Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Managed Hosting and Services : LiquidWeb's Not So Heroic Support.. (1 year+ review)

[FuelGamer]

I've been hosting with LiquidWeb for 1 year and 2 months.

Until recently I didnt have to use their support for anything.. my sites were running fast and fine.. I even upgraded my VPS as I planned to host more websites on the server..

This is the story of my 4-5 days of downtime that made me realize that LiquidWeb wasn't all that they claimed they were.

After my site recently suffered a SMALL DDoS attack *which they claim they can handle* I found out what their "Heroic Support" really meant.

Day 1: I get e-mails from my server that httpd is crashing -> Their sonar monitor goes off after 5 e-mails.. someone says their investigating it.
THe support rep says that it has stabilized, but doesnt look through logs to see why.

The server goes slow the rest of the day so I check the logs myself and notice a single image file being requested by a lot of IP's. I tell the support in my ticket and they tell me that if my server was on a Dedicated Server it could handle the attack. *at the time I was on a vps*

I setup a .htaccess file and divert the attack..

Day 2: I wake up and my sites down and theres a support ticket that says their Sonar Monitor has noticed my site wasn't responding. I woke up kind've late that day and noticed the ticket was opened 4 hours ago. I send a mail back with "????" They say that my site received a huge spike in requests. I go to the apache status and see a lot of GET HTTP 1.1 Requests for my main domain. So I call support and talk to Henry who says that there are 4 people currently working on getting my server back online.. !! 4 people! I thought WOW what a great support team. Henry says, "Benny from networking says that if you were on a Dedicated server it could definitely handle an attack of this size." So I ask to talk to sales. Sales account manager David tells me he can give me a good deal on a dedicated server. It's not the fastest server for the price but I figure I pay for the support. I'm told my dedicated server would be up in 16 hours.. I ask for the IP's that it will be on so I can move my name servers over. I then tell the support tech to note that I want the nameservers setup for me after I plugged them in the way I wanted it in GoDaddy host summary.

Day 3: I wake up to an e-mail with my new dedicated servers info.. unfortunately I log onto it and NOTHING is setup, no migration, no configuration. I call support AGAIN and ask what happened. They say that there was no migration ticket so they do it while I'm on the phone with them.
The main site gets setup right away but all the other sites hosted under the nameserver somehow do not go up. 6 Hours go by and they said that I'm getting DDoS'd again and that there is NOTHING I CAN DO because my server is being "brought to its knees"
I spend the entire day + Night on phone with their tech support and that night they tell me that their Networking manager isn't going to be around for another 4 hours because he was called away to Chicago for something..

Day 4: This morning I wake up to an e-mail from Nick C (liquid web's head networking person).. His e-mail says that they have done everything possible and cannot deter the DDoS. His solution at the end of the e-mail is a $700/mo rental for a Cisco 5510 hardware firewall.
I ask if they can install it temporaily to see if it works, and if I don't need it for long I could get a pro-rated discount.. The techy laughed.. Well at that point I knew I was going to be sharing my experience on WHT.

I ask if there is any cheaper solutions and they refer me to BlockDos.net $500/mo later and my website is protected from a small DDoS.

What I didnt like about LiquidWeb was that they were quick to upsell me and give me false hope in that having a dedicated server with them would bring my website stable. If I would've known I'd be paying $500 a month for a 3rd party to re-route my traffic I would never have upgraded. The fact of the matter is that their human error kept my websites down longer than needed to be. I lost a lot of business when they could've refered me to the 3rd party DoS specialists right away if they couldn't fix my problem. and What gives them the right to claim heroic support and make false claims about the staff they have when you pay extra $$$ for the support and they fail to deliver.

The best part is.. I spoke to 1 honest person who worked there after about 20+ calls and a different person every time.
I tip my hat to Will S. the only person there with a personality who didn't have me waiting on the phone listening to their breathing while they typed away into their little chat network where they ask other people there for solutions to callers problems. Will S told me I was entitled to a service credit for the downtime and being constantly lied to including being up sold into a service that ultimately failed me when promised otherwise. Will said he put a notation on my account for billing to credit me... Did I ever get that service credit? No. Did anyone else acknowledge that I was done wrong? No.

LiquidWeb made me feel like my site wasn't a priority to them. They could care less that I was losing business that was paying for their overpriced poorly managed hosting.

If you need frequent support and reliability is an issue I'd advise against LiquidWeb. More recently than ever their service has declined.


