment.


UPDATED TEXT August 6
------------------------------

I've been playing with the server for a few days now. I must say that the connection is very good. I had only one small problem with my server. The serverload was about 0.60, way to big for an empty machine. Server4you techs looked at the server and fixed my problem. Now it works perfect again.

About the extra features:
---------------------------------------

Power Restore
(if you have a Dual Power server, it's free).

Power Restore gives you a complete new installation on the server. When you press the button, the server will be reinstalled immediately... It's the first time I see this option. I know that I had to pay a lot of money for this at RS plus I had to wait at least one day.

Power Recovery is also cool but will be activated within a few days. If your server doesn't startup anymore, you can login to a server4you debian machine and you will be able to login to your server. You can fix the problem on your server. This is cool... a tool they often use in the datacenters.

Power Backup is just an external FTP server. I got 4Gb backup space for free with my Dual Power machine. At nocster I had to pay about $100 for a backup monthly.
So now I don't need a spare harddisk in my server. I use the Plesk backup tools to make a backup to the FTP server every night.

Power Reboot is a service which you can compare with a remote reboot port, but within your controlpanel. It works great! You can do soft and hard reboots. With the Dual Power plan it's all for free! You will even receive notification by email when your server is back online.

Power Stats is a great feature aswell. You can see detailed graphics for each server you have and for each IP address you host on the server. It shows upstream and downstream traffic. Server4you says they will *only* charge you for up- and downstream traffic, not for broadcast messages.

Each server seems to be in a VLAN area which is nice to know aswell!

~ john

thanks for doing this, I am considering moving from serverbeach to them and I have been trying to find someone who is using them to let me know how its going.

Mikajo

I think most of the board members will appreciate you taking the plunge and testing out this company... as it seems you'll be saving them alot of time and energy that would have been wasted..

Server4You seems like a fly-by-night operation, either that or it is very poorly run, or just isn't ready for primetime..

thier site and advertising seem to give them an image that isn't very fitting.. everything seems to play off certain KEY things that most of us look for, but when you actually look at the details and fine print.. you realize why they can offer what they offer.

I spoke with a sales rep, and it was pretty humorous.. I asked a simple question about thier dedicated servers..
"who are your bandwidth providers?" and the guy on live chat told me he didn't know.. and that he USUALLY answers questions about VDS's.. yeah, that makes sense.. =(

I had a little look around server4you and sent an email to them. Basicly my impression is they make all nice promises on the main parts of their site (well, you think they are promises) and then in the fine print of the terms state that they make no guarentess whatsoever and anything they mention that might be seen as a guatentee, isn't.

I also couldn't get them to budge on a setup fee, even if I didn't want control panel software and was willing to make other concessions if necessary. I wasn't able to find out why they wouldn't budge on it. In my experience most companies are willing to discuss things like setup fees and if they do not, they will tell you why they won't.

EDIT: Don't mind the spelling, the message above was written in the early hours during a lan party :D

I don't have any experience with Server4You, but I'll defend the setup fee issue.

Since when do people think setup fees (or any fees for that matter) are negotiable? They are there for a reason, and if you don't like the fee structure of a company you're thinking of doing business with, then go elsewhere. Pure and simple.

I think we all know there aren't many ways to make money in this industry.... most models have been tried or are being tried..... a monthly fee coupled with a setup fee is definitely not out of the ordinary.

I don't blame Server4You for not identifying why they won't budge on the setup fee..... what if that's where their profit is? Is it really any of your business why they've structured their pricing the way they have?

Don't take offense to this Tazzman..... my comments aren't solely directed at you..... my opinion is just that a company's pricing structure is really none of anyone's business but their own, unless they are a publicly traded company. And if there reason for a particular portion of their price is to make a profit, then don't condemn them for that.... we're ALL in this game to make a profit (I hope)

Cheers :)

THANK YOU MAN! I was going to order there servers but luckly i will just buy a RS one instead! RS will always be the best:)

I will agree that in some instances setup fees are non-negotiable, but server4you includes control panel software in their price that I had absolutely no use for. Why should I pay a setup fee of $150, which probably mainly goes to cover the price of the control panel software, while I don't need it ;)

I understand quality hardware costs money and I do understand the need for a setup fee in those cases. Making profit is fine, but be flexible for the clients too. If I don't want something, why should I pay for it to get the things I do want when it technically isn't necessary.

I doubt that a large portion of the setup fee is going to the control panel. Maybe a few dollars a month.

Originally posted by Tazzman
I will agree that in some instances setup fees are non-negotiable, but server4you includes control panel software in their price that I had absolutely no use for. Why should I pay a setup fee of $150, which probably mainly goes to cover the price of the control panel software, while I don't need it ;)

I understand quality hardware costs money and I do understand the need for a setup fee in those cases. Making profit is fine, but be flexible for the clients too. If I don't want something, why should I pay for it to get the things I do want when it technically isn't necessary.

Because hardware doesen't grow on tree's? Neither do the admins who prep the boxes after a customer comes/goes, thus how are they to ensure their costs are covered in the administrative department if it's not contract based, and no setup fee's?

