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  1. #1

    Lots of clients, but a few bad reviews?

    It seems that literally every web hosting company I've read reviews on has a number of bad reviews.

    Some websites give these companies 5/5 whereas I see 1/5 at other sites.

    However, a number of these hosting companies have on average between 500-20,000 clients.

    I'm thinking the only thing I can do is run the risk of running into a problem with the company, but what do you all think about the other 99% of the clients that didn't complain?

    Is it certainly possible that even though a host is rated 3.5/5 but currently has 20,000 clients is really all that bad?

    Just looking for some input on this issue, as I cannot seem to find a perfect 5/5 host. And of course, it seems to me that the majority of people reviewing companies are those who ran into some sort of negative issue with the company...

    Thanks
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  2. #2
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    May be you must be right. Majority of people think to give a review only when they get into troubles and post a bad review. when they have no problems they may not feel the same

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by raja314 View Post
    May be you must be right. Majority of people think to give a review only when they get into troubles and post a bad review. when they have no problems they may not feel the same
    That is very true. Also there isn't a company that is perfect for everyone. I always look at what most of the complaints are about and evaluate if the root cause of most problems are a big concern for me. The bad review could simply be that the person did not pick the right web host for their needs.

    Another thing I look at is the history of complaints/bad reviews. Were most of the complaints published in a brief period or are they posted on a regular basis. If they fall into a brief period, that could indicate unexpected growth or other internal problems that have since been solved.
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  4. #4
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    People that are unhappy go out of their way to tell the world where as most people that are very happy tell one or two people directly and very rarely do they go out of their way to write a positive review.

    Any company with a large client base or a long history is going to have at least a few negative reviews.
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by MikeDVB View Post
    People that are unhappy go out of their way to tell the world where as most people that are very happy tell one or two people directly and very rarely do they go out of their way to write a positive review.

    Any company with a large client base or a long history is going to have at least a few negative reviews.
    Very true, reminds me I need to work on some reviews for the companies I have been with. Several of them for going on 6+ years now.

  6. #6
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    This is true, and spotlights the need for more good reviews. For all services that rock, I always do my best to let the world know "hey, these guys are wonderful". You've really got to suck to get something bad posted from me, personally.

    But, what you will find hidden in the bad reviews...how the company handles it will usually tell you the "truth". If they take heed, show concern, and ultimately alleviate the situation, and do so professionally, it still looks good on the hosts part, regardless of the "negative" post.

    Although entertaining to read, I've seen many hosts on here go down in flame because they, even though initially were in the right, started arguing and acting like the kiddie hosts they turned out to be. Nothing turns me off more than an argumentative know-it-all who is up past his bedtime on WHT. Well, except for Larry King in a speedo. That may classify as "more".
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  7. #7
    If the peoples have host in their mind, probably they go to forum and in the search bar enter the name of the host which they had in their mind. They gets multiple reviews. Some good, some bad. They weigh their pros and crons. Look at the the bad reviews, if they personally think that someone if over reacting in lot of bad reviews they do then look at the positive ones. But they knows peoples aren't going to lie. Maybe over react but they will not lie.
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  8. #8
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    So companies remind you to post a review by having buttons and links in tickets, so as you've said when problems escalate they take there anger out on forums and review sites.
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  9. #9
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    I agree with others regarding the negative reviews. It will come in a greater speed. Once some body face just a bad experience we can experience that on board. But lot of people are hesitant to share their happiness. But in case of ratings, the sites you are referring is important. If you are are talking about Top ten review sites, there is a greater chance for paid listing. Better go for verified reviews in forums like WHT. Do not swallow every thing but one must use their own common sense while reading this reviews. If you research more that will help you to avoid troubles in future.
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    Quote Originally Posted by FasterUpload View Post
    It seems that literally every web hosting company I've read reviews on has a number of bad reviews.

    Some websites give these companies 5/5 whereas I see 1/5 at other sites.

    However, a number of these hosting companies have on average between 500-20,000 clients.

    I'm thinking the only thing I can do is run the risk of running into a problem with the company, but what do you all think about the other 99% of the clients that didn't complain?

    Is it certainly possible that even though a host is rated 3.5/5 but currently has 20,000 clients is really all that bad?

    Just looking for some input on this issue, as I cannot seem to find a perfect 5/5 host. And of course, it seems to me that the majority of people reviewing companies are those who ran into some sort of negative issue with the company...

    Thanks
    Review sites are mostly useless for judging the quality of a host. they're riddled with all sorts of issues such as: hosts posing as customer, opposition posing as customers, multiple posts by ex customers with an axe to grind, review site owners tampering with results (I could name sites but will save the flamefest) & inaccurate uptime stats. You might as well use paper scissors rock
    Last edited by SSHocker; 07-04-2009 at 02:17 PM.
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  11. #11
    There is no perfect company, just the one that is best for you. There are companies where customers that don't require much more than just having their site up and running avoiding general issues therefore never having a problem or those technical savvy that require lots of customization and changes which sooner or later always bring problems. Some companies can deal with these correctly and some can't.

    You'll never find a company with just negative or positive reviews, just look, take an average and test their sales/support service if you can before making your final decision.

  12. #12
    Quote Originally Posted by connorjackson View Post
    So companies remind you to post a review by having buttons and links in tickets, so as you've said when problems escalate they take there anger out on forums and review sites.
    I'm pretty sure that is against the rules here on WHT

  13. #13
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    I'd actually read the reviews myself. You can tell the "I was trying to work with the host and they were just being unhelpful" from the "I HATE EVERYTHING!!! RAWR!!!! MOM DIDN'T BREAST FEED ME!!!!" bad reviews. Some people genuinely have a bad experience with a host, and others are just mad at the world. You can normally tell which are which by just reading them, and then base your decision from there.
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  14. #14
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    Sure, customers who have some negative experience would leave comments rather then contented customers. And that is easy to understand - customers would like to share their bad experience in order to prevent other people from using the service. However if you make the choice based on comments, it would be better to review them thoroughly to find out sound criticism.

