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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2003
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    UK
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    6,616

    What do you do when a customer refuses to upgrade?

    Currently I've got a customer on a server who is maxing out their RAM and CPU causing the machine to lockup. Technically a lot has been done to bring it under control however increasing traffic levels means that without upgrading the underlying system that the machine will constantly bog down and it can only be fixed by reboots , restarting services which is short term measure. However on the grounds of cost the user is refusing to upgrade (and we aren't talking huge amounts here, $40/mo) so what do we do as its causing extra support. I don't want to fire the customer but I'm starting to run out of ideas. I've considered things like a reboot port but that doesn't fit the underlying problem
    Russ Foster - Industry Curmudgeon
    Freelance Sysadmin for Hire - email vaserv@gmail.com

  2. #2
    Cut him loose. Sometimes, that's the only way to deal with someone being hardheaded.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Tampa, Florida
    Posts
    30
    I agree, how many man hours are you losing working on this clients box? If they are only paying $40 a month and are not managed at some point is going to start costing you money.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    West Michigan, USA
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    9,687
    Put it in your ToS that you will allow x number of reboots per month for free, but additional ones will cost. Either that or put it in your ToS that if a server is crashing and the customer refuses to upgrade, that there will be billable hours involved.

    --Tina
    ||| 99.999% Uptime SLA!!!
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  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2005
    Location
    Richmond, VA
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    3,119
    Or, give him 30 days to upgrade him, and let him know that after the 30 days has passed, provided no upgrade has occurred, the server will be taken offline.
    Daniel B., CEO - Bezoka.com and Ungigs.com
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  6. #6
    If he's unwilling to listen to you, give him a remote reboot port and tell him you won't support the problem any further -- that, if he wishes you to address this issue further, that it'll require an upgrade. This way if he cannot afford it or is just very stubborn, then he has an option to do it himself.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Posts
    593
    Let him know that due the server being overloaded, you will not be supporting him anymore unless he pays an additional fee of $40/mo. for tech support. Oh wait! isn't that the same price as the upgrade? Hmmm.......
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  8. #8
    Join Date
    Feb 2006
    Location
    Swellyville
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    2,341
    I don't think that cutting the customer loose would solve any problems you may have. Furthermore, it will just make your company look bad in regards to handling customer issues. Take it as any other issue you face, like a business man (or woman) If their website or account is using excessive resource or they are going over their allotted space and bandwidht over a constant period of time, advise them that the account needs a upgrade. If they refuse the upgrade or upgrade options, suspend their service or cut the port off on the machine and advise them once again their account needs to be upgraded. If they still wish not to upgrade, then give them the opportunity to get their data and allow time for them to leave and find another host.

    I think this is a more logical way at looking at it then just terming the account and saying goodbye thanks for your business.
    Last edited by Swelly; 11-14-2006 at 11:19 PM.
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  9. #9
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    Internet / Colorado
    Posts
    1,660
    I would call them and explain it over voice as people can't get as angry, explain the problem, why its overloading and tell them they need to upgrade and have 5 days to decide, and tell them if they wish to move you will help them anyway possible.
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  10. #10
    I think one key factor here is being over looked. I'm going to assume that the customers "uptime" is a concern for them (they can't afford to be down for lengthy periods of time). That being said, it almost seems they do not "understand" the implications of what is happening.

    A friendly, ground-level (non-technical) conversation with them to find out what is important to them, will give you the direction you need to take. If they truely understand they have outgrown their current resources AND uptime is also a concern...they will likely see the wisdom in your advice.

    Bottom line: People do not respond well being "told" what to do. But if you approach them with kindness and a willingness to help (advice, knowledge, wisdom)...they will see the light.

    Good luck!
    Kenneth R Taylor
    Inet7 Internet Serivces
    Web & Application Hosting Services
    http://www.inet7.com

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Posts
    31

    Technical Options

    I know this is kind of going above and beyond, but if you want the money and he's not going to upgrade, there are technical solutions you can try.

    First of all, make it clear that you're only going to support X reboots per month (giving remote console and reboot is great but would cost some money) and they either need to upgrade their support plan or upgrade their plan over all.

    Anyway, if the problem isn't with hardware, there are a lot of technical solutions that can be implemented. You can try (or have them try) some of the following (which can be used together):
    - renicing long-running daemons that are causing the overall load on the system
    - set up a cron script to check the load and if it gets too high (but well below the threshold of the server stopping altogether)
    - try using virtualization with limits so if the server gets out of control, they log in to the main one and restart it that way


    I know it's not really part of your job, but you can at least pass along the advice when you tell them to upgrade so it doesn't seem like you're leaving them hanging. Server operating systems shouldn't be crashing like that, so keep in mind there are possible hardware problems or OS problems.

    Good luck!

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Posts
    3,857
    Doesn't the customer mind having his site down all the time?
    When we see a customer that needs to upgrade, we discuss it thoroughly with them first via email, IM or telephone.

    If they can't upgrade due to financial constraints, then we offer them some incentives (discounts, a free month etc.) in order to get them to accept.
    Once we upgrade them, and they realise how much better it is for them, they decide to stay on and the financial constraints don't seem to be a problem anymore.

