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  1. #1

    Am I dealing with the wrong people?

    Hi everyone,

    Last week I signed up with a server management company that came recommended to me, and which has mostly received high grades on WHT. Now, the people in sales that I dealt with were very friendly and knowledgeable, but now that I actually had a problem and needed to open a ticket, I'm wondering whether their support is very deficient. Just so you know the background: I just took a dedicated server (running on Windows), and hired the management company making it clear to them that I didn't want to have to deal with the server at all. They assured me that they would be on top of the server at all times and would take care of any problems that come up with it.

    So what's the problem? I opened a ticket late last night, and had to go back and forth with support several times during the day. The first time, I received a response only FOUR hours later, the second time five hours later, and for the latest response it's almost five hours again... Is this normal? I thought the point of the server management is to make sure everything is running smoothly. What would happen is this site was live, and suddenly crashed? Would I have to wait four hours to get a response? I'm quite new to dedicated servers, so maybe this is normal, I have no idea. I would appreciate some input before I escalate this issue.

    Please take a look at the ticket history. I've taken out all references to the company, because I don't just want to cause trouble in case I'm just taking things out of proportion...

    Subject: errors Posted by me

    Hi,

    After copying files over to the server, I'm getting errors.
    1. Which version of .NET do yo uhave installed? It has to be at least 2.0
    2. Has the folder been correctly set for application?

    Date: 08-20-2009 2:39am CDT


    Subject: No subject Posted by Technical Support (Staff)

    Yes we installed version 2.0 of ASP.NET so that should work, we also double checked folder and its permissions and all is good. What errors exadtly are you getting ?

    Date: 08-20-2009 6:32am CDT


    Subject: No subject Posted by me

    I'm getting this error:

    Runtime Error
    Description: An application error occurred on the server. The current custom error settings for this application prevent the details of the application error from being viewed remotely (for security reasons). It could, however, be viewed by browsers running on the local server machine.

    Details: To enable the details of this specific error message to be viewable on remote machines, please create a <customErrors> tag within a "web.config" configuration file located in the root directory of the current web application. This <customErrors> tag should then have its "mode" attribute set to "Off".


    The thing is, I HAVE customerrors set to "off", but I'm still getting the problem.

    Delete Post Date: 08-20-2009 8:18am CDT


    Subject: No subject Posted by me

    Any update on this?

    Delete Post Date: 08-20-2009 11:17am CDT



    Subject: No subject Posted by Technical Support (Staff)

    Can you let us know URL where you're seeing this error ?

    Date: 08-20-2009 1:23pm CDT



    Subject: No subject Posted by me

    http://xx.xxx.x.xxx/

    or

    http://xx.xxx.x.xxx/find.aspx

    Delete Post Date: 08-20-2009 2:55pm CDT



    Subject: No subject Posted by Technical Support (Staff)

    Ok, hold on, we'll reinstall different version of ASP.NET.


    Date: 08-20-2009 3:06pm CDT



    Subject: No subject Posted by me

    It's still not working.

    Delete Post Date: 08-20-2009 5:32pm CDT



    And that's the last I heard from them. It's now 10.45 pm, the site still isn't working, and absolutely no word from them what may be the problem. Again, is this normal? Or is it negligent?

    TIA
    Last edited by feivi18; 08-20-2009 at 10:53 PM.

  2. #2
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    Do they have any sort of SLA for response times?
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  3. #3
    Unfortunately I didn't ask them (did I mention I'm new at this?) and there's no mention of one on the site. The site DOES say, however, they would be available 24/7 for any questions or to fix any problems that come up...

  4. #4
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    Unless you're paying $1000+ a month for instant service, you're going to end up waiting for ANY server management company. Typical wait times are around 4 hours but sometimes up to 12.
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  5. #5
    From what i understand about that errors your are getting on the server is basically related with ISAPI filters. It should be mapped to the correct asp.net dll file. Second the site should have ASPNET permissions. If you can check the site directly on the server the exact error should be displayed i suppose.
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  6. #6
    Srv,

    A short while ago they responded that they have to reinstall IIS and .NET.

    In any case my main problem here was with the delay in their responsiveness (the last response came after more than 7 hours)...

