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Thread: A Fiasco called Midphase Inc.
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05-16-2004, 06:20 AM #1Junior Guru Wannabe
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A Fiasco called Midphase Inc.
Apparently , Midphase Inc. is being advertised as a very good service provider .Anyone had any experience ?
I have had some real sour expereicnes with them which is why i changed over to Lunarpages .
A point to note is that most of these service providers run their own forums which sing nothing but praise for their services .
My advice is before getting carried away with them , have a look in these neutral forums to find out where these stand .
Another company to watch out for is adepthosting.co.uk and hostony.com - stay away from these0
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05-16-2004, 06:23 AM #2Retired Moderator
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Perhaps you want to share more details on your "real sour experiences"?
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05-16-2004, 06:37 AM #3Junior Guru Wannabe
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Sure ,
1) They have this online chat facility that somehow is not capable of giving any meaningful responses . I had some queries on upgrade but before i signed up , i wanted to know what rates i will be charged . I was told that they do not have this information and that they can only tell me once i have filled up the upgrade form ! I did that - waited more than 48 hrs without reply and then i see that i have been charged for 6 months in advance ! I would never have gone for the upgrade had i know that i would have to pay this much - the funny thing is WHY would they not tell me in advance how much will it cost ...sounds a bit dodgy to me
2) I didnt get a reply about the upgrade charge for more than 48 hrs !This is entirely unacceptable for a site that claims 24X7 support infrastructure .I had some pressing need for an urgent upgrade and it cost me quite a lot of money in business to go without a host for 48 hrs
3) Their billing department is horrible to say the least . First it takes them > 48 hrs to respond to billing queries , and two if someone has ever tried to cancel an account with them they will know that you get pestered till unconsious into rethinking about changing over .
4) they seem quite disorganised . You ring them and get passed around to different departments who are each unaware of what needs to be done .Everything ironically works fine when you have a sales query
I have been wrongly charged by them , they say that i have to pay the activation fees even if i want to cancel - which i agreed to cox ireally dont have time to argue with them - but still do not know if i will get a refund for the rest or not . If i dont , obviously i will escalate it - but just to let the others know that NEVER sign up for something till you know how much you are going to end up paying and also make sure you are completely aware of the cancellation policies - that important little checkbox at the bottom of the signup forms that tells you to read these condidtions ..0
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05-16-2004, 06:42 AM #4Web Hosting Master
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Well, that IS a sour experience. But their feedbacks here have been quite good...
New site: www.talkutas.com0
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05-16-2004, 06:47 AM #5Junior Guru Wannabe
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Feedbacks from whom ? I am not aware of too many neutral forums like this where you see much good about them ..certainly contentious as to how they can be ranked number 4......i have had some others with similar issues with them and i will encourage them to post their experiences here
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05-16-2004, 06:56 AM #6Web Hosting Master
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Trying doing a search to see what is said about midphase...
New site: www.talkutas.com0
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05-16-2004, 07:39 AM #7Disabled
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I dont like sour flavored things
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05-16-2004, 07:51 AM #8Web Hosting Master
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Re: A Fiasco called Midphase Inc.
Originally posted by kkarank
A point to note is that most of these service providers run their own forums which sing nothing but praise for their services .
AndrewNetHosted - UK based hosting solutions.0
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05-16-2004, 07:54 AM #9Junior Guru Wannabe
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No i am not , but then who knows - i really cannt say on the basis of just one incident that i had with them but it does sound too good to be ture
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05-16-2004, 07:57 AM #10Junior Guru Wannabe
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I do know for sure that they did delete one message that i posted on their fourm that might have put them in an uncomfortable position . I take it they used their hosting privileges for that but that is not exactly freedom of expression
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05-16-2004, 09:04 AM #11Retired Moderator
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"freedom of expression" is not that free when you're on a private forum. However, a host that deletes unpleasant threads/posts on a regular basis is not really trustworthy. Just IMHO...