    I would advise all people who leave bad comments specify the reasons other wise this information is not useful at all.
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  15. #15
    Any company who have a lot of reviews will have some good and some bad. You need to look at the proportion. If there's hundreds of good and two bad ones then you have a good balance.

    Also look at what the negatives are. They might be something you wouldn't even consider a problem, or something that wouldn't effect a customer like you. As others have said no company is perfect.

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by raja314 View Post
    May be you must be right. Majority of people think to give a review only when they get into troubles and post a bad review. when they have no problems they may not feel the same
    It's true that people will go out of their way just to complain but some people also go out of their way to give good comments on web hosts but usually you have to literally give them the feedback form to fill out not get them to find it.

    Also, some people arn't as experiance in finding web hosting and just go with the first host they find therefore they won't know that they're supposed to get better service. Whether you get 1G of bandwidth or 10G of bandwidth simply does not matter to some people and confuses them.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by mugo View Post
    But, what you will find hidden in the bad reviews...how the company handles it will usually tell you the "truth". If they take heed, show concern, and ultimately alleviate the situation, and do so professionally, it still looks good on the hosts part, regardless of the "negative" post.
    Most bad reviews i find are one-sided.. so even if the host was trying to do something good, or at least "listen", the customer has obviously been pissed off enough that they felt they weren't heard, and are now venting.


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  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by SSHocker View Post
    Review sites are mostly useless for judging the quality of a host. they're riddled with all sorts of issues such as: hosts posing as customer, opposition posing as customers, multiple posts by ex customers with an axe to grind, review site owners tampering with results (I could name sites but will save the flamefest) & inaccurate uptime stats. You might as well use paper scissors rock
    Although review sites are inaccurate, i suppose, what's the alternative?

    I personally like referrals if i'm looking for a supplier, but if you don't know of anyone, what options do you have to evaluate one company vs. another?


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  19. #19
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    It seems that literally every web hosting company I've read reviews on has a number of bad reviews.
    I recall reading that customers are 11 times more likely to spread the word about negative experiences, than they are about positive ones. While the exact ratio may be disputable, I think it's human nature to focus on the negative stuff. It's how elections are usually lost.

    Any company with sufficiently numerous customers, will antagonize some of them. It is also that much more likely for some of the customers to fall through even minuscule cracks in the service.

    We can also make an analogy with medication. You can give a certain drug to 100 people and it can work as intended for all of them. You give it to 1 million people, and 1000 will have allergies or some other side effects; some might even die.

    Is it certainly possible that even though a host is rated 3.5/5 but currently has 20,000 clients is really all that bad?
    If the rating is based on 10 customers' opinions, the margin of error may be significant, especially if the randomness of the sample is not guaranteed.
    Last edited by ldcdc; 07-08-2009 at 09:37 AM.

  20. #20
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    You will only find out how good a provider is when the going gets tough.

    I read reviews with a grain of salt. The real gold is buried in WHT threads where you can watch the provider's behavior when dealing with an issue that went public.
    Last edited by dotHostel; 07-08-2009 at 10:20 AM.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by dotHostel View Post
    You will only find out how good a provider is when the going gets tough.

    I read reviews with a grain of salt. The real gold is buried in WHT threads where you can watch the provider's behavior when dealing with an issue that went public.
    But even then, you probably won't get the full picture of what happened. Both will be one-sided (most likely).

    Not like they can reveal all the dirty laundry just to "prove" they are right.


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  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by maknet View Post
    But even then, you probably won't get the full picture of what happened. Both will be one-sided (most likely).

    Not like they can reveal all the dirty laundry just to "prove" they are right.


    Lawrence

    Lawrence, surprisingly many providers don't give a whit what the WHT readers can think about their companies, blaming the user, refusing to refund, pointing the ToS, etc, regarding issues that are clearly of their responsibility or that could be solved without stress.
    Last edited by dotHostel; 07-08-2009 at 10:37 AM.

  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by IMeanWebHosting View Post
    I'd actually read the reviews myself. You can tell the "I was trying to work with the host and they were just being unhelpful" from the "I HATE EVERYTHING!!! RAWR!!!! MOM DIDN'T BREAST FEED ME!!!!" bad reviews. Some people genuinely have a bad experience with a host, and others are just mad at the world. You can normally tell which are which by just reading them, and then base your decision from there.
    hahaha, this is pretty much what you have to look through.

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by dotHostel View Post
    Lawrence, surprisingly many providers don't give a whit what the WHT readers can think about their companies, blaming the user, refusing to refund, pointing the ToS, etc, regarding issues that are clearly of their responsibility or that could be solved without stress.
    Some do if word gets around. I know my provider's president posted here to rebut a guy. I trust him and i'd back him.

    Fortunately, we've had no bad reviews yet. If it does occur, i'd probably talk to the person to rescind it, or hopefully it never got to that point.

    Sometimes you just can't reason though. I once had a client leave in a huff. My main point was like, "dude, you didn't pay the web design bills for 9-months! seriously! why are you so mad at my non-service to help transfer your domain name elsewhere?"


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  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by IMeanWebHosting View Post
    I'd actually read the reviews myself. You can tell the "I was trying to work with the host and they were just being unhelpful" from the "I HATE EVERYTHING!!! RAWR!!!! MOM DIDN'T BREAST FEED ME!!!!" bad reviews. Some people genuinely have a bad experience with a host, and others are just mad at the world. You can normally tell which are which by just reading them, and then base your decision from there.
    I don't think the casual reader off the street makes that distinction.
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