I don't know, never really knew how Ensim / Plesk handle pricing towards hosting companies. Do they charge them monthly, one time, ...?

Thing is, I was even willing to reduce from 1024 MB ram to 512 MB, but even that didn't make a difference in the price, but I don't mind, wasn't really serious about getting a server with them, just wanted to have a talk and see how they would react.

They're response was fast and they did answer all the questions asked.

I've gotten myself into a debate I didn't really want to get into. I understand it's their policy and fully accept that. Still doesn't mean I have to like it, but that's life. You can't have it all ;)

If you chat with the online sales reps, they are informing prospects same day setup.

As the thread starter stated he was also told instant or same day setup.

If you tell your prospects one thing and then get their money and dont follow thru with your promise... well you can figure the rest out.

Setup Fee's also keep the con artist away. I have never seen a spammer pay a setup fee or sign up for quarterly service. Just my 2 cents.

their pricing is very very attractive, hopefully the issue with their billing system will be resolved soon.

Mikajo is truly very very patient, but if i were in your situation, as long as the box isnt needed immediately, i would also wait and give them some time to take care of everything and get the box up, but i would definitely not pay for the setup in your case :)

SERVER4YOU is part of the german company "intergenia".
Seems like they are trying their luck in USA.

I was speaking with someone the other day who mentioned server4you and when I took a look it really looks like a fly-by-night deal, but I hear they have been a pretty huge ISP in Europe for a few years now.. Is there anyone out there who has had 6+ months experience with them or any experience at that because yesterday was the first time I have heard of them..

They have been public for less than a month....

Hey - how about some screenshots of the server4u control panel? It sounds great! Reverse ip control! Power Rebooting! O/S reinstall! I WANT ONE!

Lets hope everything goes well for them!

Well it says the have over 5,000 dedicated server on the site so I am guessing many of them must be from server4free which is the name they were using before.

server4free? i want one of those!

haha. they ain't for free!
just take a look at www.server4free.de

But yes, intergenia is the mothercompany of server4free which everyone thought would really be a fly-by-night operation here in germany, but they've proven them wrong - till now. They'r also the mothercompany of some older hosting and datacenter specialst in Germany... Plusserver(.de) I guess that's why they do advertise these 6500+ Servers. (Server4free is really huge!)
Their concept is to provide support only via a very expensive special number, and they had some network problems at the beginning, which they fixed now though. Their network (the one in Germany) is running pretty smooth now though they do have some problems from time to time because their datacenter is just a big, big hall with lots of whiteboxes on shelves. But that's why they can offer it so damn cheap. I'm sure this won't be a fly-by-night operation, as they do already have much experiences with this concept from their German operations which are running now since about 1,5 years. Many ppl buy a box there here in Germany, and many are pleased with what they get for their money, while others are telling their horror-stories in usenet on boards etc. etc.
I guess we'll see! :)

If we pay monthly, actually it is 64USD/month, compared to Nocster's "managed 59USD server". server4you seems still ok...

Hello - I have pinged the server4you main site and it looks pretty good, I was just wondering if anyone who has ordered might be willing to post an IP for pings of an actual user's box on their network. If you don't feel comfortable posting, Please pm me - I would of course use discression about it, I just want to test.

i just PM-ed you.

~ john

Originally posted by Mikajo
i just PM-ed you.

~ john

Please read the forum rules (people dont want to check their emails just to come to a thread to hear guys go "hey i sent you a pm/email!" hence why it's against the forum rules).

sorry that I hurt your feelings....

I just sent him some information that I don't want to share with everyone.

I will not do it again!

~ john

Thanks for the review, quite helpful :)

Originally posted by Mikajo
sorry that I hurt your feelings....

I just sent him some information that I don't want to share with everyone.

I will not do it again!

~ john
It's not about you sending him a PM, that's perfectly fine. The fact you are telling him you send him a PM is just a bit annoying and that's why the rules forbid that. :)

:: The fact you are telling him you send him a PM is just a bit annoying and that's why the rules forbid that.

My apologizes for that... but knowing that he knew that it was me who started this thread (and that I am honest to everyone)...

never mind,...

I rather get a beer!

~ john

Hi, Mikajo

Thanks a lot for the review.
I'm going to sign up :)

Andy,

Did you sign up with server4you? I have been looking at them and would love to hear another review.

after considerable research, we setup a DualPower server at server4you several weeks ago. besides a few technical hurtles with obtaining a plesk license key, the technical support has been good.

billing on the other hand has been a complete nightmare. we specified month-to-month billing when we signed up, but server4you charged our credit card for one year's service -- $1,337.00! we received early warning of this from our credit card company, and Crystal in sales assured us last week that the charges would be fixed. so, we just got our statement today and the charges were not fixed and the credit card company says no credits have been issued.

here's the really scarry part...

we called the main 800 number on the site (1.866.DIAL.S4Y) to find it has been DISCONNECTED!!!

needless to say, we are very concerned at this point. many of our client's sites and applications are located on their server.

will keep you posted.

It's not just you, that number is really disconnected. Very strange...

- Matt

Hi bdmcnitt,

I hope your issue will be solved quickly. Remember that you can always request a chargeback from your bank if you don't trust the situation.