  7. #7
    There is no need to reinstall IIS and .NET. Did that helped after installing ?
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  8. #8
    I agree with DNGeeks - you won't get instant responses from support tickets. In my experience, 4 or 5 hours in nothing for a support ticket response. I always find responses very vague as well, which means it can take ages (and several queries) to find the solution to any problems.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by DNGeeks View Post
    Unless you're paying $1000+ a month for instant service, you're going to end up waiting for ANY server management company. Typical wait times are around 4 hours but sometimes up to 12.
    Typical wait times around four hours for server management?! Maybe in a rare situation, but tickets should always be answered within an hour or so. Resolution should be no more than four.

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  10. #10
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    I agree one hour response; once ticket responded to the ticket is worked on until it is resolved...
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  11. #11
    1 hour response should be the standard among any decent company.

    Certainly their responses aren't great but the time delay is awful.

    I'd look elsewhere if I were you.
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  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by DATARTIM View Post
    1 hour response should be the standard among any decent company.

    Certainly their responses aren't great but the time delay is awful.

    I'd look elsewhere if I were you.
    One hour response and 6 hour resolution is the an unwritten standard for any support company and support is usually covered by an SLA and NDA.

    Make sure you ask them about this , unless they have told you some crap like 24 hours response or something ..

  13. #13
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    Unless your paying them a minimum of $150/month, your expecting too much. Specially since it is Windows that your having managed.

    Finding system administrators proficient in Windows is hard enough, plus they are way more expensive than *nix administrators.

    If your still not satisfied, why don't you give RackSpace a try?

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    Which company is it ?
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  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by ganesh-rao View Post
    Unless your paying them a minimum of $150/month, your expecting too much. Specially since it is Windows that your having managed.
    The amount you pay is never important. Its the support promise which is important. Every server management company has a support promise with its plans.

  16. #16
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    Finding system administrators proficient in Windows is hard enough
    Its funny you say that, we did a Ad @ craiglist, And funny enough we could not stop the amount of MCSE certified tech's with 2+ years as a win tech for hosting biz's... Must of got around 25+ Resumes...
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  17. #17
    noted. Thanks for all the help.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by DNGeeks View Post
    Unless you're paying $1000+ a month for instant service, you're going to end up waiting for ANY server management company. Typical wait times are around 4 hours but sometimes up to 12.
    I know of at least one case where they're not asking $1000+ a month. They're called Admingeekz. I didn't use their services, I've only asked them some questions. Yet their response was amazingly fast i.e. 2-3 minutes after sending my questions I got my answers from them (even in the night). Of course I've noticed that later since I was doing something else in the meanwhile. And while the OP's case was more technical I'd assume their response would be just as fast (as it was confirmed by others on this forum as well).
    As for the OP, their 4 hour reply time for the first time and their quite delayed responses after that are quite unusual I'd say. Even if this particular system of yours isn't "mission critical" I'd expect my server management company to respond at least within an hour (unless it's a low priority thing e.g. new software installation, configuration change etc. which is not the case for now). Actually I'd say that the 1 hour waiting time should be the maximum for such case.
    Also
    Quote Originally Posted by feivi18 View Post
    Please take a look at the ticket history. I've taken out all references to the company, because I don't just want to cause trouble in case I'm just taking things out of proportion...
    Why would you make a favor for this company by leaving its name off? You were the one dissatisfied with their service and if I were you I'd try telling everyone about this company slacking off. AFAIK they are asking money for this service and don't provide the quality you'd expect. So why would you remove their name? And besides it might speed up the progress of your system considerably You know, consumer rights or something like that.

    Quote Originally Posted by feivi18 View Post
    Subject: No subject Posted by me

    I'm getting this error:

    Runtime Error
    Description: An application error occurred on the server. The current custom error settings for this application prevent the details of the application error from being viewed remotely (for security reasons). It could, however, be viewed by browsers running on the local server machine.

    Details: To enable the details of this specific error message to be viewable on remote machines, please create a <customErrors> tag within a "web.config" configuration file located in the root directory of the current web application. This <customErrors> tag should then have its "mode" attribute set to "Off".


    The thing is, I HAVE customerrors set to "off", but I'm still getting the problem.
    AFAIK modifying anything within the <customErrors> tag will just modify the appearance (and the "verbosity") of the error message, it won't make the error go away.
    And according to this: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/libr...8VS.71%29.aspx setting customErrors mode to "off" will just display the detailed error message.
    Also the full error messages should be visible under the "Application" part of the Event Viewer.

