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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ca
    Posts
    82

    Thumbs down CredibleHost Review

    Hello Everyone,

    I would like to post my feedback on the CredibleHost and I think I am eligible to do so because I have been with them for 8 months.

    I have a resellers account with them and I think this month will be my last month with them because of the lack of security on the servers and server outages.

    Customer Service:
    Bonnie, is great - but the method she is using for technical support is not professional. All their support is handled in their forums, which I do not like because I do not have the time to check their forums everyday about server outages/problems going on. They do not send emails aout about server outages, you basically find out when you try to access your site and it’s failed. Then you go to the forums, and then they post the news on the forums. I really think that is UN-PROFESSIONAL of not emailing your clients about the server outage/problems with server, and having them come to the forums and find out.
    NOT EVERYONE enjoys going to the forums, and trying to find out by him or herself of what is going on. I know everyone would rather like to receive an email. A REAL BUSINESS, for example coffee shop has a web site, and their web site goes down, they won’t find out until they decide to go to their website or when they to get an error email connection window, and not all people know what vBulletin is or how know how to use it. JUST EMAIL IT, make everyone’s life easier and it makes it much easier.
    So, I give their customer service 6/10.

    SERVER QUALITY
    Horrible!
    In the last 3 months, the following has happened:
    1. Server went down for 72 hours, and all hard drives were fried so everyone lost their files. AGAIN, a normal customer would not know until they see that their website has failed to load, and CredibleHost did not bother sending an email out.
    2. Server was hacked into, and a bloody repulsive child was placed all index pages of everyone’s website.
    3. Again, server hacked and server went down.
    I lost 3 clients, because of this horrible server - all clients were paying $15/month, I feel that CredibleHost has been hurting our business.

    OVERRALL review: BAD - If you are reseller, find a serious and reliable host.
    Because as a reseller you can not afford server problems like these.


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    Oklahoma City, OK
    Posts
    2,116
    Sorry to hear this happened to you. Hopefully next host you will have better luck atleast for the sake of your clients I hope so.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Oct 2002
    Location
    EU - east side
    Posts
    21,920
    Bonnie, is great
    Yes, I sincerely believe she's doing her best. It just seemed to me that she's much, much too busy. In fact some of her clients kept saying: "that woman never sleeps" to express the volume of work she puts into the business. While that may be true, some things were slipping and this server down and hacking thing... I thought it was just the server I was on... Apparently that's not true...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    116
    i read somewhere that the hardrive wipeoff was done by a certain tech at ev1servers
    the index page hack was quite inconvenient tho.
    but i was lucky to not get it and hope to stay that way

    other than those issues, i havent seen much major problems at credible host.

  5. #5
    Sorry to hear that... Hope you will find a better host next time with good support... I would suggest through checking for reviews about a host in WHT and overall generally in search engines but you decide to make a commitment...

    Good Luck

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    798

    Re: CredibleHost Review

    Originally posted by ITSconcepts Bonnie, is great
    I have had three reseller accounts with CH for 11 months now. I love Bonnie and think she is the nicest person in the hosting business that I have ever encountered. And I've been doing websites since 1996.

    But I agree with ldcdc. Bonnie is grossly overtaxed and needs to re-organize her staffing situation to overcome the current problems.

    In all fairness to Bonnie, she did recently give a few techs the ability to restart servers in addition to their handling support tickets. Which reminds me, the forums are not the only source of support for CH - they use the Kayako support ticket system at chhelp-dot-com. And you can email her directly at crediblehost@bak.rr.com.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ca
    Posts
    82

    Re: Re: CredibleHost Review

    Originally posted by Webtiva
    In all fairness to Bonnie, she did recently give a few techs the ability to restart servers in addition to their handling support tickets. Which reminds me, the forums are not the only source of support for CH - they use the Kayako support ticket system at chhelp-dot-com. And you can email her directly at crediblehost@bak.rr.com.
    She should send out emails if the server went down or anything that caused the server to act wierd.
    IT IS UN-ACCEPTABLE not to send out an email. I shouldn't have to go to the forums, to find out what happening. A serious hosting business, would not rely on the forums to answer all questions. REAL BUSINESS will not go to thier web host company forum to find out whats the problem, they don't have time! They will waiting for an email.

    Sorry - I love her too, but in the last 3-4 months, the server has had 3 problems, and yet never received an email. Just found out my self, when clients started calling me and telling me thier site is down and etc.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    798
    I hear where you're coming from and understand your frustration. Having been where you are, I no longer rely on someone else to tell me my servers are down. I have a monitoring system in place that emails me and sends a text message to my cell when a server goes ca-ca. I feel it's MY responsibility to make sure that server is up since I am reselling to my clients. When I get a notice I either shoot to the forums, or send her an email about the problem.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ca
    Posts
    82
    What monitoring system are you using?