    Try taking/considering that route...

    But if all else fails, and you have exhausted all of your solutions, then you do need to be firm and take action.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Lansing, MI, USA
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    1,548
    We had a delimia like this recently where a client was looking to lower their bill by combining two of their servers. Combining those servers would have had... ... bad results. We basically decided internally that we would rather the client leave us thinking we're too expensive rather than jeaprodize his quality of service with us and combine the servers.

    He upgraded one of his servers to better handle the load.
    Jacob - WebOnce Technologies - 30 Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee - Over 5 Years Going Strong!
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  14. #14
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
    Location
    West Michigan, USA
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    Quote Originally Posted by WO-Jacob
    We had a delimia like this recently where a client was looking to lower their bill by combining two of their servers. Combining those servers would have had... ... bad results. We basically decided internally that we would rather the client leave us thinking we're too expensive rather than jeaprodize his quality of service with us and combine the servers.

    He upgraded one of his servers to better handle the load.

    Yeah, ultimately it would have cost you more in man-hour expenses anyway...lowering your profit considerably. Also, he may have left for a cheaper solution, but come back eventually realizing how important good service is.

    --Tina
    ||| 99.999% Uptime SLA!!!
    Plenty of space and bandwidth to fit your needs!
    www.AEIandYou.com - - (WP Friendly - Premium Reseller Hosting and Cheap Dedicated Servers)

  15. #15
    Join Date
    May 2004
    Location
    Lansing, MI, USA
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    Quote Originally Posted by AH-Tina
    Yeah, ultimately it would have cost you more in man-hour expenses anyway...lowering your profit considerably. Also, he may have left for a cheaper solution, but come back eventually realizing how important good service is.

    --Tina
    Exactly the thoughts I had on it.

    As to the topic more directly, give them a call, sit and talk with them about the performance and uptime and such. Sometimes people just want to know they're more than a number to you, especially when you're asking for higher numbers.

    What you could do, if it isn't cost prohibitave for you, is call them, and tell them you will give them the upgrade to what they should be using for a month, and if they don't like it, they're free to find hosting elsewhere, but that with the current package they have selected, you will not be able to provide them optimal service quality levels. Get them on the next package to see how much better it is.

    If they still leave, they would have left anyway, and if they stay, you're getting more $$ and they will be happier, so everyone wins.
    Jacob - WebOnce Technologies - 30 Day 100% Satisfaction Guarantee - Over 5 Years Going Strong!
    Website Hosting, PHP4&5, RoR, MySQL 5.0, Reseller Hosting, Development, and Designs
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  16. #16
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Indiana
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    1,205
    Quote Originally Posted by AH-Tina
    Put it in your ToS that you will allow x number of reboots per month for free, but additional ones will cost. Either that or put it in your ToS that if a server is crashing and the customer refuses to upgrade, that there will be billable hours involved.

    --Tina
    I agree with this idea as well as the points that WO-Jacob made. Talking to them over the phone is definitely a good move and at the same time, putting something in the ToS to limit "free" reboots wouldn't hurt.
    Ankit Gupta - Cernax Hosting
    "We're always second in the industry, the customer comes first."

  17. #17
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Bluesquare dc, Uk
    Posts
    1,591
    a) he's effecting other customers which are not stubborn and ignorant.

    b) he's costing you more than he pays.

    Time for customer bye bye!
    Olly | INX-Gaming
    Call of Duty 4 hosting

  18. #18
    slow down his hosting......... he will upgrade it soon....

  19. #19
    Join Date
    Feb 2002
    Location
    Philadelphia, PA
    Posts
    96

    Don't Burn Bridges.

    Man some of you guys are harsh. If you offer free reboots without any contraints then that's what you offered you can't then go back and say you're using our offer too much. Flashback: All you can eat Homer at the sea captain's restaurant.

    You shouldn't make special policy changes for one client and not all of your clients, especially without notice. Your clients signed up with the reboot policy you outlined, I hope. Whatever that policy is, it should stand; and you shouldn't be quick to just change your policies.

    If it's a dedicated server then the user doesn't have to upgrade, it is after all their server. Whatever the details of your support agreement, you should abide by them. Now how they are abided by is a different story. If the server is locking up because of resources I would implement a script to automatically reboot the thing if paging space is 100% and/or CPU is 100% for longer than 10 minutes or 30 mintues or whatever the threshold is after monitoring the box. There isn't any reason for a person to reboot a server based on resource consumption because it is a scriptable trigger.

    That being said, if you are just offering free reboots across the board, you should change it. Also, most support agreements support current and one backlevel version of the software. You should put this in your new agreement as well or state upfront that backleveled software will not be supported. Or some clause about fixes being instituted in a timely fashioned if "deemed" by the company to alleviate abuse of the suppprt contract otherwise the contract is suspended until the fix is in place. but again, it should be across the board and not just one client.

  20. #20
    Join Date
    Aug 2004
    Location
    Indiana
    Posts
    1,205
    Quote Originally Posted by [inx]Olly
    a) he's effecting other customers which are not stubborn and ignorant.
    This is the grammar police within me, but it's actually affecting
    Ankit Gupta - Cernax Hosting
    "We're always second in the industry, the customer comes first."

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