Pages: 1
causasui
Let me start off by saying Im not here to bash this host. Im here to share my culmination of over 5 years of experience with this company. I want to make fellow webmasters and IT proffesionals who run small buisinesses aware that this provider is in trouble. There is no accountablility at this company, they grew too fast and you are never going to get any sort of "technical help" if your site is down or if your having any problems. What you will get is legions of cut and paste experts reading a scripted dialouge. That being said, lets look at the meat and potaotes of what prompted this post.
Today is 2/2/2006 I have a dedicated server with these people and I am a reseller with over 20 sites hosted with them. The dedicated server went down a day ago, and I have called and spoke with 3-4 "technicians" to get it back up. All they can tell me is they will try to "page" someone to reboot the server and then hang up. I pay $99 a month for this thing and was promised 24/7/365 monitoring.....its false. When one makes the decision to get a dedicated server they do so for reliability issues, I have clients to answer to, what do I? Bottom line. I move my accounts, I learn my lesson. Do not use these folks if you want reliable hosting and solid tech support. They will leave you hangin and not look back. I am totally at these peoples mercy right now and I have clients calling every ten minutes.
The tech guy who works in the dedicated server area actually told me that his day would be good no matter what happened once he got off of work. He honestly did not care and said there was nothing he could do to help...all he could do is send a page to some guy. When asked to speak to a Supervisior I got put back on hold for 20 minutes, after 1 hour of waiting only to find out, "He just walked out"
To make matters worse they changed a bunch of settings and protocols on their shared hosting (cpanel) servers without letting anyone know. This has completely disabled several of my clients ability to send and recive email. They have no answer and I currently have clients going on 1.5 weeks with no email service. Again, no one can tech the issue on their end, they give you cut and paste responses and there s no chain of command you can go through to escalate a problem.
I tell you these things being one of IPOWERS oldest reseller customers. I have had enough success to stay with them over the years but have also had several times like this and the honest truth is they rely on the technology too much. When everything is working well, things are fine. The moment there is an issue, of any sort, they completely fall apart.
If you want more info on any of these claims, or written proof in the form of emails let me know.
sales@causatech.com
Today is 2/2/2006 I have a dedicated server with these people and I am a reseller with over 20 sites hosted with them. The dedicated server went down a day ago, and I have called and spoke with 3-4 "technicians" to get it back up. All they can tell me is they will try to "page" someone to reboot the server and then hang up. I pay $99 a month for this thing and was promised 24/7/365 monitoring.....its false. When one makes the decision to get a dedicated server they do so for reliability issues, I have clients to answer to, what do I? Bottom line. I move my accounts, I learn my lesson. Do not use these folks if you want reliable hosting and solid tech support. They will leave you hangin and not look back. I am totally at these peoples mercy right now and I have clients calling every ten minutes.
The tech guy who works in the dedicated server area actually told me that his day would be good no matter what happened once he got off of work. He honestly did not care and said there was nothing he could do to help...all he could do is send a page to some guy. When asked to speak to a Supervisior I got put back on hold for 20 minutes, after 1 hour of waiting only to find out, "He just walked out"
To make matters worse they changed a bunch of settings and protocols on their shared hosting (cpanel) servers without letting anyone know. This has completely disabled several of my clients ability to send and recive email. They have no answer and I currently have clients going on 1.5 weeks with no email service. Again, no one can tech the issue on their end, they give you cut and paste responses and there s no chain of command you can go through to escalate a problem.
I tell you these things being one of IPOWERS oldest reseller customers. I have had enough success to stay with them over the years but have also had several times like this and the honest truth is they rely on the technology too much. When everything is working well, things are fine. The moment there is an issue, of any sort, they completely fall apart.
If you want more info on any of these claims, or written proof in the form of emails let me know.
sales@causatech.com
causasui
Just a quick Update:11:00 AM EST Server and Cpanel servers still down. 
I was allowed to speak to Don Johnson, he is the self proclaimed Morning Supervisor. He tell me that he see's only one request for the server to be looked at and this was from the middle of the night. Don is going to try to get in touch with the system admin, does this person exist?, and see if he knows anything. He may call me back with an answer at some point. Remember this is the dedicated server package they offer....you can read about it here http://ipower.com/dedicated.html
I was allowed to speak to Don Johnson, he is the self proclaimed Morning Supervisor. He tell me that he see's only one request for the server to be looked at and this was from the middle of the night. Don is going to try to get in touch with the system admin, does this person exist?, and see if he knows anything. He may call me back with an answer at some point. Remember this is the dedicated server package they offer....you can read about it here http://ipower.com/dedicated.html
Martie
Well I FEEL for you and I wouldnt be happy either.
