We have a reseller who overall is very cooperative when we request that they check out a potential problem with one of their hostees, and always acts quickly to correct the issue. Never complains, always keeps their account current.

The problem is that when we discover/are made aware of a problem with a domain on our servers, 98% of the problem domain owners are hosted by them. This has been an ongoing thing since they signed up approximately 4 months ago. Granted, they have more hosted domains than any of our other resellers which could account for the higher percentage.

Usually the problems relate to illegal audio, video, software, and things of questionable nature.

After the last time we had to contact them we decided to look over their domains to see if we could spot anything unusual. After glancing over their domains, one hosting-related one popped out and we realized they are offering one of the infamous "pay one fee" hosting 'deals'. That answered the question of why so many problems were with their hostees.

Now I'm not sure whether we should have a talk with them and recommend they change their plans or simply ask them to find another home (if anyone else would host them) for their accounts. I hate to release such a cooperative customer becuase let's face it, they are hard to come by. However, my partner and I certainly don't want one account holder to jeopardize our business or our other customers'.

What would you do? And please don't ask why we didn't look into it sooner; it is irrelevant to the question at hand. Thanks ;)

Is this reseller on their own server? I would see about moving this person to their own server, managing it if possible, post-haste. This means that if any of this resellers' clients cause problems that get them DDoSed, your other servers may be spared any damage. If this reseller can't handle managing their own server, see about running a managed server for this reseller - if it would work for the reseller, that is. Don't "give" them free service, make them pay for the management (or start teaching them how to manage their own server and gradually wean them.)

Also...what about working with this host, telling them about the trends you've been seeing, and coming to an agreement: if this reseller is going to offer these kinds of plans, they need to scrutinise their signups more closely and be more proactive so that any problems get taken care of before they're escalated up to you.

I would tell them that such is th source of the problem and to ship up or ship out.

Cold-hearted, I know, but you cannot let one person, however nice and reasonable, jeapordize the server. However, I get the feeling that this customer will work with you and find a conclusion you can both agree on.

If the Reseller is cooperative and willing to work with you, then work with them. The more successful they are the more successful you are. Have a talk with them and let them know where you feel they have a problem. If they have the slightest inclination to succeed they will want to listen to you.

Agree 100% with Watcher. As a host, it is your duty to educate people about hosting. :)

Thank you all for your input. I've contacted them and explained the problem, what we feel is the cause of the problem, and several solutions to solve it. Haven't heard back yet, but I expect to fairly soon. I'll keep you posted. :)

Tell him to fix his plans.

I had a similar client. When i 'kindly' asked them to only have a look at their clients and ensure they are not violating our TOS as some of them were, they took it the wrong way, cancelled the account and went with another company.

Didn't really bother me that much because that one account was causing the cpu load to go up 250+ at times.

Greetings:

If your direct customer is obeying your TOS, AUP and contract, then leave them alone.

As long as their hosting plans under your program do not break your TOS, AUP, and contract they have the right to design what plans they see fit (exception is if they are breaking a law whether or not the law is covered by your own terms of service et all).

Thank you.

Talk to them, ask them to keep closer tabs on their clients

Update:
They agreed to one of the solutions we offered and have cooperated with everything we've asked. :) We're now guiding them to several resources to get a better grasp on what they should be focusing on.

Glad to say this turned out successfully!

You're lucky to have a client like that. Its rare.

Congrats on the solution!

work with the guy and sort it out, obviously he must not understand that he is hoting lots of problem customers because of his plan structure....

Originally posted by Bub Host
work with the guy and sort it out, obviously he must not understand that he is hoting lots of problem customers because of his plan structure....

Read all the posts before posting. it was all worked out. :D

Originally posted by KIAHost
Read all the posts before posting. it was all worked out. :D

:blush: whoops, sorry.......first time i've done that ;)

Originally posted by Netrilli
You're lucky to have a client like that. Its rare.

Congrats on the solution!

Tell me about it - I wish all of our customers were as cooperative as them! :)