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  1. #1

    * hostnine.com for dedicated server?

    I'm wondering if it's a good choice to order a dedicated server from hostnine.com.

    Pentium 4 2.8GHz - Fully Managed
    2 GB RAM
    2x80GB HDD
    1500GB Band
    5 Ip's
    Webmin Free
    cPanel/WHM FREE
    Plesk FREE
    Free Security/Firewall

    For: $179

    Any experience with this company?
    Do you know any better plan for the same amount?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2006
    Posts
    1,767
    I have no experience with the company but the price is reasonable (but beatable).

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    70
    I'm a reseller at HostNine... I don't know about their dedicated servers..
    The service is OK so far.. I just signed up and due to a vacation I took don't have any clients yet..
    But, I can only tell you one thing... You can't count on their live chat. Every time you go there and ask for something, the final answer is basically always the same thing:

    "####: Please submit a support ticket request at support@hostnine.com regarding your issue."


    besides it, I guess its okay.

    c'ya

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    California, USA
    Posts
    392
    I am currently with hostnine and am also looking into expanding into a dedicated sometime in the near future (if business expansion allows me to)
    Their servers are managed which is a plus, the support and service is great.

    In response the the "reasonable (but beatable)" remark. We have all seen way to many threads about companies like dedicated now and there are many others who offer jaw dropping prices, but when it comes to service and support they tend to be lacking. (this is not in all cases)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Louisiana
    Posts
    67
    Quote Originally Posted by Malware
    You can't count on their live chat. Every time you go there and ask for something, the final answer is basically always the same thing:

    "####: Please submit a support ticket request at support@hostnine.com regarding your issue."
    c'ya
    I am not yet a customer of HostNine, however, I am leaning towards them. For the past couple of days I have used their Live tech support. So far I am impressed. All of my questions have been answered. I used it last night and this morning for what I consdier presales questions. I like to confirm what is on the website and ask details.

    I have used HostGator in the past. Not too bad, but at the time there were issues with the version of PHP they had installed (this issue was a couple years ago). Recently, while looking for a decent reseller account (for business use, but not for reselling hosting) I have looked back at HostGator. I don't feel very confident in their tech support. In the Live chats I have had to explain my questions multiple times and still did not get a satisfactory response. I ended up just giving up on the chat and sent an email in.

    I am with Virtuoso right now. The horror stories you may have read about the "attitidue" is probably not very far off. I rarely have to contact tech support. I am the technical/computer geek type. The only time I need tech support is if there is an issue I can't figure out and need to know if it's something on their end (network issue, server configuration, etc). I don't have access to this as I use shared accounts. The very few times I have requested assistance I get a blunt response. Not a rude response as others have received, however, not very friendly. When others say they get the feeling that he seems annoyed when people ask questions, I believe it. As I stated, I am a computer geek, therefore, I don't take very kind when someone responsds to my questions with the attitude that I am an idiot.

    Another issue with Virtuoso is lack of communication. I will admit that in the past year or so I have been with them, I have expereinced very little down time. However, what I do not like is a few times when there were server or network issues, there was no communication. The server stats stated the server my website is on was running fine, no emails sent to tell me what's going on, nor anything posted on the website. When I send in a trouble ticket, I would get the response of "We are having xyz problem. We are aware and working on the issue." Well, I'm glad they are aware of the issue (because I sure was not) and I'm glad they are working on it.

    I have also used HostRocket. I have to say they are a very good company. I never had any issues. Over time I had went idle on my personal website and decided I just needed something small. I have looked over them for a reseller package, however, I don't like the $24.95 setup fee. In the past 10 years I have been online, I have always avoided companies that charge setup fees. There's no reason to. The majority of companies use automated software. It's not like someone has to actually input my info in to the system.

    With HostNine, the price of $19.95 is reasonable. No setup fee. They don't charge to install an SSL certificate. That is another thing I look at (i.e. charging for installation of an SSL certificate). Please do not see me as a cheap skate, it's just that I know the other side of the fence (the host's side). The installation of a certificate is nothing more than copy and pasting the CRT code. In the past when someone I know had their own dedicated server, I helped out and installed the SSL certificate for one of the domains.

    Even though HostNine does offer a lot of space and bandwidth, ultimately, for me it's tech support. Since I won't be reselling the space, that's not a huge issue. With support, I like to have someone there I can go to if I do encounter issues. Someone that can speak the geek language. There's nothing worse than using technical terms with "technical support" people and they have no clue what you're talking about. It's as bad as a person knowing cars bringing their car to the mechanic, the person tells the mechanic what's going on (in mechanic terms) and the mechanic has the dear and the headlight look. Would you trust that mechanic with your car? I think not.

