Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Running a Web Hosting Business : People who violate your terms are always the first to complain...

[glace]

It's always the same: Someone keeps violating the terms but you always give them a second and a third chance because you are a nice guy. Then exactly these people threaten with a lawsuit or reporting to consumer protection agencies if the server is down even for 5 minutes.
Another thing I experienced is that exactly the people who cause a high load are the first to complain if the server is overloaded.

I think the truth is some people are simply stupid and ignorant and you should not have any mercy with them. If they don`t keep to the rules: Kick their *** ! If they don`t pay you: Kick their *** !

Whenever someone threatens with the BBE or his lawyers I will set them on a list and even the smallest delay in payments or the smallest violation of my terms and they will get their asses kicked.

[Tina J]

Originally Posted by glace

It's always the same: Someone keeps violating the terms but you always give them a second and a third chance ...

No, I don't.

--Tina

[glace]

Originally Posted by AH-Tina

No, I don't.

--Tina

Yes, and I think you are right in not doing it... I won`t do it anymore either.

[Evolver]

Years ago when I worked at an ISP there was this guy who was always late 3-4 months in his payments. We were always a little more leanient then most compaines. Well he always ingonred our invoice emails/calls so usually on a Fri or long weekend we'd suspend his internet access. LOL this guy would phone us all weekend untill the voice mail box was full. THenonMonay he was the first to call in yelling how he was going to sue us for loss of business, etc... So I'd just tellhim his invoice is going to collections after I get off the phone. Heh he'd always square up the bill right there. Whats amazing he always did this.

[kris1351]

Yup, if you handle it properly it isn't a problem. We used to do all the buddy and favor things then realized we had 50 people trying to pay 1-3 months behind. We finally had to put a firm policy in and since then we haven't had an issue with payments.

The spammers and scammers are the worst though. They all have the best attorneys in the world according to them.

[steven-v]

Spammers and Scammers - yes, they talk big, but it reality never do anything - I had guy which sent me BAD CHECK for $400 TWICE and yet, he treaten to sue me and report to FBI and etc (because according him I STOLED his money - each bounce back check cost me $25) + left a lot of angry messages on voicemail - when I ask him to send me COPY of his bank statement where it's shows that those checks been cashed - he just dissapear But he did NICE SHOW - I will give him 9 out of 10.

Originally Posted by kris1351

Yup, if you handle it properly it isn't a problem. We used to do all the buddy and favor things then realized we had 50 people trying to pay 1-3 months behind. We finally had to put a firm policy in and since then we haven't had an issue with payments.

The spammers and scammers are the worst though. They all have the best attorneys in the world according to them.

[jrm]

I too have quit being Mr. Nice Guy and drop them like a lead balloon when they start getting behind. I send out plenty of notices and then set a date. If they aren't interested in paying me then I am no longer interested in hosting their account.

It is true that the worse they are the louder they get. I had a guy in South Africa threating me that he was going to contact the FBI, the US Embassy, etc. etc. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH !!! He claimed I was costing him thousands because I had shut him down for lack of payment.

[spiv]

As soon as you hear "I'm losing thousands of dollars..." you should immediately assume the client is a jerk.

With several thousand clients and 6+ years of hosting experience, we have never had a legitimate business client say anything like that.

Only the kids or jerks that are hosting a personal website with baby pictures or similiar drivvel will throw a temper fit, claim they are losing lots of money, etc. when a simple look at their site proves otherwise.

Of course, we have had a few glitches or site downs on a few rare occassions. What amazed me the most is how laid back most of our business clients have been when that did happen.

They were very courteous, and quite happy that we fixed the problem for them quickly but they were not panicking or screaming at us.

Originally Posted by jrm

I too have quit being Mr. Nice Guy and drop them like a lead balloon when they start getting behind. I send out plenty of notices and then set a date. If they aren't interested in paying me then I am no longer interested in hosting their account.

It is true that the worse they are the louder they get. I had a guy in South Africa threating me that he was going to contact the FBI, the US Embassy, etc. etc. BLAH, BLAH, BLAH !!! He claimed I was costing him thousands because I had shut him down for lack of payment.

[Paul-UKWSD]

Originally Posted by spiv

As soon as you hear "I'm losing thousands of dollars..." you should immediately assume the client is a jerk.

With several thousand clients and 6+ years of hosting experience, we have never had a legitimate business client say anything like that.

Exactly, if a clients site was that important they would surely pay their bills on time

[wolseley]

Originally Posted by spiv

Of course, we have had a few glitches or site downs on a few rare occassions. What amazed me the most is how laid back most of our business clients have been when that did happen.

They were very courteous, and quite happy that we fixed the problem for them quickly but they were not panicking or screaming at us.

Thats because a serious business client actually has some idea of what is involved in hosting. They know that with the best will in the world, things will sometimes go wrong or break, and it is the way in which you deal with it which matters to them.

Proper (intelligent) business clients will do a proper risk assessment and factor in downtime. e.g. if they provide a web based service to paying clients, they will not offer a 100% uptime guarantee to their clients when the host only offers then 99.5%. Simple business sense dictates that while you should market your service as much as you can, you shouldn't sell what you can't supply.

[Flammable]

Reasons why people who cause loads are the first to complain:
Phishers who run scripts often notice first when the site is down because they are actively using it, its like a shop keeper noticing his front door is ****. Its the same with scammers, they are constantly sending out mail.

[etechsupport2]

Well, "Reason has always existed but not in reasonable form" Giving them second and third chance means you are also violating your own TOS, this give them free hand to break the prevailing TOS.

[wiredgorilla]

totally agree with all the comments, sometimes its less of a headacke to just loose a painfull client !