Hello,

Some of you may know me. I'm going to keep this post short, so as not to bother anyone. I was a frequent poster and support of HostRocket, and I was on their forums with the handle "KYLECOOL" with over 7035+ Posts. I really liked HostRocket, however, some people told me I should leave. I liked the service, and now I know why they had told me to leave earlier. I talked with the HR Staff a lot, and I knew a lot of "Backstage" Stuff, like I saw their new website design, which still isn't up. I have tons of convaersations between us recorded, and I though HR was a good service. I was having SubDomain Problems, and I sent a Trouble Ticket. My ticket was finally answered, and John Fixed it. I had my nameservers set to 4 nameservers. They stopped working again. I sent in a ticket, and requested that my subdomains work. It was over a week, and I added to it so they would know I'm still there and to answer it. I Imed Brendan on his Personal Screen Name Available to Select Staff Only (I won't give it out here because I have class), and He called his co-founder, John Reyes, "Retarted." This is not a very businesslike manner to call your other employees retarted. This company has some real serious issues that they need to work on, if they would like to succeed in the near future. Brendan is like a Child, and he needs to get Professional and act Professional to his Clients. I have about a million more bad things he says about his staff, and just things that people would be interested in, however, I am not going to post it in this forum yet. Anyways, I was asking Brendan some questions, and my ticket was closed 10 times without a response. I was getting real mad. So, I added another trouble ticket, and here is part of it: Hello,
One of my TT's was deleted. Also, nobody is answering my ticket that is open. In order to succeed as a webhosting company, you need to satisfy your current customers before getting new ones. Im not going into detail, because you all know my situation. Please rectify this problem immediately. Also, are your forums ever coming back up? Also, I found 4 errors with the "new" TT system.
-Kyle Reilly

On 2001-09-17 EST at 10:13:59, jrossi wrote:

The last TT I have for you on record is 28372 and that was resolved. Can you please restate what your current issue is.

Thank you for using HostRocket.com
==
Have A Nice Day!
Joseph Rossi
HostRocket.com Support


On 2001-09-17 EST at 11:45:07, he/she wrote:

1. Please point your broser to http://www.kylecool.com/temp/liar.gif . Remember this issus.
2. Also, why is this happening again? I was told it wasn\\\\\\\'t. (Remember the subs down)
3. forums.kylecool.com works, but click on login once your there, and it doesn\'t work.
4. Hey, since my subdomains dont work, and my ads aren\\\\\\\'t loading, and its not maintenance, and its been a long time, does this get free hosting? It\\\\\\\'s less than 99.5% uptime (more than 3 hours).? That is a lot of downtime for my ads, and I use not even .25 of 1 gb.. Here are, in addtion to th above stats, some more useful info.:
Date Time Description Duration


On 2001-09-17 EST at 11:46:00, he/she wrote:

08.28.2001 16:29 Connection refused 15 mins
08.28.2001 05:51 HTTP Error 403 Forbidden 30 mins
08.28.2001 01:14 HTTP Error 500 Can\\\\\\\'t connect to kylecool.com:80 (Timeout) 4 hours, 21 mins
08.20.2001 19:32 HTTP Error 500 Can\\\\\\\'t connect to kylecool.com:80 (Timeout) 30 mins
08.17.2001 10:01 No reply 15 mins
08.15.2001 17:35 HTTP Error 500 Can\\\\\\\'t connect to kylecool.com:80 (Timeout)

Also, Brendan has a copy of other downtime. Support is getting faster, but, um... Uptime needs to be slightly better
5. I was told all of this would be handled by that night, however it took over a week to fix. Y?
6. Why did I have to open my other ticket a million times? Why were you guys closing it? Don\'t give me that BS thing Brendan Told me.
7. Are the forums coming back up? When?
Thanks for answering my questions in a timely manner.
P.S. They are in 2 Parts because the (great) TT system wouldn\'t take it all as 1 chunk.


On 2001-09-17 EST at 12:02:41, brendan wrote:

Hello,

As per our terms of service, we are requesting that you find a new webhost for your site immediatly. We will issue you a full refund of everything that you have prepaid on your account from the point it is closed on. Please let us know as soon as this move has been completed.

