Why I Can No Longer Recommend GoDaddy Hosting

Let me start this off by saying that this is utterly and entirely a rant against GoDaddy.  I fully understand that there are plenty of people who like them, have had no issues with them, and would recommend them to everyone.  I am not posting this to begin a debate, or to get any concessions from GoDaddy, but only and solely to rant about the total lack of customer service I have received from their Hosting services.

I have been a GoDaddy domain customer for many many years - pretty much as long as I have been doing websites.  Their domain name services have always been great - it's not something you can mess up easily, really.  A couple years ago, after experiencing a lot of downtime and other issues with the hosting provider I was using, I decided to move my sites to GoDaddy hosting - they had a pretty good list of features, their reviews looked good ... okay, off we went.

Almost two weeks ago, a friend and I started putting together an auction, hosted by REGAP, to help another friend with her vet bills (more info here and here if you want to help!!).  The auction launched on Sunday and ran for several days with no issues.  All of a sudden on Thursday ... nothing would load.

That's when the whole thing went south.  I have compiled screenshots of my support tickets with GoDaddy, my frustration posted on their Facebook page, and the support I received from my new hosting provider (all linked below).  Boiled down ... the software we use for the auction uses a particular coding convention in their links.  There's a little file on most servers that automatically blocks that coding convention, which means that the links stop working.  Most hosting providers have no problem removing that block if the web designer asks them to - GoDaddy apparently does.

My main problem with GoDaddy's "support" is that there simply wasn't any for several days.  There was no response on the ticket at all - not even a "We've gotten your ticket, we're looking into it, please be patient".  What really ticked me off tho, and what made me wait so long to finally respond to them and write this post, was the scripted, canned reply that I did finally get.  Plain and simple, GoDaddy took 5 days to copy and paste some text into a response and ask for a bunch of information I had already provided.  In the meantime, I had spent most of my weekend frantically backing up, downloading, and relocating my websites to a new host who, in turn took only three and a half hours to research and remove the block that was causing all the trouble (I didn't count the lag time between my own responses - only the time their support people took).

While I think I have every right to be angry, I also do understand that GoDaddy is a business and much of their support decisions are based on what's best for their company.  One little non-profit greyhound adoption group is small potatoes compared to, say, an online business that does national sales.  REGAP doesn't use the site for daily income but for social connections and a public face. In the end, what it boils down to for me is a bit of a hassle while I relocate my websites (REGAP being the largest and therefore will be the last), and a few drops added to the bucket of bad press for GoDaddy, which you can find on a simple Google search.  Now I wish I had listened to all of that.

When God tells you to wait ...

A few months ago, I received some news at work that I did *not* like.  I was very upset, angry, and frustrated.  I'll be honest ... I had to clock out and take about an hour to calm myself down - I was that upset!!  I felt that I simply would not be capable of working under this new sitution, so I immediately talked to the appropriate people to try to get some changes made.

Well, I was essentially told to stick it out for a bit and see what happened.  Of course I didn't like that idea - I wanted things my way!!  So I ranted and raved at home and to my friends and checked job postings to see what else there was that would get me out of this situation.  Then I heard a song on the radio.

Now, God frequently uses music to talk to me ... I will hear a phrase in a song that applies to something going on in my life. I have heard this particular song many many times ... and it's a good one, but it never "said" anything to me specifically.  This time, the part that caught my attention - what really smacked me in the face - was this:

I'm gonna make you stronger
Hold on just a little bit longer
Cuz I'll be there
When you feel like you're going under
I'm gonna be there for you
(Royal Tailor: Remain)

Boy did I ever feel like I was about to fall off a cliff... like I couldn't hold on.  But God told me to wait and that He was still there with me.  Okay ... fine.  I've dealt with worse, right?  And as a reminder, about a week later, after I had a little time to calm down and get a little bit of experience under the new system, I heard another one ...

I won't give you more, more than you can take
And I might let you bend, but I won't let you break
And no, I'll never let you go.
(Group 1 Crew: He Said)

Got it.  Wait, deal, be patient.  So I stopped trying to get things changed and just dealt with it ... but I kept an eye on job postings anyway.  A while later, I got an interview scheduled for another position.  It was a lateral move, but I figured that was acceptable and would at least give me additional experience in a related area, and that could always help down the road.  Just before the interview, things changed again to what I had actually been angling for before.  But I already had the interview set up, so I went ahead with that route to see where it would lead.  A short time later, I was offered the position and told that, while it would technically be a lateral move, it would still come with a pay increase and, best of all, confirmed that I would still be able to work from home.  I've been in my new role now for 5 weeks ... and it's a *much* better fit for my abilities and preferences.

