Totally And Utterly Annoyed!

[TOTALLYTOSHIBA]

I Joined Hostgator just over a month ago on a shared server basis, Everything was setup and working very well.

Our only problem was that our site had progressed very well, and that meant we needed to be on a bigger better server.

THIS IS WHERE it all goes wrong, and i am considering forgetting about hostgator altogether.

We said when we discussed moving to a shared server we wanted the site duplcated on the new server, this wasnt a problem and hasnt been. Now i will tell you about the problems, and boy are they big ones!

1. We got moved to a new server, and received an IP Address as our domain wasnt to be transfered yet, well the ip address we got given didnt show our site, so as always we go to support, and get told to email in with the problem, we emailed in and got a reply the wrong ip address had been supplied, so we tried that one, the contol panel however didnt work, nor did part of our sites, emails went back and fourth for over 24 hours which in my opionion is AWFUL support. as they CLAIM 24 hour support!.

Some 2 days later we get a new welcome email with correct details.

GREAT THE END OF ALL PROBLEMS NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2. The site had now been transfered great, lets get cracking testing it we thought, so we loaded up our site that was still showing on the shared server load time 2 seconds (excellent),

Semi-Dedicated server - 16 seconds, (AWFUL), so we went to support (Live) and they said we dont see any problem it must be your connection, we have 15 computers in our network and 6 elsewhere accross the UK, all showed the same speed. Host Gator denied it was an error there end. We left support to look into this futher, Discovered nothing so went back and spoke to the same guy who said oh yes i see a "bad decrease in speed this should not happen". Great can you fix it? No i cannot im only level 1, a ticket will be raised for you and sorted - I asked would this be sorted today, SURE i was told.

Well another 24 hours passed and all i had was an email saying "i tweaked apache for you all works fine" - If the support team even bother to check they would have seen whatever this (support) did or didnt do the site was now performing even slower (19 seconds). So we went back to Live Support to discuss this, luckly we got to the same guy, who said the problem is not with apache or anything its to do with another user "Abusing Msql" .

Now forgive me if a client is abusing somthing you stop them doing it especially if it effects other clients which this clearly does, So rob agreed to add this to a ticket, and get it looked into.

Well another 24 hours have passed and i havent had a single update, i have however spoke to live chat who tell me this is sitting "Pending" in sales to see if they can sort it out or find another server, so we have gone from a 24 hour process to 4 days without the server being up and running as it should.

Im finding the support is awful when it comes to serious issues, and the fact that support other than Level 1 cannot be contacted by the client is not very good at all.

Im pulling my hair out i have even spoken to a supervisor who didnt do any good whatsoever.

SO whats the point of this post, its a warning, think think and re-think and research before you signup with hostgator, this is not a service level i expect from any company regardless of how much i pay for the service.

They are very fast at sending invoices, but the support needs alot of work, and i am still without a semi-dedicated server, or any form of answer as to when its going to be ready.

I will not hold my breath for this to be sorted.

[TOTALLYTOSHIBA]

UPDATE:

Its now nearly 5 days since this ticket was raised and the site is running slower than ever 23 seconds last time i checked.

I have now asked 3 times to be moved to a different server, thus just gets ignored.

I am now getting emails saying my site is running 2 seconds, this is absolute rubbish and i know exactly what they are doing even though its in big letters

THE SHARED SERVER IS RUNNING 2 SECONDS WHICH IS PERFECT
ITS THE SEMI-DEDICATED SERVER THAT IS RUNNING SLOW.

This has to be the worste support i have ever experienced in my whole entire life, they dont seem to know there arm from there elbow, and they certainly dont read tickets, or if they do they dont read them correctly.

It becoming comical how bad the support really is now, Ill give to the weekend if still no joy, ill be leaving quicker than ever!!

[GatorShashank]

Hello,

As we have stated in the ticket you have for this. The datacenter has confirmed issues with the switch the server is connected to.

Here is the exact information from them : "It appears the switch your server is connected to has experienced 180 failed packets, as opposed to the mean number of ~5, since the switch has last been cycled."

They are working on it and the issue should be resolved soon.

[TOTALLYTOSHIBA]

You have just made my point even stronger

YOU DO NOT READ

Thats 3 times i have now told you to put me on another server, why should i have to wait any longer?

[TOTALLYTOSHIBA]

Ok People crab your sides, as this is now getting very very comical,

Hostgator even though confirming with me over telephone that they would get me setup on a new semi- dedicated server by the end of MY business day, which passed over 4 hours ago.