-Brendan Brader
HostRocket.Com

On 2001-09-17 EST at 12:37:04, he/she wrote:

Brendan,
I need to ask what part of the Terms of Service did I break? I was just asking you guys a question, which support usually asks, right? What did I do wrong? I can be a very angry person at time, and I know a lot of your plans, inside info, and I thought we were cool? What\'s going on?
-Kyle Raymond Reilly


On 2001-09-17 EST at 12:51:16, he/she wrote:

Mr Brader,
I received your request and I am in the process of moving my site, once I see what \"TOs\" Rule I broke. As a professional courtesy, you would like to know specifically why I have been asked to move. Please respond in a gentle, quick manner, so we can settle this. Also, how much will I receive back? When will you credit the card?
-Kyle Reilly


On 2001-09-17 EST at 12:58:45, brendan wrote:

Kyle,

You have not \'broken\' the terms of service, we were referring to the section of the TOS allowing us to close an account at any time.

We are giving you ample time to move your site, and you will get a credit for the exact amount of time left after the day which you tell us we can close the account.

-Brendan Brader
HostRocket.Com

I later Imed him on his screen name, and here is an excerpt from it:

KYLE COOL [10:08 AM]: Brendan, im getting very sad
** [10:09 AM]: hi
KYLE COOL [10:09 AM]: I have conversations we had on record that shows how coool we are
KYLE COOL [10:09 AM]: I have us talking about your new design, everything
KYLE COOL [10:09 AM]: Y this?
KYLE COOL [10:09 AM]: Hi
******* [10:09 AM]: because you drive my employees nuts
KYLE COOL [10:09 AM]: how/y? by asking simple questions
KYLE COOL [10:10 AM]: thats not a good enough reason to say goodbye, after ive been such a great customer. I know so much about u, I dont wanna have to goto wht or other places, so I hope thiis can be rectified
KYLE COOL [10:12 AM]: Escuse me, but I have documents/records of YOU saying ur employees were "ratarted", and I have everything.... Your employees are mean to me...
* [10:12 AM]: you work for a hosting company now why not host with them?
KYLE COOL [10:13 AM]: Thats not your business. I work for one because i needed a Job, and HostRocket couldn't get me one, so I moved onn
KYLE COOL [10:13 AM]: I might host with them, BUT itll take me a little bit to transfer all of my fiels unless u help me
KYLE COOL [10:13 AM]: find a program that does it faster
KYLE COOL [10:13 AM]: Is that y? The competition?
* [10:14 AM]: if you get another host that allows shell access, you can FTP right from the other host to our server
** [10:14 AM]: and download the files directly
***** [10:14 AM]: it will go very very fast
KYLE COOL [10:14 AM]: how would i do that?
**** [10:14 AM]: using command line ftp
KYLE COOL [10:14 AM]: rite.....
** [10:14 AM]: at the shell prompt type ftp
****[10:15 AM]: i dont know the exact commands but i know theyre not hard
KYLE COOL [10:15 AM]: well, i have a lot of stuff i need to transfer, and I just also don't think your being professional
*** [10:16 AM]: were not saying you have to move today
KYLE COOL [10:16 AM]: well, i have school, and im pissed off
KYLE COOL [10:16 AM]: im trying to get at least some
KYLE COOL [10:20 AM]: im adding my account in plesk now
KYLE COOL [10:21 AM]: but the transfer of files will be a little slow
** [10:21 AM]: ok
*** [10:21 AM]: theres no big rush
KYLE COOL [10:21 AM]: well, im **VERY MAD**

BTW: I'm not some dumb 14 year old kid who likes to annoy people. I am trying to learn about business, and obiously Mr. Brader needs to take some classes in Business 101. You don't cancel account because I ask too many questions, or even if your staff doen't like me. Thats rude, and like I told you, I AM Sharing it here on WHT, So no others will be lured in to this "trap." This is ridiculous, you don't cancel accounts for that. I talked to numerous Ex-Customers of HR, and they all agree. HR is not a reputable company, and they need to work on some issues. They really do... This is not good for a hosting company. People , BE WARE! Also, watch out, because Brendan has "Enemies." People who "Rebel" are Brendan's enemies, as my good friend is one of his enemys. :( I have a lot more info, and I might post it later. :)

-Kyle Reilly

kyle-
First off, I'm sorry to hear about your unfortunate experience with HR. For me, they have been a great host, and have always answered my TT in a very timely and professional manner. I don't know why HR cancelled your account, nor do I want to speculate. I only wish that you would not post any more company sensitive information so to speak about hostrocket, because it's not called for. It is really nice that Brendan previewed you their new design, and gave you some insight into HR, but I don't really think that the right thing to do in this situation is stab them in the back. You had a good experience that turned awry for some reason, but slandering a company, is not nessessary. Nor is posting additional information that you have about them, just suck it up and be the bigger better person and move on.