All this to say ... even when things maybe look awful, if you think you just can't take it and you want it to change ... if God tells you to wait and see, do that!  I could have gone on and pushed for change, but it would have probably injured my relationship with the people in my previous job.  I don't know how He talks to you ... it might be through other people, books, movies, music, a sermon, a "random" thought ... but learn to listen and then *hear* what He says.  It may be to move, it may be to wait, or it may be a step along a longer path.  Either way - He'll direct you to the best He has for you.

The AT&T Debacle

You would think that I would remember not to do this kind of thing, but apparently I can't remember  from year to year how badly it gets messed up, so I've decided to post it all up here in an attempt to remind myself.  Maybe this will help me avoid the trap next time.

AT&T runs these special offers now and then, where if you add a service, you get a lower cost for a certain time as well as a cash gift card.  This round was TV for $30/month and a $100 gift card, so I figured "Sure, why not - spend $30 or so, have TV for a month or two, get $100 back?  Sounds good to me!"

So I set it all up, we got the TV installed (we did get an upgraded modem/gateway out of the deal), got the gift card and off we go.  About 6 weeks later I called to have it cancelled and a few days later got an empty box from AT&T with a pre-paid shipping label to return the TV box.  Off to UPS, dropped off on 1/15/13 at 2:36pm.  No problem.

About 2 weeks later, I got an email talking about "Time Sensitive Information" and saying they hadn't gotten the box returned.  So I check the tracking number, and sure enough, shows as delivered on 1/18/13.   ???

Called AT&T, got a girl whose primary language is obviously not English but who was nonetheless pleasant and sounded willing to help.  She informed me that after reviewing the tracking number I provided, she determined that the box was, in fact, received at their Laredo TX dock and that it just hadn't been applied to my account.  She told me she would escalate the issue to make sure we did not get billed.  I thanked her and hung up, satisfied I had done my due diligence.

Lo and behold, next bill comes out on 2/25, and there's the charge - $150 plus taxes - for a non-returned receiver.  Well, now it's the weekend and their Customer Service line is closed, so I got onto the website and used their live chat.  I was connected to a man who assured me that a credit for $150 was "already being in process for removal" and that he would also apply a $10 credit as well to take care of the additional taxes, telling me "So, you can relax on that completely and you are our Elite customer and we don't want you to feel any kind of inconvenience."

Right.

Next time around, now on 3/10, I still see a past due amount (since I only paid $85 on the previous bill) and no credits of any kind.  This time I wasn't quite so nice with the chat but received the same assurances and (this was new) told that I would get an email confirmation of the credit which would be applied within 24 hours.  While I'm doing this, I also posted on the AT&T U-Verse Facebook page.

Ok.

3/11 ... sure enough - no email, no credits.  Now I'm mad and getting tired of it.  I now have a response to my Facebook post, asking me to email with account info etc.  I got a return call, however since it was during the day, of course I was working so she left a VM.  I never did connect with Miss Nancy - I'm not sure if it was a simple time conflict where our work hours overlap too much or what, but I did leave 2 more voicemails which never got any return calls. 

This afternoon, I came "home" from work and discovered a rather large box sitting on my couch ... from AT&T.  I opened it and realized it was empty - yep, they sent me another box with which to return the "non-returned" equipment which tracks as having been delivered on 1/18/13.  Now I'm really mad ... so I call their CS line (800-288-2020800-288-2020).  I get the same pleasant girl who I talked to the first time ... only this time I'm not very pleasant back.  I told her flat out that I've dealt with this for 2 months, made 5 phone calls, and I wanted the charge off my account now.

Maybe I should have checked online first to be sure - the charge actually was (supposedly on 3/13/13) removed from the account and I am now only showing that I owe my normal monthly charge.  I posted a followup on the original Facebook post and asked "them" to let their Laredo dock workers know that they narrowly missed receiving a box containing a few of the choicer contents of my backyard.

At least now it's over - and I am hoping that this post will remind me next time that it's just not worth it to mess around with trying to get a "better deal".  It's just not.

Call

Send SMS

Add to Skype

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Seriously?

/soapbox on

I'm trying hard to understand why a technology school doesn't make more/better use of technology to communicate with parents. 

Just because I work from home doesn't mean I don't work or that I can take 15 minutes to deal with some random issue at any given minute. It simply means I don't have to get all dolled up and drive in to an office every morning.  I still have phone calls coming in, production numbers to meet, meetings to attend, etc.  My day is no less busy just because I'm in my basement rather than a cubicle.  Now, on the flip side, I totally understand that teachers aren't generally able to make their "downtime" coincide with my breaks or lunch in order to talk.

That's where email comes in so handy!!  Why do I get a call from my son in the office - complete with the office staff breaking in and talking to/over him?  Why not an email telling me "hey your kid did this, fix it".  That way, I can deal with the issue when I get off and my child is home ... and I'll even email them back to tell them what was done!

/soapbox off


Man I'm glad it's Friday ... oh wait ... I have to work tomorrow too!