LiquidWeb Heroic Support Much?
http://gamesnet.vo.llnwd.net/o1/game...31806_main.jpg

[Bahawolf]

I was with LiquidWeb on and off for a few years myself and went through them for another business site I was starting. We decided to start with shared hosting, expecting that we'd just upgrade to a VPS when needed.

The shared host went up and was down about two days later. I called and they stated that the site was getting to much traffic, and needed to be upgraded to a VPS. They told me that vBulletin should never be hosted on a shared server. I agreed, and was switched over to sales. We upgraded to a VPS, and everything seemed fine..

Within 24 hours of being up, the site was down. I looked at the Apache status, and the same clue you had was evident with us. One single image was being pulled multiple times. I called them up and spoke to some very helpful people throughout the course of our conversations. Though, it did take a while and became frustrating when different techs would diagnose it differently. Some techs would continue to say it must be my coding.. and two finally admitted it was a DDOS. One woman I spoke to said it might be a bit of both..

The site was suspended due to the attacks and would be placed back online "when the attacks stopped." I agreed, but after 3 days of similar activity and a loss of money, we decided to search for a new host. The average before we left were 20/24 hours down.

Before one final conversation.. I was willing to work with LiquidWeb. I woke up at 6AM, and decided to give it a try again with the phone. I called up LiquidWeb, and spoke to someone who seemed very rude. Perhaps it was just a bad day for him.. though he had such a harsh tone. -- He stated that we must "fix our code" before the site would go back online. I stated that it is a DDOS attack.. and he said, "No.. its your code." So I agreed, and asked for the site to be restored so we could fix it. He went on to say that once he puts Apache on, the load would go to 800 and so he kept it offline. I agreed, but asked how can I fix the code if it is offline.. he stated, "Don't you have a backup of your own code?" - I told him that my developer had that.. and he said, "Well, contact them for a backup then and fix it."

I just felt like I was being brushed off with this rep, but I will say that he was the only one whom ever treated me like that. The other technicians/sales representatives were very polite and professional.

Overall, LiquidWeb was a great provider.. and would have been what we were looking for, had we not been DDOSED. They didn't claim any guarantees to me.. so I can't be to angry. I spoke to an individual on the helpdesk, and got my money refunded. - They even gave me time to backup all data and assisted me in doing so.

It was frustrating being misdiagnosed.. but it happens. They've done enough for me in the past where I won't hold it against them if I ever require their services again.

--

Before leaving LiquidWeb, I did contact WiredTree among several other hosts. WiredTree doesn't exactly offer "DDOS protection," like some providers such as Gigenet. Though I will say, they have helped me greatly with these attacks. I have a dedicated server through them now, and would absolutely never turn back.

Big shout out to Zac and James of WiredTree by the way.. Sabastian as well for helping so much! :-P

--

Its hard to determine how much credibility falls on LiquidWeb in this case.. though they should have never up-sold you to a dedicated without explaining that it would not solve every issue or block every attack. I made sure I asked WiredTree before I joined them about how much they can do.. and explained how large the attacks were. They seemed ready to tackle it.. and they certainly have.

My advice would be request your money back for the dedicated server at least.. since you seem to have been misinformed as to how much it'd do for you. A dedicated server can make it easier to work against DDOS attacks.. though it'd never be the only solution.

After that.. find a host that suits your needs. Perhaps Gigenet or a DC with DDOS protection against very large attacks is suited for you.

[cristibighea]

Sales people have a tendency to try to give you false hope when they're working on commission; I'd recommend you also take a look at Awknet's filtering: http://www.awknet.com/netawk.html.

[LiquidWebTravis]

Originally Posted by cristibighea

Sales people have a tendency to try to give you false hope when they're working on commission; I'd recommend you also take a look at Awknet's filtering: http://www.awknet.com/netawk.html.

Our salesmen do NOT work on any sort of commission program. They are paid a straight salary.

[LiquidWebTravis]

Originally Posted by FuelGamer

I've been hosting with LiquidWeb for 1 year and 2 months.

What is your host name or account number so that I can look into your account for you?

[FuelGamer]

Originally Posted by LiquidWebTravis

What is your host name or account number so that I can look into your account for you?

Spoke with Brett. He actually called me because of this post.. If I woulda posted when my site first started getting DDoS'd I guess I would've been a priority then right?

I told him this: "I was nothing but nice to all the techs I spoke to, I tried to be as understanding as possible. But when one of the techs laughed at me.. at 4 in the morning when I'm staying up all night to get my website up, that's when I became a disgruntled customer"
And thats why I posted here.