Uh, I like it when people disseminate useful information about the service they receive. But, and I'm trying to say this diplomatically so forgive me if it still sounds harsh, I'm not sure I wouldn't cancel your acct just based on what you've posted so far were I in their place.

I could explain myself, but I don't think it would help you or anybody else. And my opinion doesn't matter much.

To me, they are being fair. They have identified a situation that is going to cost them a lot more than they are making. They are giving you an indefinite period of time to move. Where's the beef?

And finally, I don't know HR from Adam, or anyone who works for them or any cousins of anyone who works for them (so far as I know)

;)

Aloha
hmm I am only posting cause I guess it is interesting to hear what some people do behind scenes
I would like to know how the owner acts what he is about etc...
that is me I think it can matter
to close an account because it is a pain well that is not cooll
I cna see both sides but they should just grin and bare it and let him ask questions maybe say offline to him man you ask so much we will not always be able to answer you is this OK ???
I am sorry hope you understand and if you do not well we may not live up to your expectations.
this way the company turns the tables.

I think a lot of hosts get into business without understanding business.
and the lack of all this shows.
so I do remember KyleCool in another thread you coming off kinda hard and dicky (dont take it to offense learn from it)
I was young at my first venture and it is hard benig young trying to learn but also understand both sides.

anyway I call this one a draw both parties could learn form this and hope they have
it would not effect me either way toward the company or toward Kyle ???
just my thoughts

I thought I would add my $.02 :)

I too am a former HR customer, and will be the first to admit that the service was excellent in the beginning stages. As time went on, and the customer base grew, the arrogance and immaturity of Brendan seemed to set in. With every day that passed, there were more complaints posted (and subsequently deleted) on the forums from dissatisfied customers. Through my entire "stay" at Hostrocket, only on a couple of occasions did I witness any member of the staff actually take responsibility, let alone apologize for their mistakes. Instead, it was more often than not the customer's fault, or a "runaway script" that was to blame.

Here's one of the many examples of threads that are removed as quickly as they are posted on the HR forums:

Posted on: 08-15-2001 09:29 AM
Well, I am wondering if there is any thing as service, all that I have ever gotten is these automated repllies. All that I want to do is to set up my website, but I am not able to do that for some reason. I realize that I am not an expert, but it seems that it should be easier to use than what it is. I can not find a phone number or anything anywhere, have tried e-mails, have no one to contact for AIM support, so what do I do? My problem is far to complex to even try to list in this page, part of the problem was that some of rockets links were down when I tried to register, but I am still having problems.

Brendan's response:

you have got to be kidding me. you have been a customer for less than 4 hours, you signed up at 2:30 am, you have one ticket open which is less than 1 hour old, and you are already complaining. i swear to god it is contagious.

Lightnin's (the customer I assume) response:

I had no idea that I would have someone that worked for the company post something up to ridicule me, why didn't you tell them that I have been trying for over 2 days to sign up for your service? Forgot to mention that didn't you Brendan, nor did you mention the down links on YOUR webpage. Am I being impatient? Maybe, does it matter? Yes it does, the only reasons that I went with your company, besides the storage and data transfer, was the fact that you advertise that I can be up in minutes with 24/7 customer support. I didn't realize that this 24/7 customer support was in the form of an automated response. I still want the page hosted by your company, I have this hopeful thought that once it is set up, I will be ok. Is this to much to ask for? I must admit that I have read some of your posted replies already, and I cannot say that I like you, your reply to my earlier post did not make things any better, hope that you are not going to rely on my referrals for any future business. Just something to think about Brendan, course, maybe I had better watch what I say, I do not want to lose my account because someone doesn't like what I have to say, like I said, I read some of your responses to other members and their problem, I can only hope that I do not continue to have problems, mine is obviously due to my being new to the Internet, so I can accept blame for that.