    Thanks

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    363
    When we started off with a reseller plan, our host told us nothing whatsoever. We experienced two downtimes that I can remember, both of which he simply ignored or hoped we wouldn't notice. Cory had to ask for a review on what happened, as it affected our clients also (we notify ALL clients of any downtime!). My point is, get your experience as fast as possible on a resellers account so you can move on up to a dedicated server. Your problems are gone. It's a good feeling.
    Cory Pippen
    San Diego Direct Web, LLC
    1-866-611-3604

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Apr 2004
    Location
    CANADA
    Posts
    88
    She defintely needs some help for technical support. Because she is on the forum so much I think that's why people don't bother with the ticket system(they do have one), instead they post threads or pm her to get help.

    I had two simple questions she answer in 5min or less because she is on the forum at the same time as me.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Ca
    Posts
    82
    Originally posted by |<@os
    She defintely needs some help for technical support. Because she is on the forum so much I think that's why people don't bother with the ticket system(they do have one), instead they post threads or pm her to get help.

    I had two simple questions she answer in 5min or less because she is on the forum at the same time as me.
    Ya, but using a forum for answering question is not the right of way of doing business.

    We shouldn't have to go to the forum to find out why our servers are down. We should receive an email once it goes down.

    Once again, a little coffee shop does not have the time or knowledge going to forum. They would expect a email or telephone call. To WHT, using a forum is normal, but for others that use the internet daily basis are not aware of all these new softwares on the web.

    Thanks

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Sep 2000
    Location
    Alberta, Canada
    Posts
    3,146
    Always a shame to hear about good service going bad, or having lots of problems. After reading a lot of horror stories about EV1 being so fast to reformat hard drives, the earlier mention of it (possibly) being done to CH could well be true.

    Although one would think, sending eMails to Clients when a long period of Server downtime is happening, would be par for the course it's not always true. There is no excuse as it's a business decision make by the company owner and each company is different.

    There are all kinds of reasons to stay with a Hoster or to leave a Hoster and each must decide on their own. Here's hoping CH can pull it together and make it easy for their Clients, to choose the former instead of the latter.
    PotentProducts.com - for all your Hosting needs
    Helping people Host, Create and Maintain their Web Site
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  14. #14
    After reading a lot of horror stories about EV1 being so fast to reformat hard drives, the earlier mention of it (possibly) being done to CH could well be true.
    did they format CH's drive by mistake or CH requested them to reload the os?
    P4HOST.COM -- Specialize in quality Web Hosting solutions.
    Affordable -- Prices are very comparative
    Reliable -- Very low load average guaranteed. 60 day money back. Fast Support --Support Forum -- Providing hosting since 2003

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Australia
    Posts
    24,027

    Re: CredibleHost Review

    Originally posted by ITSconcepts
    . . . All their support is handled in their forums,

    Not true, according to this page.
    which I do not like because I do not have the time to check their forums everyday about server outages/problems going on. They do not send emails aout about server outages, you basically find out when you try to access your site and it’s failed. Then you go to the forums, and then they post the news on the forums.

    You just need to subscribe to their announcement forum, and you will get emailed when they post a new thread relating to a server issue etc. If they have individual server announcement forums, then you just subscribe to your server forum, with an off-server email address, and you will be automatically emailed when they open a new thread about your server etc.
    WLVPN.com NetProtect owned White Label VPN provider
    Increase your hosting profits by adding VPN to your product line up

  16. #16
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    798
    Originally posted by ITSconcepts
    What monitoring system are you using?
    I have my own monitoring program I wrote in C# that pings, checks email, page serving and cPanel login. I can't see paying someone else to monitor it, despite the fact that most monitoring services do a "round the world check" for you. Plus I use WHM Monitor from another server in another datacenter on the off chance my home connection goes down.

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    New Jersey
    Posts
    798
    Originally posted by inteltechs
    did they format CH's drive by mistake or CH requested them to reload the os?
    EV1 pulled the server because of an outgoing ddos attack, then they forced CH to reload OS due to the compromise. But there were other concurrent problems with other servers at the same time as well.

    She's just got several issues coming to a head at once and it might look to someone like things are spinning out of control. She'll get back on track but I think she's taking a big hit with these latest server compromises, unfortunately.

