Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Don't host international domains with WebHostingBuzz WHB!

[dude_s]

So I tried to host a German .de domain with Webhostingbuzz. Denic, the German TLD registrar, has stricter rules for name servers, which requires a more specific setup from the host. This ist the last post I made in the support ticket; it speaks for itself:

Everything works fine now. I'm glad it worked out in the end and you can close the ticket.

However, it was very disappointing to see how much back-and-forth this took, how many completely irrelevant responses I received, how many different people I had to deal with (seven: Savitha, Dennis Arkhangelski, Jisha Ashok, Wayne Egerer, Namitha, Joxy Paul, Igor Russian). Some of your staff made me wonder if I'm actually dealing with a bot who just reacts to key words, rather than a human who can read and understand an issue ("Oh, I saw the term Name Server. Let's send a reply that you can change name servers with the registrar." Doh!) Not only did some of them seem like they didn't know what they were doing, but they also seemed oblivious to what others had done.

This issue could have been solved in a few hours, instead it took a week. May I suggest you invest in better training for your support staff, beginning with reading tickets? The investment will pay for itself by greatly reduced support times and happier customers. And please let ONE person "own" a ticket and be the main contact point who know what is going on.

That ordeal was frustrating enough. But it gets worse. Now, a few months later, I have another .de domain I wanted to host with them. How could I assume they learned from the first time they went through this??

In my new ticket, I referred to that earlier support ticket, thinking whoever works on it can simply look over the old thread and would know right away what to do. I also referred to the Denic Zonecheck that name servers MUST pass to be accepted.

Instead I get replies that clearly show that the staff either did not read my ticket properly, or deliberately chose to ignore the info in there.

Guess what! In the 7th (SEVENTH!) post, Alexey V. finally asked:

Please provide us ticket ID, because https://www.whbsupport.com/index.php...ticketid=57890 access only our customers. ...
Happy with our service? Please spread the word! Review us @ www.webhostingtalk.com

How much is wrong with that question??
First, I had referred to this ticket several times before beginning from my first post. Alexey asking in post 7 for the Ticket ID just shows that he didn't even bother to try and look it up before!

Second, take a look at the URL! See something in there? Something like ticket ID maybe??

There is another ID in the header of the ticket, so I give both to him again. A post later Alexey comes back:

We are ow fully sorry but there is no ticket GZG-145540 in our base. ...
Happy with our service? Please spread the word! Review us @ www.webhostingtalk.com

How can there be no such ticket in their system? I'm looking at it!
Anyway, so I roll my eyes and post the entire old thread in a new post.

There was an irrelevant reply from someone else and then silence. The ticket has now been open since 9/28, about a week. The last post from a staff member is from 10/01 (three days ago!), and since then they simply ignore the thread and my further posts. I set priority to Urgent to no avail.

What a frustrating experience!

Am I "Happy with our service?" Hell no!
Will I "spread the word! Review us @ www.webhostingtalk.com"? Hell, yes!

I have written off WHB and am looking to transfer my domains. Can anyone recommend a host that knows how to handle international domains and whose support staff can read?

[jonwatson]

"Igor Russian"

That *does* sound like a bot name

[Neosmith]

I hope that you find a new host that can help you and good luck!

[andygen]

May be you should find some good review from here in order to have your next hosting company. Wish you the best luck

[iHubNet-Matt]

Sorry to hear about your bad luck. That will be real frustrating when the same old issue happens again and is taking time like this.

I think may be ask them to escalate the issue to a senior admin or someone who know things more.

[dude_s]

Surprise, surprise! After this post here, they suddenly got their act together. The domain works now.

I don't wanna have to go through this again though. If anybody can recommend a reliable host who knows how to deal with int'l domains without having to go through weeklong support odysseys, please drop me a note. I'm not looking for rock-bottom cheap, but guys who know what they're doing for a good price. Thanks!

[ldcdc]

I'm not looking for rock-bottom cheap, but guys who know what they're doing for a good price.

That's a rather open statement. A budget and your real needs would help members recommend some hosts knowing they can meet or exceed your requirements.