There you have it. :) I don't know Brendan personally, and my dealings with him have fortunately been limited, however, I spend a lot of time on many host's forums looking for the type of support they provide, and I can attest to the fact that his personal and professional skills are seriously lacking. It's my understanding that he is quite young (20?) and is still wet behind the ears in regards to the business world. I have seen it happen to many businesses of all sizes--They start out small, with support foremost on the priorities list, and then as profits increase, the mentality that "I can afford to lose a customer or two" sets in, and before you know it, that "customer or two" turns into hundreds, and they are soon back at square one. Take e-bay for example. I'm sure we all remember when ebay was fresh, support was excellent, rates were reasonable--Then it happened. They grew, and with every passing day, the level of greed goes up, and support levels go down.

I don't have any grudges against HR, or Brendan, but I do hope he reevaluates his principles, and remembers where he came from, and how he got there.

Maybe we should require webhosts to see psychologists on regular intervals?

It seems really hard to believe a webhost would treat customers like that, no matter how many questions they ask. Some people are not "helpers" I suppose, but they could at least not advertise support if they don't plan to provide it.

DK

I am not going to post any more direct quotes, because I am professional, and I just wanted people to know about this. BTW: check outhttp://hostrocketsucks.com It is a website with some good information. It is run by a former HostRocket member.

Anywayz, I am just saying that Mr. Brader needs to be more professional, and he needs to learn that. Many people have told me that I am more professional than him.... Intereting....

-Kyle :o

Personally, I like reading posts such as this one as long as it is fact and well documented, which this one is.

For some time, I was "watching" Host Rocket. I visited their BB (when it was up) and also read lots of good and bad things about them on forums such as this one.

It was quite evident that support was very poor with many tickets going unanswered. And for this, it appears that it is bitting HR in the butt.

I am soo glad I did not sign on with these guys.

LOL....nice site...

Actually, I could tell that you (kyle) were getting fed up over at HR based on the posts since this past summer. Then again you weren't the only one...

Originally posted by MilkMan
LOL....nice site...

Actually, I could tell that you (kyle) were getting fed up over at HR based on the posts since this past summer. Then again you weren't the only one...

Yep, I started to get pissed like a couple of months ago. My HR Forum account isn't working, gee, I wonder why. :angry: . I like the idea of seeing the psychologists though. LOL :cool:

-Kyle

Hi,

I'll make 1 post with reguard to this. His account was not 'cancelled'. He was asked to find a new webhost and issued a full refund of all money that he had prepaid to us, and given ample time to find a new webhost.

The details of why we asked him to move his account are not listed in this ticket, and probably never will be because I am not going to do it, and I doubt he will either.

As for complaints about our support there was a stretch of time about a month or so ago where our support was lacking due to losing a couple employees and our very rapid growth, and that problem has been resolved with the addition of a full time on site support staff.

-Brendan

DO I HAVE to give out your AIM HANDLE TO EVERYONE HERE?? You told me via AIM in IM! Give me a break about the Employee thing. I told you many times about my tickets, and it sucks, when you don't have to to answer it, or when you don't know the answer, you close it. I opened it, you closed it, I opened it, you closed it, and so on.

CUSTOMERS ARE ALWAYS right, and I think you still need to take Business 101 and Basic 101. This is not right Brendan, and you just NEED to learn the BASIC Fundamentals of Running a Business.

:angry: :angry: -Kyle :angry: :angry:

Wait, 1 MORE THING! I love Webhostingtalk because YOU can't delete posts! Only Chicken and the other Cool Moderators can. YOU JUST LOVE DELETING posts, don't you, eh? Yes, I know you do.... You want to delete it, because Its bad about you, and ItS TRUE....

-Kyle:o :( :angry: :angry:

Hey Kyle

"You ain't cool unless you are kylecool"

hehe, only topic i can remember over there...

No surprise here with Hostrocket and with Brendan. Sorry to hear about your bad experience you had with HR, Kyle!

