Hello All,

I was just thinking about getting my own server however reselling with ***** looks better because they offer
Personalized phone support most of my customers would like a 1800 number for support and have lost a few customers because I can't provide this :(

Is there any other companies besides ***** that offer this?

I have heard both good and bad about them maybe they treat resellers different? Not sure have not really heard anything from resellers

Have you looked into getting your own 1-800 number?


I purchased an International Toll Free 1-800 number a year ago, it costs me $6/month! And I bought it straight from my telephone company.

yes, however if someone is not able to man the phone 24/7 its no good I have read a lot of the reviews about ***** but they are all old not since they moved to their own NOC I know there has to be some ***** resellers around here

Originally posted by Jim
yes, however if someone is not able to man the phone 24/7 its no good I have read a lot of the reviews about ***** but they are all old not since they moved to their own NOC I know there has to be some ***** resellers around here Maybe so. You just might not get anyone to admit it! :)

You might want to try calling the ***** support number a few times to see if you get a response. I had a site there, months ago, briefly. In my experience it wouldn't be much better for a reseller than having your own phone and nobody to answer it. When I could get somebody (I probably called support about three times) they were typically bored, distracted, and rude. There was one memorable exception, a very helpful and enthusiatic (and apologetic) woman. But for me... I wouldn't want my customers calling there and thinking they were callilng my staff.

Do they treat resellers differently? Can't say because I wasn't one, but as a reseller you yourself will be calling the same tech support number everyone else is.

Beyond that, there was some downtime, detected by Netwhistle. Not really bad, but sporadic. Server speed was nothing to write home about.

Generally I found them not to be the disaster that many people say they are, but not nearly the blessing that they claim to be on their own backslapping, cheerleading, superlative-laden site.

Every time ***** goes through a smooth patch, people start posting messages like yours. Briefly: stay away. They have a history of questionable business practices going back more than two years, and there's currently a petition for class action status in a lawsuit against them by unhappy former customers. If you look around a bit you'll find plenty of recent negative posts. No, they are not a disaster every minute of every day. But I wouldn't count on them making any big changes in the way they do business. See the last link in my signature for more information about them.

Haven't got the hang of the new software yet. Hopefully my signature will be attached to this message.

Nope, so see http://www.forumhosts.com/hosts.htm

Do me a favor, don't look at ***** alright?

Maybe you can try get a server with Alabanza and you can do a hosting all automated, check them at http://www.alabanza.com

I used to resell for *****. Having to wait days for even a new email address set up was unacceptable. You cannot give good service if you are dependant on someone else that does not provide good service..

I would recommend getting an Alabanza server (as I did) also. If you cannot yet afford to do so, then resell for an Alabanza based host and build your business until you can. There are plenty that post here along with recommendations. With one of these hosts you will be able to get almost instant account activation, your customer can setup their own emails, etc.

You can search these forums for messages about ***** and the forums at recellar.com which contain some threads about *****. To summarize, none that I have read seem very positive.

Reselling for ***** has many hidden costs. One of these is the cost for a psychiatrist (or psychoanalyst), and they aren't cheap!. Why do you need a shrink, you ask? Because you should have your head examined for considering them!

Remember the parable of the frog and the scorpion. A scorpion came up to a frog and asked the frog to carry him across the stream. The frog refused, saying "you'll sting me and I'll die". The scorpion used logic to prevail upon the forg, replying "That wouldn't make sense, then we both would die." Bowing to the logic of it, the frog acquiesced and allowed the scorpion on his back. As they were midtream, the frog felt a sharp pain from the scorpion's sting. He asked the scorpion why he did it, that they would both die now. the scorpion replied, "What do you expect, it's my nature!"

Anybody can have technical problems. So long as they are remedied rapidly, they are excusable. However, poor business practices, abhorrent treatment of customers, and generally abysmal service is not forgiveable nor easily fixed as it's in their nature.

If you think like a frog, you have only yourself to blame when you get stung!

---------------------------
I disavow any knowledge of godhood. I'm just a guy trying to help others avoid choosing the wrong host and learning the lessons I did the hard way.