    Quote Originally Posted by feivi18 View Post
    Subject: No subject Posted by me

    It's still not working.

    Delete Post Date: 08-20-2009 5:32pm CDT



    And that's the last I heard from them. It's now 10.45 pm, the site still isn't working, and absolutely no word from them what may be the problem. Again, is this normal? Or is it negligent?

    TIA
    Let me tell you that no, not telling you anything about the progress nor contacting you only every 5 hours or so is NOT normal.

    Quote Originally Posted by feivi18 View Post
    Unfortunately I didn't ask them (did I mention I'm new at this?) and there's no mention of one on the site. The site DOES say, however, they would be available 24/7 for any questions or to fix any problems that come up...
    Well..........them being available 24/7 for any questions doesn't mean that their responses are going to be fast too. Even I could hire a guy from India to answer all the questions while I'm asleep yet if he wouldn't be proficient in Windows you wouldn't necessarily get the answers you are looking for.

    Quote Originally Posted by feivi18 View Post
    Srv,

    A short while ago they responded that they have to reinstall IIS and .NET.

    In any case my main problem here was with the delay in their responsiveness (the last response came after more than 7 hours)...
    I hope that this has finally fixed your problem and everything's working as expected. And even after their last response came after more than 7 hours (even I alone could provide this kind of support and use these long reply times to take some naps...) you still think you shouldn't give out their name? I bet if it would've been e.g. Best Buy then by this time everyone would complain about them.....
    Oh and good luck with finding a better server management company in the future
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  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by activelobby4u View Post
    The amount you pay is never important. Its the support promise which is important. Every server management company has a support promise with its plans.
    Exactly. If they promise a certain level of support then you should expect that. Whatever I pay (for anything) I expect the customer service to be good. The general service could be dependant on price but not how the company deal with you as a customer. When people say, "you didn't pay much so what do you expect", I always think if you can't offer a good service for that price you shouldn't be offering that price.

  20. #20
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    Consider going with a smaller management company. They value your business and tend to give better and quicker responses.

  21. #21
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    Even the most famous PSM has 24 hours guaranteed resolution time and 6 hours guaranteed response time. So unless your problem is super urgent (you mentioned that your server was never a production/live system), it has to be in the queue.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by verdictjosh View Post
    Its funny you say that, we did a Ad @ craiglist, And funny enough we could not stop the amount of MCSE certified tech's with 2+ years as a win tech for hosting biz's... Must of got around 25+ Resumes...
    Agreed. On a recent job listing we did for Linux Support Technicians, we actually resorted to putting 'Windows Experience Irrelevant' in the ads, as we were getting tons of MCSEs applying with no Linux background whatsoever.
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  23. #23
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    Quote Originally Posted by mrcjdawson View Post
    Agreed. On a recent job listing we did for Linux Support Technicians, we actually resorted to putting 'Windows Experience Irrelevant' in the ads, as we were getting tons of MCSEs applying with no Linux background whatsoever.
    Not sure how its in your place , But in India atleast 7/10 MCSE certified engineers does not have the troubleshooting experience required for the hosting industry .. Well..they ought to be trained to start performing

  24. #24
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    Quote Originally Posted by mrcjdawson View Post
    Agreed. On a recent job listing we did for Linux Support Technicians, we actually resorted to putting 'Windows Experience Irrelevant' in the ads, as we were getting tons of MCSEs applying with no Linux background whatsoever.
    People with NO Linux background whatsoever have applied for a position called "Linux Support Technician"? Thinking that having MCSE with them counted? Wow, I thought people know themselves more that that.....

    Quote Originally Posted by activelobby4u View Post
    Not sure how its in your place , But in India atleast 7/10 MCSE certified engineers does not have the troubleshooting experience required for the hosting industry .. Well..they ought to be trained to start performing
    I'd say that hardly anyone has this kind of experience even in the western countries, since the amount of such positions are still relatively low. It's probably a worldwide trend.
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  25. #25
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    I don't get it. Surely people know that no linux experience will not get them a job where linux experience is a requirement. Do they really think they have a chance of being offered the position?

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