He (Brendan) is not able to make business decisions or to run a business. The way he treats you, Kyle, is really no surprise. I am so glad that I left that place so early. He still charged my credit card and instead of giving me my money back he forced me to cancel the credit card and have a charge back thru my bank. Well, I hope charge backs cost money.

Just make sure you check your credit card statement every month before the same thing happens to you. He never replied to my requests to give my money back. So, be prepared for this.

I can recommend Site5 if you do not have a new host yet!

Good Luck!

Christoph

Originally posted by Kylecool
CUSTOMERS ARE ALWAYS right,
There are a very, very few customers that, for competitive reasons, you prefer your competitors have.

If you are running a restaurant and a customer comes in smoking a very smelly cigar, refusing to put it out, starts yelling constantly through the entire meal, spills food on the floor, etc, etc... - is that customer right?




Generalities are always wrong, including this one.

lol - HR is advertising a 9.8 Rating on hostsearch.com on their entry page!

Is it April fools day today? :-)

I use HR for all of my sites so far, and it's worked very well.

Except I lost one of them in entirety when the HD failed.

And I've never tried to access their support.

I guess there's nothing to base judgments on after that, so, err, don't pay any attention to this post. :)

Originally posted by Christoph
lol - HR is advertising a 9.8 Rating on hostsearch.com on their entry page!

Is it April fools day today? :-)

Yes, it is April Fools Day! Goto them on the site, and they have like a 9.7, lol! Which is STILL TOO HIGH!!!!

I found a new host, yes. :)

Also, I paid for a year . Hes only giving me 39.80, the months I have left. I wanted the SETUP FEE BACK TOO, because HE CANCELLED THE ACCOUNT. Or should I say, "asked to move me." If I would've cancelled, I would let him keep the money. He said he credited my moms card. My mom is calling the Credit Card Company Tomorrow, and If the money isn't there... We'll leave it at that. :)

-Kyle

Originally posted by delemtri
I use HR for all of my sites so far, and it's worked very well.

Except I lost one of them in entirety when the HD failed.

And I've never tried to access their support.

I guess there's nothing to base judgments on after that, so, err, don't pay any attention to this post. :)

Like I say to many people. Not ALL people have problems with them. Mainly advanced sites with a lot of features, or you need special things, and you know a lot to like confuse them, etc, but I didn't confuse them. Anywayz, GOOD 4 U!

-Kyle

Originally posted by Mike the newbie

There are a very, very few customers that, for competitive reasons, you prefer your competitors have.

If you are running a restaurant and a customer comes in smoking a very smelly cigar, refusing to put it out, starts yelling constantly through the entire meal, spills food on the floor, etc, etc... - is that customer right?
Generalities are always wrong, including this one.

Your analogy hardly fits this situation. This client was not cancelled (to the best of our knowledge) for yelling profane language at HR's employees, and trying to hack their servers in an effort to disrupt other client's services... this client was cancelled (aka asked to leave) for asking too many questions... for utilizing the very service they wish to provide.

It's obvious that HostRocket only wants to collect a paycheck, and could care less about whether or not their clients' needs are being fulfilled. If Brendan cares about is reputation at all (highly unlikely) he will recant his invitation for kylecool to "leave".

Originally posted by brandonk


Your analogy hardly fits this situation. This client was not cancelled (to the best of our knowledge) for yelling profane language at HR's employees, and trying to hack their servers in an effort to disrupt other client's services... this client was cancelled (aka asked to leave) for asking too many questions... for utilizing the very service they wish to provide.

It's obvious that HostRocket only wants to collect a paycheck, and could care less about whether or not their clients' needs are being fulfilled. If Brendan cares about is reputation at all (highly unlikely) he will recant his invitation for kylecool to "leave".

