Fellow blogger and internet marketer Josh Spaulding sounds off about his recent experiences with HostGator in this customer review.
OK, I know I told you I’d be reducing the number of rants that I publish on this blog. Well, since I’m about to start http://www.crackerjackseo.com/ (newly registered) I’ve decided to start ranting once again right here. So all my long, how-to’s etc. related to SEO will be published at crackerjackseo and all my other Internet marketing musings, including rants will reside here.
About 12 hours ago I ordered a dedicated server through HostGator. During the ordering process I chose PayPal as my payment option (I wasn’t asked for my PayPal email.
Order was complete, nothing was charged. A few minutes later I received a call from a HostGator rep telling me they need my PayPal email to get this going. No problem. I provided the email and was told my server would be up within 24 hours. I also replied to a ticket telling them my PayPal email just to be sure.
-PayPal email given to HostGator twice-
This morning I wake up and see an email from HostGator. I open it up and I see login details. The server is up and ready, right? Of course not.
They reinstated a reseller account I had over a year ago. Not that it matters, but that didn’t even work trying to login through the provided IP, UN and PW.
I call HostGator to see what’s up. I get some kid (sounded like he was about 16 y.o., who sounded mad at the world.) He very rudely said “You’ll just have to wait for your ticket to be replied to, Sir”
After hanging up I got a little P.O. and called back. This time I spoke with a helpful female agent, but after 15 minutes or so I was told I need to reorder the server because a PayPal email wasn’t sent. About that time I thought this was some kind of joke! I had given it to the guy who called me, I replied to the ticket with the PayPal email and I had given it to her. Yet, they were unable to charge me and fix this big mess.
-PayPal email given to HostGator for the 3rd time-
By the way, while I was on the phone with her I received another email from HostGator stating that I need to go to some URL to change my primary domain and I need to pay $5 for that to happen.
So, I figured I might as well just order and get this all over and done with (thinking they would take care of it right away.) I said “OK, I’ll just reorder.” She said OK, the people who set it up are gone right now, so they should get to this later today sometime. “When?” …”I don’t know”
Does HostGator even care whether they make a sale or not? I mean, I don’t care how much money I make, if I have a customer who is ready and willing to give me $200 EVERY MONTH I’m going to bend over backwards for them!
Now I’m in a predicament. It took me 2 weeks of looking at various dedicated server deals and nothing compared to what HostGator had to offer for the price. I don’t want to spend over 200/month for a server, but it looks like I’m going to have to.
The best deal in the world isn’t worth it if the support is the worst in the world!
May 28, 2008 at 9:40 pm
I’m currently defecting all of my websites and blogs off of my Hostgator account. Which is sad because I really liked the prices and the product, but I just can’t afford all the weirdness with them– you are so right that Hostgator needs to straighten up their act with customer service.
To their credit though, when they are helpful– they are super helpful.
As a side note I can’t even log into the billing area to view my invoice anymore. Why would they care if you’re making money when they obviously don’t care if they are being paid.
June 12, 2008 at 6:31 pm
I was going to buy a server from them a few months back. I was turned off by them for pretty much the same reason. Who did you finally end up hosting your server with? I ended up with a server from Server Intellect for about the same price your are looking for right now.
June 17, 2008 at 11:36 am
Hi Santos
Thanks for your feedback.
Josh ended up with a dedicated server from LiquidWeb and speaks very highly of them.
June 17, 2008 at 11:41 am
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for leaving your comments. Your experiences echo those of many others when it comes to Hostgator – they either seem to be perceived as great or very poor with very little middle ground when it comes to customer feedback.
As with any host you will find satisfied and dissatisfied users and a lot depends on the needs of the individual customer of course.
May 7, 2009 at 12:34 pm
I think the problem is Host Gator is hosting company first then a dedicated server company. You need the opposite when it comes to dedicated servers. I would suggest a company with the caliber of Server Intellect. They deal mainly with managed dedicated servers. So their first job is to the customers and their servers. Host gator is for 3 dollar hosting accounts.
October 4, 2010 at 2:24 am
Hello,
I’m the owner of hostgator and I’m truly sorry for any problems some of you may have had with our service. In 2008 we were extremely understaffed which caused many of our users to have issues with us.
We have since corrected the staffing issues and have improved as a company greatly.
I’m personally available for assistance for any of our users any time. If anyone is having an issue please reach me at brent@hostgator.com and I’d be more then happy to assist. thanks!!
October 4, 2010 at 2:44 am
Hi Brent,
Thanks for stopping by and I should say that this is a fairly old post and reflects the experience and opinion of only one user. Readers should understand that this is not necessarily indicative of the company or its general performance; indeed I am still very confident to recommend Hostgator to hosting customers on both shared and dedicated plans as overall reliability and service still seem to be at the better end of the spectrum. With an operation of this size the law of averages says that there will invariably be complaints but the size and age of the company bring definite advantages too.
I have personally experienced some very positive service from Hostgator and I was not even one of their customers, I just happened to be on a server owned by them and they were extremely helpful and efficient under some very difficult and trying circumstances. Certainly they went above and beyond the call of duty on my behalf.
I know you are a very proactive owner Brent and always active on forums addressing customers personally, something for which I think you are to be applauded. I certainly have no reason to hesitate in recommending Hostgator and will continue to do so.
October 21, 2010 at 5:42 am
i have used their service and its good…