I have been searching for months for a reliable, reasonably-priced solution for my web hosting business. I want managed dedicated servers both UNIX and NT. I want the provider to handle my support and offer anonymous toll-free phone, email and ticket support 24/7 to my customers.

Why is it that most of the companies that I have researched either get a bad rap on this site or have a bad rating with BBB. Aren't there any good ones out there???

Companies that I have looked at:

C_I_Host - I have a reseller acct now. I haven't had any problems with them but I know their rep on here. Plus, their BBB rating is lacking.

Rackvillage - Bad reviews here and elsewhere plus bad BBB rating.

Dialtone- Mixed reviews.

So far, I am leaning towards C_I_Host because I haven't had a problem and they offer everything that I need.

Anyone out there want to offer their advice, share their sources or offer me a deal that I can't refuse??

Off your list, I would say Dialtone is probably your better bet. Have you done a search on this forum?

finding a company that will provide you with an anonymous toll free number, and do all of your support for you is definatly a long shot, as those are two seperate things, you might look for someone to provide the services, and someone to provide the technical support, not everyone can be a "complete outsourcing solution".

I have done a search which is why I am so frustrated. Dialtone doesn't offer support for my customers. Since I have clients on the west coast, I need to offer toll-free support after we have quit for the day. There is a 3 hour difference and we can't work until 8 p.m every day. I've looked into Bob Cares but that doesn't solve the phone support.

To me, if a host doesn't have an actual # to call and talk to a real person, I am leary of them. While I cannot hire a full-time staff right now, it is in my business plan future.

So, am I asking too much? Maybe there are other small hosting shops out there who are as frustrated as me? This might be a business endeavor that someone should explore - an tech support company for small hosting companies. For a monthly fee, you would get an anonymous toll-free support line where tech support staff will answer support questions.

Anyone interested??

Who are the companies that would handle only the tech support??

I think you are looking for a lot, you can always define your hours clearly for telephone and have the email, etc. answered after a certain time. Anonymous phone support would be very difficult to provide, would be hell during peak times, and almost useless during others, it would be very difficult to balance out i think and as a result would be quite expensive.

I think the cost invoved would make your hosting plans very expensive in deed.

How are you planning to compete and cover the cost of a 24/7 tech support via live phone support?

My two cents:

Offer toll free sales and tech support during YOUR normal business hours (west coast, east coast, wherever). Then offer emergency toll free support 24/7 and hire a guy or two for that position (beats hiring/paying your whole staff). Or you can use your cell phone for emergencies (or a company cell and trade it off between employees/administrators).

On top of that, you can have a 24/7 support email address (and maybe even an emergency one) that you can monitor remotely (home, vacation, whatever).

It's not easy for someone in New York to offer dedicated server support on a machine that is in Los Angeles if it requires remote-hands (which _most_ emergencies do). You'll need a warm body in LA to do the work.

Also, I would stay far away from C 1 Host. We keep getting paranoid customers who come from there after a horrible experience (shared hosting and dedicated hosting). I've personally never used them, and never will. (I hope I don't get sued for saying that...)

Thanks everyone for your comments and suggestions. I am going to thinking about this some more.

As far as being able to compete, I think that people are willing to pay a little more for reliable, courteous and timely service - especially customers that have had bad experiences in the past. I know that I am.

I know most of our customers just take customer support at face value, we just outright tell them "yes, it's 24x7 support, 8 hours of which is covered by nothing more then an emergency number, if you've got an emergency, call the number, someone will get out of bed to help you, otherwise, let non-urgent issues wait until the morning. I think most people see that as more then reasonable, and are willing to settle with solutions like that :)

I'm confused. If you aren't having any problems with C1 Host, why leave? I know they have a bad rep, but if you haven't had any problems, I see no reason to go elsewhere.

I would vote dialtone. I had a falling out with them but their service is a 10 out of 10. There is ALWAYS someone there to help you, they fix problems at 3am new years eve, they monitor 24/7 and get you onlin asap, you can specify what to do in the event of a failure. Its understandable that a huge company like that wont support your customers, thats your job. But again, dialtone does a 100% excellent job.

Originally posted by driverdave
I'm confused. If you aren't having any problems with C1 Host, why leave? I know they have a bad rep, but if you haven't had any problems, I see no reason to go elsewhere.

I was shopping around before making the move to dedicated but was very dissapointed at the lack of companies that could fulfill my needs. That's all. I wanted to evaluate all of my options before laying out $300 more a month to go dedicated.

If you don't want to be responsible for the servers or support, it sounds like a referral program would be most suited to you...

Seriously, though. I already have a client base. Most are design clients. I want to expand but don't have the resources to hire more staff yet. I am being very cautious about this because I realize how a few bad customer support issues can ruin a host's reputation. I am trying to offer the best that I can for my clients. Certainly quite the opposite of not wanting to be responsible.

I didn't say that I don't want to be responsible for the servers or support. I meant that I don't want to be responsible 24/7 and would like to have phone support outsourced for times that I am not available. I am having trouble finding reputable companies that offer that option.

Pretty simple and straight forward.

I meant that I don't want to be responsible 24/7 and would like to have phone support outsourced for times that I am not available. I am having trouble finding reputable companies that offer that option. Unfortunately, what you are trying to accomplish is going to be very expensive. There are reputable hosts out there that will help, but you are looking at thousands of dollars per month.

Originally posted by RackMy.com
Unfortunately, what you are trying to accomplish is going to be very expensive. There are reputable hosts out there that will help, but you are looking at thousands of dollars per month.

I can see that now. I might have to rethink my expansion or just stay where I am at and hope that they continue to offer me the same service.

What do you mean by BBB rating?

Do they give you actual complaints lodged? Are you relying on the online seal? (Many people say "screwit" to their sales tactic, and refuse to be extorted out of exorbitant fees. That little seal on the website only means they paid up. Quality is undetermined,.)

in your case , if dialtone cant do the job , then no one can .

however ,asking them to do toll free annoymous 247 service for you is a little too much .
and I suggest you not to do so ... it's stupid .

I am pretty sure that none of the service provider out there can do this job for you ..... since you ask for "annoymous" .. which is rediculous . You will have to pay lots of money to convince them to offer this serivce .

just install a ticket system and that's enough for your customers.
as for telephone support, just do it in your regular business hour .

I did $70 worth of business with C_I_Host as a webmaster hosting a virtual domain on their server for one month in 1998. Last month they sued me for $100,000, for, among other things, reporting them to the BBB at that time.

This is not a joke. I am the fourth former customer they have sued that I know of, there may be others. This is not a company you want to do business with. If you need any more information about the way they do business, see this article:
http://dallas.bizjournals.com/dallas/stories/2002/05/27/story2.html

What do you mean by BBB rating?
He means that the Better Business Bureau of Fort Worth, TX, has received more than an average number of complaints about CIH for a business of that size: 179 in the past 3 years.

Stay far, FAR, FAR away from C_I_Host. And if you have been sued by them too, please get in touch. Please do not e-mail to inquire regarding the details of my suit, on the advice of my attorney I may not discuss it.