    Sorry this has been so long-winded. Just wanted to reply about the Live chat and kinda rambled on in to my experiences with other hosting companies in the past. Once I sign up (probably later today) and start working with my websites, I will post back how the experience goes.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2007
    Posts
    70
    The Live Chat for sales is Okay. The 'problem' is with the support side of the live chat. But if you send the e-mail they will answer and try to solve your problem. They're not as quick on responding e-mails but it's okay I guess.One thing that I've noticed is that their speed is like a sound wave. Sometimes it's up there, blazing speeds on http and FTP, but sometimes it's like you want to lay down and take a nap while waiting.I'll stick with them as long as I can, but as soon as I need a dedicated I'm saying good bye.I don't want to sound like a anti-hostnine. No. I kind of like them. But could be better I guess. The latest issue was that I e-mail them on thursday asking for my invoice and they said they couldn't send it to me because it would change the renewal date. I said okay. But on the due date I still hadn't gotten the invoice, so I had to call to get it.c'ya

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Sep 2003
    Location
    California, USA
    Posts
    392
    hmmm.. I have been with hostnine since close to the beginning and have not experienced anything you are talking about. Sure, sometimes the live chat techs need you to email in so a higher level tech can take care of it. (which something any growing company would do - can't have your level 3 using all their time on live chat) Also, I have had the majority of my email responded to in less then 10 minutes. They are a company that has small growing pains and I have been impressed with the fact that support has stayed top notch and professional even with the high growth rate they are experiencing.
    p.s. I would suggest hostnine to my friends and family + as far as dedicated go they are very knowledgeable and I hope to grow large enough that they can manage a dedicated server for me.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Louisiana
    Posts
    67
    Well, I have been with them for three months. At first, things seemed to go well. However, the more I try to use their support, the more annoyed I get.

    1.) Live support is completely useless!

    Quote Originally Posted by cscertified View Post
    Sure, sometimes the live chat techs need you to email in so a higher level tech can take care of it. (which something any growing company would do - can't have your level 3 using all their time on live chat)
    You are a lucky individual. Every single time I have tried live support, I have ALWAYS been required to "email support."

    2.) Not very responsive to emails.

    Recently, I received an invoice for my reseller hosting to be renewed (paid quarterly). I asked if they could cancel the reseller account, take one of the domains hosted under the reseller account and move it to a Basic ($3.95/mo) account.

    Because my debit card was set to be charged the next day, I set the ticket priority to "Urgent." This was done at about 11AM (CDT/-600 GMT). About five hours later, I have yet to receive a response. So, I go to the live sales chat. I was asked for my ticket number, I gave it. Blake stated:

    I'll have a billing specialist take care of this for you
    immediately
    I reminded him how long it was taking for an "Urgent" matter. Blake stated:

    I can assure you we are working on it, and do apologize about
    the delary.
    Well, about two more hours went by. It's now about 8:35 my time. Still no response from HostNine. It has now been about nine hours since my initial support request. So, I contact live sales chat again. This time I am stonewalled. This time, I spoke with Anthony. He stated:

    Billing is currently out of the office, and won't return until
    tomorrow morning. I suggest calling billing tomorrow morning at 9 AM if
    this is that urgent.
    I don't like the tone of "I suggest calling billing tomorow morning at 9 AM if this is that urgent." IF this is that urgent? For God's sake! What does he not comprehend about the facts that I have been waiting for over nine hours and I set the ticket status to "Urgent" in the first place. Is this how HostNine handles "Urgent" tickets? They wait until the next day? Now I could see if I submitted the ticket in the evening only an hour before they closed. The rest of the conversation went as the following:

    [quote]Me: i will.. however, if i am billed and this causes overdraft, hostnine will be considered responsible
    Me: that is why nine hours ago i set the ticket as "urgent"
    Anthony: Please take this up with Ben Gabler.
    Anthony: Tomorrow morning.
    Anthony: Is there anything else I can assist you with today?
    Me: no[quote]

    I figured that maybe if I just cancelled my hosting account, then that would stop the automatic debit. So, I went to their cancellation page. Entered all of my information. On the cancellation page it state,s "All accounts are terminated instantly upon cancellation." I figured, "Great! That should stop the automatic debit. My hosting account will be instantly terminated."

    Nope! Overnight the money was still withdrawn from my account. I received an email from Ben this morning in response to my cancellation request.

    Hi,

    I'm sorry to hear this. What was the exact issue?