So i went on to Support and spoke to NAT - who told me he could see this was happening and i would get a reply to the ticket within 30 mins,

Well its been nearly 2 hours now, and guess what no reply, so im now sitting on chat as i type to Rob, who is telling me i ordered a Dedicated Server, its good that the staff order things for you when you specifically say no.

Aparently i ordered a Dedicated server, even though when me and chad discussed this i eventually said no. As our site DOES NOT warrant the need for a dedicated server.

Oh by the way This is one of the guys who agreed to fast track a semi-dedicated server change for me, well a normal service is within 24 hours so i guess the 5 days service must be superfast (NOTE the sarcasam).

I am now after waiting 5 mins still getting the normal brush off from rob, Give me one moment which was sent 5 mins ago, this is normally followed by me getting kicked out of chat then Rob disappearing.

[TOTALLYTOSHIBA]

Heres another Update for u all to show how good Host Gator Arent Bear in mind my post above about the Chat i was in while i was typing:

Well the 2 hours i was promised as i specifically asked would the site be transfered and running within 1 hour and 45 mins the reply i got from Rob was yes, CHAD will have this finished for you.

Well guess what 2 1/2 hours later now 3 it still hasnt been fixed nor have i been transfered.

So back to the chat i went: Heres the transcript of the chat:


Rob: Welcome to HostGator Live Chat, how may I assist you?
ME: Hello Rob
ME: as i said to you earlier i would be back if i hadnt heard anything..... Here i am
Rob: Give me your ticket Id again please.
ME: RGQ-200399
Rob: I will check with Chad.
ME: thanks

ROB MADE THE BIG MISTAKE HERE, IN CHAT BEFORE HE CONFIRMED CHAD WOULD have this done within 1 hour 45 mins, he again in a new chat says he will go and talk to Chad, now below he says his not even in....

Rob: Simon Chad is not in yet. It will take some more time.
ME: Rob your now trying to back peddle, you said to me in chat earlier YOU had SPOKEN to chad and he told you it would def be done 100% in a few hours
ME: now your telling me he isnt even in
Rob: I told you I had spoken to Jason about it.
Rob: Chad would take care of it.
Rob: but he is not in yet. So it will take some more time.
ME: If what you say above is true, then why did you say YES when i specifically said to you Would it defo be 100% completed and working within 1 hr and 1/4

This went unanswered for about 10 mins

ME: well?
Rob: Well .. it will take some more time.
ME: Doesnt answer my question Rob, you lied to me
ME: AGAIN
Rob: ohhh no

That reply ohhh no - is the absolute image of the support staff they couldnt care less, and if i gave that attitude to my customers i wouldnt have any....

ME: ooh no what
Rob: I didnt. I told you the first day I could not guarantee any ETA but you keep asking for one.
ME: Today you lied to me
ME: on more than one occassion Hostgator staff has lied to me
ME: Reading your forum its a common thing
Rob: no I did not Simon. Chad will take care of your issue. Just give it some more time.,


Now im sorry but im sure im like all of you i need a buisness to survive, 5 days without 200k products available on a website is very damaging to our business and every day we get told - some more time is needed.

Rob: what did we lie to you ?
ME: Yes you did Rob, You said YES when i asked you would it 100% Defo be fixed and working within 1 hour and 45mins
ME: What did u lie to me
ME: where would u like me to start
ME: Ive had 3 or 4 emails from tech telling me the problem is fixed
ME: thats 3 or 4 lies
ME: I have been told on 2 seperate occasions by 2 seperate managers.supervisors, that they would personally see to it that my account transfered to another server within a few hours
ME: Thathas never been done
ME: i am told constantly every day the problem just needs a few more hours
ME: that was 5 days ago
ME: shall i carry on


This got ignored for over 10 mins not sure on the exact time

ME: I like it when im right you dont reply
Rob: One moment please.

I Was left for 18 mins here, im sure if i hadnt replied i would have got the normal disconnection from chat.

ME: I hope your clock has stopped! as you one moment has now become a lifetime
Rob: Sorry for the delay. One more moment please.
Rob: Chad is working on it now. You should get a reply in a few minutes.

At this point i got an email which was identical to one sent a few days before which didnt produce any reasults whatsoever

ME: Ive just had a reply IDENTICAL to one he emailed me 3 days ago
ME: which produced no reasults whatsoever
Rob: One moment please.
Rob: Ok Simon, now you will deal directly with Chad. Give him a couple more minutes and he will do it for you. If you do not see any replies you are more then welcome to call us.
ME: and what am i going to get in form of compensation
Rob: You can ask Chad for that.
ME: Transfer me to him then and i will discuss this with him
Rob: He cannot get chats. You can email him about it.