All the nice things you guys are saying now.. That's really great, I can see you really truly care. But not so much about me.. more about the reputation of your company. Which really sucks.. Because my company lost money during the downtime (which no one seemed to care about then). But now they care after the fact.

Now I'm just another disgruntled customer.

[LiquidWebTravis]

Originally Posted by FuelGamer

Spoke with Brett. He actually called me because of this post.. If I woulda posted when my site first started getting DDoS'd I guess I would've been a priority then right?

I told him this: "I was nothing but nice to all the techs I spoke to, I tried to be as understanding as possible. But when one of the techs laughed at me.. at 4 in the morning when I'm staying up all night to get my website up, that's when I became a disgruntled customer"
And thats why I posted here.

You seem to have your mind made up about this situation and your comments on WHT are quite different than the phone conversation you just had with Bret, which I was involved in.

You have been issued an apology, a full refund and you were given priority support from managers as well as our monitoring team. I am sorry that you're still unhappy and I wish you great luck at your new host.

[-JD-]

After reading this I decided against LiquidWeb for my hosting needs because once in awhile I too become the target of DDoS attacks. (I guess I'm not so loved)

[LiquidWebTravis]

Originally Posted by -JD-

After reading this I decided against LiquidWeb for my hosting needs because once in awhile I too become the target of DDoS attacks. (I guess I'm not so loved)

You have found a host that can guarantee a VPS can survive any DDoS? That's quite a claim.

[Robert vd Boorn]

Originally Posted by LiquidWebTravis

You have found a host that can guarantee a VPS can survive any DDoS? That's quite a claim.

Rather a bit amusing to see someone register on a forum to post that.

[FuelGamer]

Originally Posted by LiquidWebTravis

You seem to have your mind made up about this situation and your comments on WHT are quite different than the phone conversation you just had with Bret, which I was involved in.

You have been issued an apology, a full refund and you were given priority support from managers as well as our monitoring team. I am sorry that you're still unhappy and I wish you great luck at your new host.

Bret's a nice guy. I'm not gonna be mean to someone who doesn't deserve it. I was actually nice the entire time I was there.. which probably was my fault. I guess your the one who doesn't like the image I found of Super Man flexing his Heroic Support abilities. I remembered 80% of the names I spoke to on the phone so at least when I was telling you why I had left, I gave names of the people I spoke to back it up. Make something positive out of the negative. All I can say now is that I wish I posted on WHT earlier because that would've gotten my case the ATTENTION it deserved. Lesson learned.

[-JD-]

Originally Posted by LiquidWebTravis

You have found a host that can guarantee a VPS can survive any DDoS? That's quite a claim.

When I was comparison shopping, how does liquidweb justify these prices for the hardware they sell if this is the level of support they have? I have found a host that might not be able to survive that but at least I will get 24/7 instant service.

[FuelGamer]

Originally Posted by -JD-

When I was comparison shopping, how does liquidweb justify these prices for the hardware they sell if this is the level of support they have? I have found a host that might not be able to survive that but at least I will get 24/7 instant service.

liquidweb was always there 24/7 when I called.. It's just that they weren't able to do much in terms of actually helping me when I needed it most.

[-JD-]

Originally Posted by FuelGamer

liquidweb was always there 24/7 when I called.. It's just that they weren't able to do much in terms of actually helping me when I needed it most.

That's what I mean. This host will actally help me when I need it the most.

[Bahawolf]

Originally Posted by -JD-

After reading this I decided against LiquidWeb for my hosting needs because once in awhile I too become the target of DDoS attacks. (I guess I'm not so loved)

There really aren't many shared hosting providers (VPS is considered shared as well) that will be able to protect you from DDos attacks. Fact of the matter is.. in my case when LiquidWeb took me down.. they took me down because the DDos was taking down the other sites. I understood that.. and though it never worked in my favor in such a case.. they did what they needed to.

Its a rough situation.. but liability during a DDos attack doesn't fall under the host's responsibility in my opinion, unless they present you a guarantee against such. LiquidWeb does not do so.. so even though they may misjudge an upgrade here and there.. it seems they are more than happy to rectify those situations.

Bottom line is that if you truly choose to pick another host over LiquidWeb because they can't protect you from DDOS attacks.. you'll be looking for a dedicated server for such anyway. I guarantee you that LiquidWeb, or any decent host for that mater.. will help you with a DDos until it directly affects the other people on the server.

It appears LiquidWeb went above and beyond here.. as they did in fixing my own issue after I was DDosed. I don't blame them.. their still an excellent company and should be highly recommended.