I have good contacts now at Server4you and I didn't have any problems lately. Servers are very stable and connection is still very good.

Remember that Server4you is still in the start-up period. They only exist for about a month now. I am sure the telephone lines will be activated shortly again.

Good luck!

~ john

Mikajo, thats a terrible sign (no offense to server4you), but if a startup has suddenly billed you for 12 months and their phone has been disconnected, I'd be extremely concerned at that point, as thats what many do when they're about to bellyflop or die of crib death.

Originally posted by Globex Hosting
THANK YOU MAN! I was going to order there servers but luckly i will just buy a RS one instead! RS will always be the best:)

ROFL!

Hi,

:: Mikajo, thats a terrible sign (no offense to server4you), but if a startup has suddenly billed you for 12 months and their phone has been disconnected, I'd be extremely concerned at that point, as thats what many do when they're about to bellyflop or die of crib death.

I understand and I agree. However I would be more patient and just wait a few days for a response from Server4you. I am not sure if you have read my previous posts about server4you but I was also prety patient. My patience got rewarded with a fast and reliable server.

Again, overcharging a credit card can happen to any company. Apparently they don't do it with every customer, while my credit card was billed for a month only, like it should be.

When we started our own company, our support was far from perfect. We learned a lot from the start-up period and now we have nothing more than satisfied customers. I personally think that every company has a hard time in the beginning. Let's also respect that a little bit.

Just my opinion.

~ john

My 2 cents - they'd make a great data backup server or a server for personal use, but anyone trying to build a hosting business off their servers, IMO, is heading down a very dangerous path. :eek:

:: My 2 cents - they'd make a great data backup server or a server for personal use, but anyone trying to build a hosting business off their servers, IMO, is heading down a very dangerous path.

Yeah, I agree on that.
The servers are great if you host a few sites on them. You can always make backups and if something goes wrong, you only have to transfer those few sites to another server.

It's indeed not a good plan to put many sites on such a server unless after many many months it's proven to be a very stable company.

What I really like about server4you is the automatic re-install feature. Within 10 minutes your server is fuly reinstalled with all IP's etc. I never saw this before.

~john

Originally posted by Mikajo
I hope your issue will be solved quickly. ~ john

Thanks, John. Me too. Just received the following from server4you:

"Dear customer,

we will bookback the amount to your credit card later today, when our billing department is available. We will contact you as soon as possible. We are sorry that there is a problem with the 866-number, but our telephone provider is already working on it.

Regards
Joe Berger"


Will post further updates.

That's good news!

Good luck with your server!

~ john

Originally posted by Aussie Bob
My 2 cents - they'd make a great data backup server or a server for personal use, but anyone trying to build a hosting business off their servers, IMO, is heading down a very dangerous path. :eek:

Hi, Bob. Could you outline why you say this? I am interested to know your reasoning.

Mikajo, thats a terrible sign (no offense to server4you), but if a startup has suddenly billed you for 12 months and their phone has been disconnected, I'd be extremely concerned at that point, as thats what many do when they're about to bellyflop or die of crib death.
Myles - they're not exactly a startup, they've just started offering servers in the US. They've been around for a while overseas as Server4free.de and as another company, I believe.

- Matt

Just an update:

1. The 800 number is still down, but only in some areas of the country (strange). Server4You is aware of this and their phone company is working on it.

2. We were able to reach billing today and they promised to credit our account.

A bit of a hassle with our credit card company, but everything seems to be OK. The server is working fine. Hope things go smooth from here on. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

When I Traced server4you.com, It Showed Up As On The Level3 Network.
(St. Louis To Be Exact.)

:: When I Traced server4you.com, It Showed Up As On The Level3 Network. (St. Louis To Be Exact.)

Yeah, depends from the location you are doing a traceroute from.

From within Europe, the connection goes through Level 3.

As far as I know Server4you is also located in St. Louis.

~ john

i can tell a small comment about Server4free.de. Though their prices are unmatched, even from the netherlands (800km away) in the evening my download speed can drop to only 30kb/s of the 180kb/s i have. This is way to low for a dedicated box. My nocster box is pushing at all times 120kb/s and that's 8000km away...

Hope they will use a better bandwidth ratio in the USA.

Greetz

Mikajo, can you set up a speed test file on your server4you box please?

Still interested to know how it all turned out? Did you get your credited money back? Have they fixed their number?

They answered to my question in dutch, so that is also nice.

Does anyone know if they allow IRC / shell servers on thier machines? I had a quote tell me he was going with them since I can't allow IRC.

yes, they allow IRC.
http://www.server4you.net/us/d_faq/sales.html#18

Please note that we do not issue additional IP addresses for IRC vhosts.....

I hope he read the entire FAQ, lol

all this info is very usefull. anyway. do you know any other forums where server4you has been discusseed? i would appreciate it if i have a little more info about them before i decide to sign up or not with them. 10x a lot.

I have also been considering plusserver.de and was wondering if anyone else has any input on them. Also curious as to why the dserver 4 you keeps getting asterixed ??

is it banned from this forum? And if so what is the reason.