  18. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2003
    Location
    Leigh on Sea, Essex, England
    Posts
    41
    It seems like one of the big problems here is hacking. I had that happen on a crappy UK based hosting account once, and felt that it was all down to poor security at the hosting company. Their response to the incident was extremely poor and I felt that I only knew about it because I happened to view the website. I have not dealt with them since.

    But what is the consensus of opinion? Is it poor quality hosting that enables hacking to succeed, or is it just like being caught in a freak accident? Can it happen to anyone?

  19. #19
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Mountain View, CA
    Posts
    229
    Lots of providers these days outsource their email and phone support to a third party outsourcing company, sometimes even out of U.S., or they set up a forum and try to lessen their support burden to their own customers.

    It is a pity to see many providers compromising their technical support and server reliability for cheap hosting price.
    DreamLogic Cult Film and Music Reviews
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  20. #20
    Join Date
    Jan 2003
    Posts
    1,255
    Wow. I'm sorry to hear about your dealings with them. I've only heard good things about CredibleHost here at WHT and most other forums. When I was with them back in January 2003 to August 2003 I was extremely happy with them, although they've grown a lot since then and I guess Bonnie's not keeping up with things. It's a shame because they were great - the only reason I left was because I did not need my account with them any longer.

    Good luck on your search for a new host.

  21. #21
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    249

    Re: Re: CredibleHost Review

    Originally posted by Webtiva
    In all fairness to Bonnie, she did recently give a few techs the ability to restart servers in addition to their handling support tickets. Which reminds me, the forums are not the only source of support for CH - they use the Kayako support ticket system at chhelp-dot-com. And you can email her directly at crediblehost@bak.rr.com.
    I had an account with crediblehost for about a week last year and cancelled because tech support just wasn't being done. Just look in her own forums, almost every thread is:

    Customer: "hey Bonnie, I have this small problem, I PM'd you about it days ago, but nothing happened"
    Bonnie: "Yeah, I read about that and I was going to fix it, but I forgot. I'll fix it right now."
    <days go by>
    C: "Bonnie?"
    <more days go by>
    C: "Bonnie? about this problem?"
    B: "Yes, i fixed that days ago"
    C: "The problem is still there"
    ...
    this is repeated ad nauseum until either the problem gets fixed or the customer cancels the account.

    Your quote is a perfect example of several things that are very wrong with crediblehost.

    It sounds like giving a few techs the ability to restart servers is a reward for them to make them feel 1337. Are these paid techs or voulenteers? It feels like the company is run like an IRC channel where people are given a voice or ops as a reward to make them feel cool, not to help them run the servers.

    Bonnie needs to hire paid, qualified techs because clearly the company is too big for her to run on her own, and she needs to let them do their job, not micromanage.

    Her email address is another perfect example. She is using an rr.com account through her ISP. Her own webhosting company is incapible of hosting reliable email. There are numerous issues in the forums where her customers can't get email working or messages get lost, and Bonnie's solution is to get an account through her ISP and suggest her customers do the same. That's completely unacceptable. If she can't figure out how to configure email correctly, hire someone who can. Reliable email is essential to any website.

    The only good things I can say are that Bonnie really does seem to be a very nice person who's in way over her head, and she does honor her refund policy.

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    116
    she's never suggested that ppl get their own email
    she uses that address cause she said its faster for her.
    i have no problem with emailing her at an isp address
    my email works fine.
    every host as minor problems such as email not working for an account or something

    in my view, and after reading most threads, she fixes MOST of the problems, and quickly. everyone tends to forget something once in a while.

    and recently, she offered to upload and restore my sql databses which i've been struggling to do for almost a week now. and she's offered me help regarding issues most people would expect you to do on your own.

    and the harddrive wipeoff was done by someone at ev1. apparently one of their techs "accidently" formatted a hard drive, and a lot of ppl lost their stuff. but they restored a backup for it i think. and the ddos attack is of recent, and the plug again pulled by someone at ev1. but bonnie kept people informed about the problem at the forums. mostly because they are pretty active and most of the members use t hem.

    but i feel like its concepts that an e-mail would be helpful but for the most part im happier with forums casue i use them on a daily basis anyways.

  23. #23
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Sunny California
    Posts
    1,679
    Originally posted by RaTz
    she's never suggested that ppl get their own email
    she uses that address cause she said its faster for her.
    I would have serious concerns with any web hosting provider who didn't use their own service to host their email.

  24. #24
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Posts
    116
    i think, its more of a personality issue. some do. some dont.
    i dont email her much anyways. use the forums mostly

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
    Location
    the colony, tx
    Posts
    37
    it seems that if most of the customers use the forums for support, that is the best place to offer it.

    robert
    Be Your Own AOL-FREE
    http://cyberosis.net/byoisp3.html

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