Much worse when you are long term client of theirs.
Ive never had experience with the company though. We've been in business since 1999 and we use Alabanza. YES, they are expensive, they always have been BUT when I factor in everything, I cannot complain too much. Its soooo important for you to have a reliable upstream, as you are the one responsible for your own clients.
Keep us updated!
Much worse when you are long term client of theirs.
Ive never had experience with the company though. We've been in business since 1999 and we use Alabanza. YES, they are expensive, they always have been BUT when I factor in everything, I cannot complain too much. Its soooo important for you to have a reliable upstream, as you are the one responsible for your own clients.
Keep us updated!
That is an incredibly long down time especially for a large host. Other hosts actually honor their uptime promises. If you do decide to go to another host, there are many to choose from, but the major thing to pay attention to is reliability. Good luck in your endevors.
causasui
Im Back!!
The server went down again and no one was there to help (as usual) Im getting used to this every few months.
I wanted to share this info with any perspective new consumers. IPOWERs biggest problem is with billing. They utilize fraudulent billing practices. For instance, they do not send out renew notices and renew any accounts you have automatically. There is no choice to manually renew like most other companies (godaddy)(netsol). They continually bill me for domain that I no longer want to renew then refuse to issue credits. And if they do the credit is often not in the same amount as the charge. What you are left with doing is calling and beggin for help. At the end of the day they cannot be trusted with your credit card. They continually try to renew my server for a 3month period when I pay for 6. Think about that. They wont send confimations of renewals either. I cant complain about overall uptime but their billing is costing me huge money and if there is any investigation or class action it should focus there becasue they are totally trying to get over on each customer.
Ask for help you say? I tryed to get in touch with anyone that was willing to help me. I contacted a senior managment member and look at this email chain.
To: 'Warren Lanier'
Subject: RE: Trey (Incident: 040301-004080)
I am having billing issues and a few other concerns I was looking for help on.
Are you able to help?
--------------------------------------
From: "Warren Lanier" <wlanier@ipowerweb.com>
To:
Sent: 4/5/07 6:05 PM
Subject: RE: Trey (Incident: 040301-004080)
Probably not- as billing is a separate department from mine and they have their own rules and regulations that enable them to address every customer concern on a fair and equitable basis.
Thanks
**note this guy doesnt even give a shit a five year customer is trying to go up the chain asking for help, he doesnt even offer to help, at all.
----------------------------------------------------
To: Warren Lanier
Subject: RE: Trey (Incident: 040301-004080)
Thanks.
You must be pretty high up the chain to formulate a response like that.
Yet..knowing you work for the company don't you think you could have atleast offered to pint me in the right direction instead of leaving a 4 year customer out to dry?
Customer service shouldn't be limited to a department.
---------------------------------------------------
Your are welcome.
Perhaps my email was somehow not clear. In my response to your inquiry of my ability to assist you in resolving some issues you are having concerning the billing area of your service; my goal was to point out that I am not able to assist you in rectifying any billing concerns you may have as a result of our billing department having autonomy over all such concerns.
In referencing this observation in my response back to you, my presumption was that you might seek additional assistance from our billing department about your concerns. If I did not convey that directive clearly, please accept my apologies for any confusion or misgivings that may have resulted from this.
Regards
Warren Lanier, Jr.
Marketing Sales Manager-Los Angeles
IPower, Inc.
wlanier@ipowerweb.com
-----------------------------------------------
To: Warren Lanier
Subject: RE: Trey (Incident: 040301-004080)
Even after reading this and realizing that you prefer to create long winded emails, I'm left wondering. Why havent you offered to help, even if you offered to try to have someone in billing contact me or perhaps even giving me a persons number. I honestly think this sense of customer service you present is the worst thing about your company. It bleeds through from tech support to billing, the attitude is, "its not my job!"
Please don’t reply unless you have either a contact number for me or are able to contact someone on my behalf. I have been a customer of IPOWER for about 5 years and don’t want to be patronized.
** I have been trying to get 3 domains refunded for over a month. They have my money and refuse to refund it. The domains are down and not renewed yet they dont credit me. For sure thats against the law?
The server went down again and no one was there to help (as usual) Im getting used to this every few months.
