16 Hours and Already a List of Complaints

[Jonny Quick]

1) I'm locked-out of most of the forum sections here. I have questions that need answered, Hostgator has already shown me that they fail to provide basic information (how to chage the DNS server to Hostgator), now they actively prevent me from posting in this forum. I've been on LOTS of forums, and almost none of them have this "activation" thing. And, I believe there is either no reason for it (implying incompetence), or Hostgator is, what? Doing some kind of "background check"? Reviewing their records, lol? I have a question about using Bing's WebMaster tools. I can't download that .XML file. Hostgator's forum is not an option. I guess I have no choice but to post my questions somewhere else, and I'll make a point of badmouthing Hostgator while I'm at it.

Can I have my money back?

2) Hostgator failed to inform me that cPanel does not work with Windows 7. It's not like they just invented Windows 7; it's been around for a while. I read the lame excuse posted somewhere blaming "not Hostgator", and so what? Hostgator could have let me know that right up front but they didn't. Instead, I wasted a full hour of my time so that I could read their lame excuse.

3) I did not appreciate "Attracta's" email spam. I didn't give permission to Hostgator to have Attracta spam me. It costs money to spam me. It takes time to read the spam, and then delete it, then find out how to prevent it in the future. Hostgator owes me money for this now. I expect $50.00 to compensate me for the loss of time and inconvenience.

4) Attracta's "SEO" is deceptive bordering on fraud. The first two steps of SEO look benign, but step #3 looks like they are getting you to give them a bunch of personal information not for SEO purposes, but so that Attracta can use that information to market products & services to you, and possibly sell the information to someone else for the same purposes.

Overall, Hostgator feels quite slimy. Sleazy marketing practices, hiding and failing to provide critical information, setting up "services" that aren't really available, but only look like they are.

What's next? An apology, lol? Where someone attempts at ameliorating an unacceptable business situation by making some sort of false emotional appeal, lol? Telling the electric company "I'm sorry" doesn't keep the lights on, and I'm not paying for apologies. I thought I was paying for service, and an apology is not an acceptable substitute so don't bother.

I'll be posting this on my blog, in case anyone is tempted to delete the post and hide the evidence.

http://producersandparasites.blogspo...r-service.html

[GatorJMartin]

Good Afternoon,

I'm sorry to hear of the recent frustrations you've encountered. It's always unfortunate to see clients experiencing troubles, but even more so when just getting started with us. I'd be happy to address your concerns though and see if we can't improve upon this initially rough start. For simplicity I'll address your concerns as listed.

There is information regarding DNS provided at the following locations:

http://support.hostgator.com/article...-dns-elsewhere

It doesn't appear you've purchased a domain with us, though there is a Support Knowledgebase article for that as well providing information for updating DNS with us:

http://support.hostgator.com/article...ke-dns-changes

The primary reason forum accounts require activation is due to spamming. Requiring review and activation of the accounts allows us to prevent that from occurring. There is actually a stickied forum post that discusses that and how to expedite activation if there are delays. I've taken care of that for you though at this time.

We do also offer a 45 day money back guarantee. We've worked extremely hard over the years to build our reputation within the hosting industry. Ideally, we'd appreciate the opportunity to allow us to work with you to address these concerns. If however you don't feel that's possible we have no problem at all honoring this guarantee.

I'd also like to get more information regarding the troubles with Windows 7 not working with cPanel, as that's simply not the case. If you were informed otherwise, I'd like to address that as quickly as possible for you so we can get you up and running.

Finally regarding your concerns with Attracta, they're a third party offering Search Engine Optimization services. During the sign-up process with us, you were presented with a Terms of Service agreement that linked directly to our Privacy Policy. That discusses the disclosure of personal information to affiliate service providers such as Attracta. While we don't require you to use Attracta, the link is provided in cPanel as a convenience for customers interested in setting up their services. Per your acknowledgement of the Terms of Service agreement at sign-up that information is provided to facilitate ease of getting started with them.

I've attempted to reach you by phone to discuss this, though I wasn't able to reach you regrettably. I'd like to discuss this all with you further if possible, as I'm fairly certain I can address these concerns with you. I'll also be sending you a follow up email, as well as a PM here on the forums to get in contact.

I'll look forward to speaking with you.

Best Regards,

[Jonny Quick]

I don't have time to respond to the corporate drivel, other than to mention that for all the "hard work" you've failed to provide a new customer with basic information in a place where they could find it at a time when they needed it.

Now it's too little, too late. You should know this. It's obvious. The fact that you've missed it indicates to me you are using the occasion of your failure to provide me with required information as an opportunity to create some illusion of Customer Service.

It's an illusion. The time for "all that" was yesterday.

Finally, do not call me. You aren't my friend. I never gave you permission to call me. Do you have any idea how offensive that is? You are supposed to be my web-hosting service. You do a basic job, you get paid a basic amount of money. Failing to perform your basic functions does not somehow empower you to become an even greater inconvenience to me by wasting my time on the phone. The phone is an income-generator for me, not a time-waster. I don't waste time on the phone with time-wasters. This whole "service" is an extremely minor, $8.00 a month service. I pay more than that to the garbage company, and they don't call me. They don't have to. Do your job, and don't presume to call me.

[GatorJMartin]

Good Morning,

First and foremost I'd like to apologize for attempting to call you to help make sure the concerns were addressed. Absolutely no ill will was intended by that. Given the nature of review I felt it important to reach out as quickly as possible to discuss these issues and work to address your concerns. We do certainly work hard to ensure this information is freely available on our Support Knowledge-base.

http://support.hostgator.com/

Should there ever be troubles locating information on that knowledge-base, we're available 24/7/365 to assist you via LiveChat, Phone or our Email Ticket system. I've actually looked further into this today and discovered there have been no phone calls, chats or tickets opened from you concerning any of these problems. We'd be happy to assist you with any and all concerns, though unfortunately without communication expressing those concerns it's difficult to offer assistance.

While I wish there was more I could do to ensure the stated concerns were being addressed fully, ultimately that does require communication with you. As it does not appear I'll be able to effectively assist you with these concerns over the phone or by email, I'll be locking the thread. Should you have a change of heart and decide you'd like to discuss this further please feel free to contact me directly here on the support forums via Private Message.

Sincerely,