See http://techcellence.net (right side menu) for resources to help and things I've learned.

LOL

Good one, duster.

Thanks, guys (and any gals), I 'm glad you enjoyed the humor. I hope that Jim gets the point, one made by Deb, that the way one chooses to do business is not as easily fixed as a technical problem.

Many of us have had hosts that treat people poorly, yet did well on the technical issues (not counting poor support). Nothing in the world could induce me to go back to any company (aitcom.net in my case) that treats their customers so abysmally.

With hardly any effort, it is easy to find plenty of justified unfavorable comments about *****. Why any reasonable person would even consider such a company is beyond me. Just how bad does a company have to be before one says "no way I would do business with them!"?

Technical problems I can handle. How a company resolves those technical problems and how they treat their customers while these problems are occuring tells me all I need to know about a company.

No host is perfect, but treating your customers with respect definitely comes close in my books.

Is it just me or is this board lightning fast? What a difference compared to scriptkeeper.

Off topic and off my chest.

well with that many customers they must be doing something right. With any business you are going to have people who hate your service and most hosts are the ones bashing ***** just becuase they use different names doesn't mean anything I will check with the bbb and a few other resources other then these forums thanks anyway I know about alabanza but they don't offer a 1800 number to my stomers and thats the thing I'm looking for

Originally posted by tabernack
Technical problems I can handle. How a company resolves those technical problems and how they treat their customers while these problems are occuring tells me all I need to know about a company.

No host is perfect, but treating your customers with respect definitely comes close in my books.

Exactly. I don't look for perfection in a company. After all, they are made up of people and people make mistakes. We all do. It's how they handle mistakes (and problems) that says a lot about them.

The same goes for guarantees. Of themselves, they are worthless. They are only as good as the company behind them. Anytime I see a guarantee, I want to know what if, as in what if you fail on your guarantee, what then?

Originally posted by Jim
well with that many customers they must be doing something right.

They are. It's called marketing.

The fact is, some terrible companies will have satisfied customers. A great many web sites get very little traffic, use very little space, and are the type of site a host crams on their servers by the hundreds. It's the busier sites, the ones that have more than static HTML pages, with interactive functions (including discussion forums) that will likely come across poor service faster.

Jim, no one can make a fool of you without your cooperation. If you want to choose a host with a record of poor service, you go ahead and do so. You can choose to believe that you will be treated differently if you have a problem than all those other former customers, some of whom are suing *****.

You can even believe that all those posts about them are from other hosts, and that they are suing *****, not unhappy customers. You can also believe the Earth is flat, like members of the Flat Earth Society in London.

You are under no obligation to listen to sound counsel and good advice.

After all, freedom of choice includes the right to make bad choices as well as good ones, and you have every right to make a terrible choice. Go right ahead and make yours. You can think like the frog if you want to.



[Edited by Duster on 09-04-2000 at 12:56 AM]

Of course, in a short and sweet summary, Jim : don't come crying back at us if you do choose ***** and find yourself burnt.... The proof is in the pudding.

I just went to Scriptkeeper, and the top post was this one. http://www.scriptkeeper.com/ubb/Forum5/HTML/001229.html Judge for yourself. Watch out for that stinger. It's in their nature and they can't help it.

Jim,

There are too many people that have had bad experiences with ***** and if you decide to ignore that fact then there is nothing we can do or say to help you.

The people on this board are some of the most helpful and honest people you will find anywhere. That is a fact, take it or leave it. Goodbye.


[Edited by tabernack on 09-06-2000 at 12:55 PM]

Jim, I thikn I know what you are looking for, and think that I was once where you are. I was looking for the same thing, and would like to steer you towards OLM and to a list of ex-***** users. I think you should contact them and hear what they have to say. Personally I have not used *****, but was considering the smae thing youare now, and am glad I didn't go that route.

Anyway, talk to people who are currently hosted there as well as this group:

http://www.topica.com/lists/olmwebaxxsusers/read

I have heard ***** had their whole network go down for a week (maybe just a rumor) anyway the lawsuits pending is a true story from what I hear