I wanted to share this info with any perspective new consumers. IPOWERs biggest problem is with billing. They utilize fraudulent billing practices. For instance, they do not send out renew notices and renew any accounts you have automatically. There is no choice to manually renew like most other companies (godaddy)(netsol). They continually bill me for domain that I no longer want to renew then refuse to issue credits. And if they do the credit is often not in the same amount as the charge. What you are left with doing is calling and beggin for help. At the end of the day they cannot be trusted with your credit card. They continually try to renew my server for a 3month period when I pay for 6. Think about that. They wont send confimations of renewals either. I cant complain about overall uptime but their billing is costing me huge money and if there is any investigation or class action it should focus there becasue they are totally trying to get over on each customer.
Ask for help you say? I tryed to get in touch with anyone that was willing to help me. I contacted a senior managment member and look at this email chain.
To: 'Warren Lanier'
Subject: RE: Trey (Incident: 040301-004080)
I am having billing issues and a few other concerns I was looking for help on.
Are you able to help?
--------------------------------------
From: "Warren Lanier" <wlanier@ipowerweb.com>
To:
Sent: 4/5/07 6:05 PM
Subject: RE: Trey (Incident: 040301-004080)
Probably not- as billing is a separate department from mine and they have their own rules and regulations that enable them to address every customer concern on a fair and equitable basis.
Thanks
**note this guy doesnt even give a shit a five year customer is trying to go up the chain asking for help, he doesnt even offer to help, at all.
----------------------------------------------------
To: Warren Lanier
Subject: RE: Trey (Incident: 040301-004080)
Thanks.
You must be pretty high up the chain to formulate a response like that.
Yet..knowing you work for the company don't you think you could have atleast offered to pint me in the right direction instead of leaving a 4 year customer out to dry?
Customer service shouldn't be limited to a department.
---------------------------------------------------
Your are welcome.
Perhaps my email was somehow not clear. In my response to your inquiry of my ability to assist you in resolving some issues you are having concerning the billing area of your service; my goal was to point out that I am not able to assist you in rectifying any billing concerns you may have as a result of our billing department having autonomy over all such concerns.
In referencing this observation in my response back to you, my presumption was that you might seek additional assistance from our billing department about your concerns. If I did not convey that directive clearly, please accept my apologies for any confusion or misgivings that may have resulted from this.
Regards
Warren Lanier, Jr.
Marketing Sales Manager-Los Angeles
IPower, Inc.
wlanier@ipowerweb.com
-----------------------------------------------
To: Warren Lanier
Subject: RE: Trey (Incident: 040301-004080)
Even after reading this and realizing that you prefer to create long winded emails, I'm left wondering. Why havent you offered to help, even if you offered to try to have someone in billing contact me or perhaps even giving me a persons number. I honestly think this sense of customer service you present is the worst thing about your company. It bleeds through from tech support to billing, the attitude is, "its not my job!"
Please don’t reply unless you have either a contact number for me or are able to contact someone on my behalf. I have been a customer of IPOWER for about 5 years and don’t want to be patronized.
** I have been trying to get 3 domains refunded for over a month. They have my money and refuse to refund it. The domains are down and not renewed yet they dont credit me. For sure thats against the law?
causasui
Well, I finally had it and have moved to another provider (almost complete with transition). My server went down for over a week and I lost a handful of customers because of it. The phones were busy and no tech support was available. I wish I was exaggerating (I have gray hairs to prove I’m not). Finally, I am migrating all of my accounts from IPOWER and just in the nic of time.
Apparently they are merging with another company and will be moving all of their machines to Boston (From AZ and CA) and there is no doubt this will be a disaster of the highest degree. They plan to lay off over 300 people so the support won’t be there either.
They just sent me an email saying they are upgrading their servers and to expect down time for "FALL". They didn’t have a time frame beyond an entire season.
As my company has grown I find I am not able to, in good conscious, offer IPOWER as a solution anymore. They simple grey the company and sold it. The OWEN has a reputation for doing this in other areas...Google it..
If you are thinking about moving hosts, now is the time to do it, things are sure to only spiral downhill from here.
Thomas Gorny, CEO
IPOWER, Inc.
Apparently they are merging with another company and will be moving all of their machines to Boston (From AZ and CA) and there is no doubt this will be a disaster of the highest degree. They plan to lay off over 300 people so the support won’t be there either.
They just sent me an email saying they are upgrading their servers and to expect down time for "FALL". They didn’t have a time frame beyond an entire season.
As my company has grown I find I am not able to, in good conscious, offer IPOWER as a solution anymore. They simple grey the company and sold it. The OWEN has a reputation for doing this in other areas...Google it..
If you are thinking about moving hosts, now is the time to do it, things are sure to only spiral downhill from here.
Thomas Gorny, CEO
IPOWER, Inc.
webberr
Wow after reading that i don't like ipower anymore. and i thought they were reliable
