I am a web designer and I've been using Adaptive.net for years and I never has much trouble with them. The prices are low. For $15 a month I get 1000mb of storage, 10gb/month bandwidth, ASP & SQL Server support. (They are now selling the same thing for $50/month: http://www.adaptive.net/pricing.asp?col=4) but I have a price lock from the past.

But now I am trying to connect to their SQL Server for the first time (for a web store I am building for myself) and it's been a nightmare. My Enterprise Manager locks up as soon as I try to view the remote database (which supposedly they've created for me).

And they don't return my emails. Last I heard, they said their Advanced Support people will get back to me.

I've spent a week looking for help on newsgroups with not much luck. I am new to SQL Server and I'd move to another host on a heart beat, except I have so much invested in Adaptive already. They've already charged me to set up a merchant account, database setup, and I built my website with the expectation to use their shopping cart tool.

My question: Considering the low price, is this behavior expected? Should I cut my losses and move on to another host? What would you do if you were in my shoes? It would be good to hear the perspective of people how do this for a living.

Thanks in advance.

(P.S. Been looking for another host, but the sheer number of choices is overwhelming. Where the heck would you start?)

Polaatx,

This is definitely an unacceptable behavior. I do not believe too much in this 'you get what you paid for'. Pricing is not something we can control as customers.

When a host priced their product and list the features included in that package, they would need to abide by it or else not list it at all.

I was just at their website and they mention something about 24/7 support. I know as human, there may be times in which something can go wrong. I believe in their situation it is their obligation to fix the problem. If they require more time or could not fix it, they should at least have the common courtesy to get back to you and mention that they cannot do it.

I think you should cut your losses and move on. I find it useful to always write to the support department for pre-sales inquiries. This is useful to guage how responsive their support is and to clarify any doubts you might have. If they do not respond to pre-sales, they might not be there for post sales.

Hope that helps.

Edwin