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05-16-2004, 09:47 AM #12Junior Guru Wannabe
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another fact to my claim - been now > 5 days since i requested cancellation - not even an email from them saying that they have received it and some kind of reference number .....i guess pretty basic feature for any site ..that is what i call 24X7 customer dis-service
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05-16-2004, 12:19 PM #13Web Hosting Master
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I must say the complete opposite about Midphase, we have dealt with them, Dan in particular, and he has been very professional, knew what he was talking about, and got back to us rather quickly.
I have yet to test their hosting but have spent quite some time talking to their staff, and have nothing but great things to say about them...
What happened when you give their 24x7 800 number a buzz?▓ SkyLineHost.com
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▓ ▓ ▓ Based in Los Angeles. sales@skylinehost.com0
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05-16-2004, 12:28 PM #14Junior Guru Wannabe
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Nothing happens and there 24X7 number is wague too .You give them a call and all that the staff tells you is to write to them - it looks like some remote call center to me .
the staff simply do not know about the issue and they keep sending me around , I have spoken to Dan too - nothing personal - unfortunately he himself did not have a clue about my case - it just so looks like this has been a grosss negligence with them - i hope - for their own sake that this was a oneoff case and that i get my refund - else i will ensure that strictest legal action is resorted to agaisnt midphase .
The reason i am escalating this is because it is important for such companies to honour credit card use usages . After all - it is a serious issue to be wrongly charging credit cards without proper invoices and then not responding to billing queries. > 4 days response times are totally unacceptable ( mind u in my case i have still not heard anything from them )0
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05-16-2004, 02:18 PM #15Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by kkarank
Nothing happens and there 24X7 number is wague too .You give them a call and all that the staff tells you is to write to them - it looks like some remote call center to me .
Many host are 'claiming' 24/7 toll free support. It is just them off loading support to another company - most times to India. Anything over "did you check your password" responses will not be dealt with and you will end up waiting for your online ticket to be responded to. All marketing. But what one person figures out, hundreds more will not. So it works.BeDifferentSolutions | "For when Indian-based solutions just won't do."
*We hire, train and manage extremely skilled technical support employees for your business*
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05-16-2004, 02:37 PM #16Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by UmBillyCord
Many host are 'claiming' 24/7 toll free support. It is just them off loading support to another company - most times to India. Anything over "did you check your password" responses will not be dealt with and you will end up waiting for your online ticket to be responded to. All marketing. But what one person figures out, hundreds more will not. So it works.
Not an excuse, but anytime I see 24/7 phone support, I make sure to drop them a call at 4am to test it
(By the way..welcome back, haven't seen you posting in awhile )0
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05-16-2004, 04:09 PM #17Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by nickn
24/7 Phone Support is an expensive thing to maintain, Call Centers are expensive, and just having 24/7 coverage is expensive - Subtract the corporate giants (Interland, Verio, etc) how many hosts do you know who truly provide 24/7 phone support...plenty do online tickets, which in my opinion, is enough.
Not an excuse, but anytime I see 24/7 phone support, I make sure to drop them a call at 4am to test it
(By the way..welcome back, haven't seen you posting in awhile ) [/B]
PS - I noticed you have a new hat.BeDifferentSolutions | "For when Indian-based solutions just won't do."
*We hire, train and manage extremely skilled technical support employees for your business*
US and European Based Representatives | Dedicated and Semi-Dedicated Options | Level 1/2/3 Skillsets
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05-16-2004, 04:15 PM #18Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by UmBillyCord
Why? Because outsourced companies can not care as much as the owner and paid employees who actually show up at the office. Plus outsourced support does not know your system like in house. Of course outsourced companies will argue the opposite......
PS - I noticed you have a new hat.0
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05-16-2004, 05:17 PM #19Web Hosting Master
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I won't be drawn into a conversation here, because we all know where these go to. If you want to contact me off the boards, I'll be happy to get you taken care of. My extention is 113.