I Spoke to Chad for a long while a couple of nights ago, even when i was transfered there was no question or mention about him not be able to talk on chat.

ME: Thats another lie, i spoke to chad on here a cpl of nights ago
Rob: That was an exception. He is not supposed to get chats. You can deal with him though the ticket system.
Rob: Is there anything else I can help you with?
ME: Yes as Chad made an exception then he most certainly can make one now
Rob: He is not available on chats now. He will talk to you through the ticket system.
ME: so if i reply to the email i just got he will reply within 5 mins
Rob: Hes been replying your emails. Your issue will be solved soon.'
ME: Soon is not close enough soon to you guy means 5 days so far

This was left unanswered for about 10 mins


Rob: Ok Simon, I do not think I have anything else to help you wiht. Your issue is being resolved and if you need anything else you can reply to the ticket or even call us.


I Love the attitude of this guy, He hasnt helped me at all in this chat, nor the last one, im no better off than i was 5 days ago. I still dont have an exact time.

ME: Rob i want a time
ME: SOON is not a good enough answer any more, as you can talk to him You CAN find out a time
Rob: If you have any comments about this episode you are more then welcome to call us and ask for a manager. We really appreciate your business. I am really sorry it could not be resolved before. For any other details about this problem please use the ticket system. I will not give you any ETAs because I cannot precise it now. But Chad is taking care of it and you will get a reply reporting the status of it very soon.
Rob: Thank you for using HostGator Live Chat. Your opinion is very important to us. Please take a minute to fill out this form so that we may continue to improve our customer service and support. When ending the chat, please hit close and our survey will appear.
Chat session has been terminated by the site operator.

I love how you can talk to a supervisor as everyone you talk to on support phones aparently is a supervisor or a manager!

Doesnt mater that not one of the 2 that i spoke to have actually done what they said they would do.

And the saga continues,

[GatorShashank]

Hello,

I guess you were moved to a different server already. The issue was with the ethernet card on the server. The card was replaced some time back.

[GatorBrent]

Are you still having any problems? If so what is the ticket number I can look at it?

[TOTALLYTOSHIBA]

Hi Brent

I got moved to another server, the slowness of the problem is still there,
I cant be bothered to sit waiting for hours for support to magically do somthing.

Chad told me it must be somthing to do with my site, but as the same site is running on a shared server which runs with no issues whatsoever this is utter rubbish.

He also suggested it might be a DNS problem as it wasnt resigned to a URL yet, i asked to have my DNS information emailed to me as i had yet to receive it, but CHAD told me no, as i hadnt paid an invoice, that i spoke to a supervisor about and agreed i would not pay for the invoice until i had seen evidence that the problem has been fixed.

Ive given up on you guys totally, i even asked for compensation over this and didnt even get a reply, but nothing surprises me any more.

For the meantime we ill stick to the server that works, which is a shared one, this means we cant add 200k products but hey never mind.

I really dont have the time nor do my customers to wait for a server that has issues, to go through a loop over and over again.

The point is brent, you couldnt give a monkeys about me as a customer, otherwise i would have been transfered to a different server the same day i requested it, atleast that way i would have been 2 days rather than 5 nearly 6, without a semi-dedicated and then we wouldnt have gone to press with a massive ad campaign to say we have added 200k of products.

But nevermind.........

[GatorBrent]

This is being moved to support since no ticket was provided. Semi dedicated servers have 2-3 sites on them so if you had a problem on one server, and then another, I'm willing to bet the problem was in fact from adding 100k of items.

[vtrain]

Originally Posted by GatorBrent

This is being moved to support since no ticket was provided. Semi dedicated servers have 2-3 sites on them so if you had a problem on one server, and then another, I'm willing to bet the problem was in fact from adding 100k of items.

http://forums.hostgator.com/showthread.php?t=11749

Vtrain

[gwyneth]

Vtrain, when I read part of this thread, the sheer number of products did remind me of the thread you linked to. Since the other, more recent, thread mentions 400k products, evidently he was able to double his already exhaustive inventory:

then we wouldnt have gone to press with a massive ad campaign to say we have added 200k of products.

Clearly, the marketing and advertising, not to mention the warehouse, distribution, and fufillment facilities, must have consumed the resources that might otherwise have gone to the data processing and IT departments usually necessary to support such huge inventories.

Not to mention all the other employees (somewhere I read that a very lean retailing operation going into e-commerce can't expect to lower its workforce below about one employee per 1,000 items in inventory).