I'm not going to guess if there's more to it than that or not, but I don't think any of us should speculate or assume we know enough to properly discern the situation. It's perfectly reasonable to assume that a client _could_ pose problems enough to ask them to leave, although it's also reasonable to assume that they wouldn't have been _asked_ if they were so bad. Nonetheless, that's not a good reason to assume we know all of what happened here. I saw Brandon state that the reasons weren't stated and won't be and that this user probably won't say why either.
Anyway, I didn't see this user confirm nor deny that aspect. Even if that user did, there's likely more to it. I'm not saying anyone made a good or bad decision or did anything right or wrong, but it strikes me as odd how people can assume they know all about the situation to say something like this. However, maybe you have information I don't -- and why would I anyway? Of course I have no idea, but I think this thread went from facts and logs to speculation and assumptions and faith. Of course, it's all expected and I don't think it's a big deal, but I don't have any idea what the facts are and I'd have to assume other people therefore don't as well? Maybe HR made a bad move, maybe they made a good one? I have no idea. Obviously some posters here have had experiences I know nothing about, but I just think the facts should be stuck to, unless someone can show all of it. Then again, how would we ever know. Nonetheless, good luck everyone.

I must say that I think it is HR's loss for having "asked" (what's the difference anyways, Brendan?) Kylecool to leave. When I first started reading the HR forums, I will admit that my first impression was that Kylecool was actually Brendan in disguise, simply because of the consistent glowing remarks. I find it sickening that not only a customer would be treated this way, but one of the very few loyal customers at that.

For all of you concerned about HR's hostsearch rating, I wouldn't be too concerned about that. It won't remain that way, unless Brendan is paying them off. lol Which incidentally, would not surprise me in the least, being as he goes to extremes to cover all other aspects of poor service. The old saying "what goes around, comes around" almost always rings true, and eventually, this will catch up with him.

I'd also like to address Brendan's response. Excuses, which seem to be all you are able to offer anyone, will only get you so far in business--YOUR business, which is your responsibility. I can fully appreciate the understaffing issue, but with all due respect, this is not the customer's responsibility, as you often try to make it out to be. You need to start taking responsibility for your actions, as well as your staff's actions. You may think you have the cat by the tail at this point, but success can diminish just as easily and quickly as it came to you.

I would show you the im's,however, I dont want everyone to see Brendan's "Secret" Screen name.

Yes, he did tell me that. Brendan is a LIAR, and I'm considering sending MORE information to hostrocketsucks, since they will probably like it. Brendan, I know you are reading this. Take a Business Class, treat your customers right, and admin YOUR problems.

-Kyle :angry:

In a nutsell he was stalking both myself and other employees along with my family members, and was threatening to post personal information about myself and my friends and family in public forums on several occasions. He is not a normal 14 year old kid by any means. This was a join decision that was reached after a meeting at our company, and we all stand behind it 100%. If you want to drag your parents into this kyle then I will be glad to give them a call and let them know what you have been up to. I am not expanding upon this above and beyond that. He was refunded for the amount of service that he had remaining and was asked to find a new host. The situation was handled as professionally as possible given the circumstances. This is as much as I am going to write about the situation considering it does involve a minor.

-Brendan

Using Hostsearch you can delete bad comment and choose which reviews go there or not. :D

Personally, I do not see any moral or ethical issues with posting more information, no matter how incriminating. So long as: 1.) It's factual (right from the horse's mouth) and 2.) It relates directly to the service provided by Hostrocket.

You are right though, posting his screen name, is something I don't think anyone would advise you to do. :)

Brendan's Brother Imed me, and I will NOT IM him anymore, since this is bothering you... My mom understands, and I am out of HostRocket, so thats ok now. I was just somewhat mad, and I wanted to stay, but also leave. I am on completely different servers now, and Im away from HostRocket now, so that's that. I was not threatening , or anything like that. NO WAY!

But anyways,

Hopefully I got the refund, and Im out of there, so I guess we're both in luck. Even though I am somewhat angered, I am professional, and I am going to wish you the best of luck in your future career at HostRocket.

-Kyle

Originally posted by Palm
Using Hostsearch you can delete bad comment and choose which reviews go there or not. :D

Are you serious?

What is the point of hostsearch then?

Wow... I had no idea, thanks for that info, Palm.

The point is for hostsearch to make money.

I really dont think that you can delete reviews on hostsearch. I have never myself and I think that if it was possible, there would most likely be alot more companies with alot higher ratings than they have.

-Brendan

I never said you did.

I know, I really dont think you can though.

-Brendan

The good feature they have is responding to a review.

Interesting.

I didnt even know we could do that.. That is good though as it would let you respond explaining a situation if one was posted about. Im gonna go check their stuff out again if I can remember how to login to that stuff.

-Brendan