One quick thing- we don't outsource our support. If we did, you wouldn't see all of the good reviews about our services. If you call up at 4AM and have a billing question, or a refund question, you won't get much help.
ZakCEO of SingleHop0
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05-16-2004, 05:22 PM #20Web Hosting Master
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There's nothing wrong with not providing 24/7 phone support, there's something wrong with not providing true 24/7 phone support if your claim it.
My posts and I think UmBillyCord's latest too were in the more general sense, we never pointed fingers0
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05-16-2004, 05:26 PM #21Junior Guru Wannabe
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Unfortunately i CANNOT say that i dont point fingers as i have personally been witness to lack of issue understanding in Midphase support team . As i write this email i am getting email from midphase asking me a question that clearly tells me that all the effort i have done in explaining the issue to them for the last 4 days AND making long distance calls has gone in complete waste .
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05-16-2004, 05:30 PM #22Web Hosting Master
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You sent in 4 cancellations in a row 2 days ago. It takes a maximum of 14 days to cancel your account. I don't handle that, but I'll put a note on Dans desk to take care of your cancellation in the morning, but lack of understanding isn't on our end here. Our 14-day policy is clearly stated.
Zak
P.S.- the "lack of understanding" you speak of was me asking your cancellation number, so I could put this down on Dans desk. Not sure what the problem here is..CEO of SingleHop0
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05-16-2004, 05:43 PM #23Junior Guru Wannabe
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As i was saying - and i stand vindicated by this rather naive response from the billing rep of Midphase .
Read this - " You charged my credit card without sending me a proper invoice for the amount " . This is not a cancellation in the first place - this is your complete goof-up .
Now to the root of all this - your method of handling upgrades is not transparent enough - if i try to upgrade on your site - i dont get told beforehand that i will be charged x amount - i get told that ' your request has been received and that we will get back to you shortly about the rates we will charge " ...And after more than 48 hrs....you get a charge on your credit card - people then tell you that it will take 14 days to get a refund ....
Zak , this is for you - can you tell me for sure that you have understood the issue here - you say that i sent 4 cancellations - which yes i did ...where is the cancellation reference then - i dont have it - neither do you else why would you email ME to ask for that number ?0
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05-16-2004, 05:44 PM #24Web Hosting Master
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Originally posted by nickn
I completely agree. However, the same could be said about low paying inhouse technical support, I'm a firm believer in what makes a company good is their employees. If your employees aren't happy with the job, and don't take pride in it..due to whatever reasons..it's going to be obvious to the customers, they won't put in the extra effort, and all will fall apart..not much differently than if you were using outsourced support.
One more point I will make is that if you are 100% in-house, 24/7, then you have decided to budget for that type of service level. You know the commitment level and expense that goes into it. When you offer 24/7 toll free and it is outsourced, you do not (unless you were in-house and moved outsourced). It is very hard to make the same changes you could make if it were in-house. This usually results in the lose of the 24/7 toll free service to customers who might have signed up for that host due to that reason.
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That is all I will say on this in this thread. It seems Zak feels we are talking about him, and it is side-tracking kkarank's thread.BeDifferentSolutions | "For when Indian-based solutions just won't do."
*We hire, train and manage extremely skilled technical support employees for your business*
US and European Based Representatives | Dedicated and Semi-Dedicated Options | Level 1/2/3 Skillsets
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05-16-2004, 05:53 PM #25Junior Guru Wannabe
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Well i have always beleived in working with examples ...and what better one than taking 'Midphase' itself .
On a high level it gives an impression of a poor support infrastructure to me . I wont say anything personal about Zak but if i were to rate the intellectual capability and the sense of conviction that you SHOULD get when you talk to a support rep - you feel disappointed in the case of Midphase . Their 24X7 definitely takes a long weekend break .
But i do NOT want to take away some of the credit from them too . I have now been them for slightly more than a month now and although i wouldnt rank their services in the top 5 , i would still say that i have seen worst ....at least Zak is able to respond - in the past my service prviders have disappeared from the DNS lists !0