[Serra]

400k items and they expected to run on a shared server? (i.e. run a business with 200-300 employees off a shared server?)

[gwyneth]

The 200-300 employees are probably just as real as the warehouse and distribution facilities, the IT and data processing departments, the massive advertising and promotion budget, and, for that matter, the 400k inventory.

I mentioned the employee: product ratio just to express doubt about some of the background he provided in the other thread. A company with either 200,000 SKUs, let alone 400,000, that decides to implement e-business by adapting OS commerce, complains about three grand worth of consulting fees to get it going, and budgets fifteen bucks a month for the server that is going to make this treasure trove available, is a combination that sounds...implausible.

[Serra]

I'm a huge fan of X-cart, as everyone knows. Its great, but I'd expect to spend about 10K (US$) to get it to run 200K products and I'd expect it to need at least two or three servers to do that!

[gwyneth]

So figure it would take even more money to adapt the software for most people....and those servers would be just for the e-commerce side of the operation. And remember, the guy mentions twice that number of SKUs in one of his posts!

This article may give some idea of just how big an online retailer with 400,000 SKUs is:

http://www.minethatdata.blogspot.com...sis-yield.html

[Serra]

Yea, I'm not sure I can trust that. Those numbers are not what I've seen in my e-comm experience, but yea, someone with 400K SKU should be making some bucks. Shame to hinge it all on a $15.00 a month shared account.

[viclopez]

You sound like a very rough customer. Yet id probably act about the same as you, except with a little bit less attitude.

You need to keep in mind you are just 1 in a pool of many. Thousands even.

[wolfxt]

I think that the original poster has a point, regardless, why would'nt they hinge 200k of product on a 15.00 a month server ? dedicated or shared if they are told they can do so ? for those that know nothing about being in buisness it's called profit margine, the less you spend the more you keep, the bottom line is if you are told you can put 400k on a shared server, you should be able to do so, it is up to support to be able to answer these questions not the consumer, and not have support guessing as to you being able to and then costing your buisness money when you can't.

[gwyneth]

If the last poster has followed this story, in the more recent thread to which Vtrain has linked, the complainant wrote:

when infact some of the problems was infact caused by my site as i found out today.

The latest poster asks:

why would'nt they hinge 200k of product on a 15.00 a month server ? dedicated or shared if they are told they can do so ?

As hard as it is for me to believe in the reality of the 200,000-400,000 SKU inventory, it's even harder for me to believe that he actually asked HG before he signed up if that would work on a shared server, and hardest to believe that HG said, "oh, sure, go ahead".

At minimum, with three fields (SKU, price and name) per item and 200,000 SKUs, that would be 600,000 pieces of data to upload both originally and then when he claims he tried to double his inventory. That's before any other product info, pictures, customer information or sales data goes in.

No matter how efficiently his databases were structured--and in the other thread he claims it took three consultants more than a month to modify OS Commerce for the task--expecting both happy co-existence with the server's other users and smooth operation just isn't realistic. It's sort of like expecting the library to be happy if you use your unlimited borrowing privileges to back a semitruck u[ to the door and shovel books into it, and then come back the next day and do it again, and the next day after that.

for those that know nothing about being in buisness it's called profit margine, the less you spend the more you keep,

That doesn't mean it's realistic to expect to spend virtually nothing on one of your most important operating costs. If you were in the beer brewing and bottling business, would you expect the $15 a month city water coming into your house to cover all of the water you need to produce 400,000 bottles of beer each month, including washing all those bottles?

If you asked the city if your house water supply would be adequate, officials would probably have you committed. And if you didn't ask, figuring that "all the water you could use" should apply either to a bachelor who doesn't wash himself, clothes and dished, or an operation bottling 400,000 separate bottles per month, you'd be insane.

If you went ahead and started to bottle beer on that scale, with your $15 month residential water account, it would be most unreasonable to get outraged about the service failing...because those needs, the essential component of your business, are far, far in excess of anything it was designed to handle. That's the kind of scenario that wouldn't even occur to the water folks, or if it did, they'd think, nobody could be that crazy.

The water service wouldn't even try to let you share your demands with the houses and insurance offices who were also paying $15 a month for all the water they could use.

When you're running any kind of e-commerce, server performance is not optional. Without even getting into what HG offers, promises, or delivers, the shared server concept means that the poster was putting his 400,000 SKU operation at the mercy of the other clients on the same server. To use the beer bottling analogy again, that would be like risking a complete shutdown because the guy next door liked to fool around with his own plumbing and accidentally ran the soil stack into the supply pipe.