    Regards,
    Ben Gabler
    Operations Manager
    At 9:41AM (CDT/-600 GMT), only minutes after I received this email, I exaplained to Ben what was going on (despite me mentioning the ticket ID in the cancellation request comments box). This tells me that they don't even read the comments you put in the comments box. All Ben had to do was read the support ticket I submitted as well as the comments I submitted.

    Since I replied to Ben's email this morning, I have heard nothing yet from HostNine. My reseller account is still active. They still have my money and nothing is being done!

    This is completely unacceptable. I don't mean to sound like a jerk or impatient individual, however, I feel that I have been more than patient with their very slow and incompetent support.

  9. #9
    Before my migration to this new one i was their customer, They have an usual support and almost reasonable prices ( not the best prices ), ofcourse i wasn't displeased with them

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    Gunshine State
    Posts
    487
    Hostnine is not bad, but you would need a company with a knowledgable support staff on call 24/7 in case something happens to your server such as a hardware failure, which needs attention ASAP

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    4,151
    Thats the problem with some hosts, especially hosts in Europe.

    They don't really care how urgent the matter is, the billing office in most hosts only work from 9 to 5, during business days.
    Otherwise, when they're not at the office, no one can help you as they have no access into the billing system.

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Louisiana
    Posts
    67
    Quote Originally Posted by HostNewb View Post
    Hostnine is not bad, but you would need a company with a knowledgable support staff on call 24/7 in case something happens to your server such as a hardware failure, which needs attention ASAP
    That is true. I feel, though, that if you offer "24/7" support, then it should not consist of:

    1.) staff that is not technically knowledgeable
    2.) an online support staff that is nothing more than an answering machine. all support requests never seem to be answered by the "24/7 live" people. they ALWAYS tell you to send an email. companies that do this is false advertising their "24/7".

    In regards to the 24/, that would be like a gas station saying, "We are open 24/7! Get food and gas here." You go to buy gas and they are like, "Oh, I'm sorry, I can't help you with your request. Please come back in the morning for gas."

    Quote Originally Posted by tsj5j
    They don't really care how urgent the matter is, the billing office in most hosts only work from 9 to 5, during business days.
    Otherwise, when they're not at the office, no one can help you as they have no access into the billing system.
    Once again, if you offer "24/7 technical and sales support" then it should be just that. In my case though, when I submitted the billing support request, I was well within the "9-5" time frame. It's just that for some reason HostNine seems to care nothing about customer support and has taken two days to deal with this matter (matter still not resolved).

    I will give them until next Wednesday to cancel my account and to refund my money. If they haven't at least submitted the refund (I know, it can take up to 3 days to show up in my bank account), then I will be filing a chargeback with my bank. I will be using all of my chat and email transcripts as evidence of my request for cancellation.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Dec 2006
    Posts
    4,151
    Is it within YOUR "9-5" time frame or THEIR "9-5" timeframe?

    Sales and technical support :

    - Presales enquires
    - Technical problems

    It does not include billing. Billing, sales and tech are separate entities in many large scale hosting companies.
    Some smaller scale ones merge Sales & Billing though.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Louisiana
    Posts
    67
    Quote Originally Posted by tsj5j View Post
    Is it within YOUR "9-5" time frame or THEIR "9-5" timeframe?
    Both. And this is on more than one level.

    1.) I say both because my timezone is CDT/-600 GMT. The timezone for HostNine (located in Jupiter, FL) is EDT. Therefore, if I sent the support request as urgen and it was only about noon there, they still should have had time.
    2.) The second reason I say both is that on their website's contact page (http://www.hostnine.com/contact-us/), it states:

    [quote]Office Hours
    Sales and Billing is available 24 hours a day
    Technical Support is available 24 Hours a day[quote]

    Thererfore, they are telling me and all of their customers that billing is available all the time. I'm sure if they are called upon it, they will claim that billing is always available because you have access to your "billing statements." Unfortunately, though, that's it. You cannot change packages via the ModernBill interface nor can you cancel your account (as was explained in a previous post).

    Quote Originally Posted by tsj5j View Post
    It does not include billing. Billing, sales and tech are separate entities in many large scale hosting companies.
    Some smaller scale ones merge Sales & Billing though.
    As mentioned above, they state billing department is available 24/7. Online sales tells me they are not in the office. Deceptive trade practices!

    In any case, even if we were more then 1 hour apart. the support request for cancellation was submitted 2 days ago. The only thing that has happened is that Ben sent me an email yesterday morning, which I responded to. That was early in the AM. Still no response. Account not canceled. Nothing!

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