[dude_s]

Okay, moving the host is a pain, so after I got the domain above working, I decided to give them another shot. But now... support nightmare again.

I have trouble with email. Emails sent to accounts set up on two domains hosted there either bounce with a cryptic failure message or disappear altogether and never make it to the inbox. A PHP mail function set up with a contact form on the .de domain above sometimes delivers mail, sometimes not. Today I found a stash of dozens of failure messages sitting there on a default catch-all account from messages that the PHP mailer should have sent to my inbox. Who knows how many sales I lost not being aware that potential customers tried to contact me!

And the support, again, is not helpful at all. When I described my problems, they fixed one specific account. Sending mail to this one address works now. Never mind all the other addresses I had set up that still can't receive email. Seems like they don't address the root of the problem but just patch up a specific instance of it. On my reply back, again, I got an answer that didn't address the problem and didn't explain anything.

I can't afford losing business through such incompetence. Yes, above it may have been "a rather open statement". So more specific:

• LAMP setup, multiple MySQL databases (currently 2)
• Must know how to handle international domains, specifically .de and the more stringent Denic rules for name servers.
• Must be able to handle add-on domains and subdomains reliably. (currently about 5 add-ons)
• Must allow to run ZenCart e-commerce platform without problems.
• Must be able to handle email properly, including IMAP access, catch-all accounts, accounts on add-on domains, accounts on international domains, sending mail with PHP mail function.
• Must have ImageMagick installed and accessible for PHP.
• Relatively low traffic (currently less than 200 unique users per day max on ZenCart), but should have options to grow if traffic increases. Monthly bandwidth <3 GB, disk space < 1 GB.
• Must have reliable support that knows how to read tickets and reacts promptly and with competence and solves the entire problem and not just part of it.

That's about all I can think of for now. If anyone can suggest a good host that meets those specs without costing an arm and a leg, you may have a new customer!

[dude_s]

Ok, additions:

• The ZenCart roadmap calls for "Minimum PHP 5.2" for their next major update. Would need that.
• Currently not using my own merchant account, but would like to set that up soon. Would probably need SSL and support for certificates. Would be nice if that was an upgrade option as I don't need it right now but maybe in half a year.

When you suggest a host, please don't simply push your own company on me unless you feel really confident about all points above, esp. the int'l domain part. Much more, I'd like to hear about the experience of other users who have similar requirements. Thanks!

[Fizzadar]

Originally Posted by dude_s

When you suggest a host, please don't simply push your own company on me unless you feel really confident about all points above, esp. the int'l domain part. Much more, I'd like to hear about the experience of other users who have similar requirements. Thanks!

We're not allowed to self-promote at all.

As for php5, most hosts should have it already, and all hosts should have it when php4 ends its life later this month. As for SSL Certs, you'd need a dedicated IP and then the SSL Cert, which many hosts can do

[foobic]

Looks like for the .de requirements you want a host with properly-setup nameservers (truly redundant). This is probably going to be your biggest hurdle since a remarkable number of hosts just run the standard CPanel "2 IPs on the same server" config. Your other specific requirements should be available just about anywhere.

Since you mention Zen Cart I'll suggest MediaLayer - I look after a couple of small stores hosted there and the speed and reliability have been top-class. As for tech support I doubt you'll find anyone with more expertise than layer0.

[Jedito]

Looks like for the .de requirements you want a host with properly-setup nameservers (truly redundant). This is probably going to be your biggest hurdle since a remarkable number of hosts just run the standard CPanel "2 IPs on the same server" config. Your other specific requirements should be available just about anywhere.

It's not necessarily to be hosted on 2 different servers, not even on different C class.
You can see it with this link

http://zonecheck.denic.de/zonecheck/...v4&transp4=std

Note: I made the example with my domain, if this violate the forum rules please delete my message.

I remember that we had some issues with .fr domains, can't exactly recall how we fixed it though

[utropicmedia-karl]

There are _many_ pitfalls with international hosting, specifically domain registration. .de is not the only TLD with those kinds of rules, and many other TLDs have much stricter rules when it comes to DNS server.

My advice is find a host that is familiar with international hosting as they have likely been through these trials years ago.



Kind Regards,