Last month, our service with HostDime (the company who hosts our server) was canceled by them, due to lack of payment. This was totally off the wall, and we emailed them transaction reports of our payments back in March 05, which were for one year. They apologized and turned our server back on. This was what started the whole issue with them.
Unrelated to that, we had been having some issued with the server that required some intervention by the hosting company - network settings stuff. I talked to them about it and had it all worked out, and I told them to contact me when they needed to do something with the box, so that way I could ensure that the server would be brought back up quickly, and that IRC, TeamSpeak, etc would all be loaded properly. A couple of days after that conversation, the techs at HostDime decided to just go ahead and do it themselves without contacting me. They rebooted the server which caused minor downtime during the day, but also left certain services not running until I could figure out what happened and manually start them.
Since I had instructed them specifically to contact me should there be any need to touch the box (and even said they could call me any time, even late at night), I was rather upset that this had happened. I called up HostDime to complain and see why I hadn't been informed of the maintenance even though I had requested to be. I also wanted to ensure this wouldn't happen again. This is a brief synopsis of the conversation:
I call HostDime, and ask what happened
David informs me that since they did not have root access, they had to reboot my server, bring it in to single user mode, and add the IP addresses that way.
I asked him why I was not informed when I had asked for notification of anything that would impact system uptime.
David tells me that they weren't out to adversely affect me or my clients.
I tell him that I understand that, but I need to be notified.
I asked to speak with a supervisor.
Unknown person picks up the phone and says, "Who am I speaking to?"
I ask the same question in return.
Guy says, "Don't start with the fucking attitude! Give me your damn name!".
I in turn asked who I was speaking with
Guy says, "I will pull your fucking box!"
I asked "You're going to pull my box?"
Guy says, "Yes, there it goes"
Guy hangs up.
At this point, we lost our box. The following are the series of emails that were exchanged, and which resulted in us getting our box/data back.
HostDime wrote:To Whom It may concern:
This an official notice of the cancelation of your dedicated server
66.193.174.75 HD1046
The terms of cancelation where due to verbal abuse on the phone to our staff.
This is not negotiable and is in effect immediately. In the future please consider your attitude and actions before making them. Consequences can result from bad moves on your end.
If you require any data from the server we will need a $500.00 payment and we will mail you your hard drive. You can then retrieve any data from there and keep the drive.
We will only accept a bank wire or money order payment.
best of luck with your new host.
Manny
Senior Engineer
HostDime.com, Inc
Hosting.Server.Solutions
DimeNoc Orlando. FL 32801
Pyrella wrote:I neither verbally abused nor cursed to any of your staff. Whoever spoke with me last both cursed and yelled at me when all I requested was their name. They should have had my name from both the information on my account in addition to being relayed from David who I am informed was a manager. Neither my talk with David nor whoever the last person who disconnected my server included profanity or raised voices.
My complaints as a customer I believe were both valid and sincere. There was a recent billing issue where I had specifically requested contact by either phone, or the updated email address I had provided. My server was brought down without notification, and I explained the level of severity of impact to both my self and my clients.
If this truly is to be the end of our business arrangement, how will we satisfy the remaining time on my account which has been paid for upfront, but has not been received?
HostDime wrote:Your account expires in less then 30 days so the time remaining becomes void due to the violation of TOS.
If you require any data from the server we will need a $500.00 payment and we will mail you your hard drive. You can then retrieve any data from there and keep the drive.
We will only accept a bank wire or money order payment.
Manny
Senior Engineer
HostDime.com, Inc
Hosting.Server.Solutions
DimeNoc Orlando. FL 32801
Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: RXR-152649
Department: Dedicated Servers
Priority: Low
Status: Closed
Pyrella wrote:The account expires March 27th.
Also, again, I would like to reiterate the fact that I was not abusive on the phone at all. I had only asked to speak with a supervisor, and was transferred to someone who yelled at me, and then apparently disconnected the server. I have been a customer with you for a few years, and have never experienced anything like this.
If I was being too forward with my requests for explanations, then I apologize. I, just as I am sure your support personnel, have had very angry clients approach them for things that are out of their hands.
To further explain any actions that may have been misconstrued, here is the summary of events which had taken place:
On January 25th, my server had it's connection pulled due to an error on Hostdime's behalf where they could not locate my payment information in the course of an internal Audit.
I was told that they had attempted to contact me by mail, but I had not recieved it. When I provided the proper Paypal transaction number, I was recconected, and I spoke with David and provided updated contact information in addition to a cell phone number to contact me in case of any further issues/downtime.
I then called back later that day in regards to some DNS issues - David provided me with some alternative DNS addresses and notified me that there would be IP address changes within the coming month, I asked that he confirm my contact information, and let me know if there would be any down time involved.
Yesterday my box was brought down with no prior notification at all. In the middle of the day, with no follow up. I have a few services that I do not have auto restart, and this impacted a few of my clients, who in turn notified me, quite a bit more irate than I was when contacting Hostdime support. I called and spoke with David again, and asked him what had happened. He informed that since they did not have root access, they had to reboot my server, bring it in to single user mode, and add the IP addresses that way. I asked him why I had not been informed, when I had recently updated my account information, and asked for notification of anything that would impact system uptime. He told me that they weren't out to adversely affect me or my clients, and I told him I understood that, but I needed to be notified. I then asked to speak with a supervisor so that I could have repeated my request, or at least found if my request was unreasonable.
I do not know who I was transferred to, but they picked up the phone and said, "Who am I speaking to?" I asked the same question in return, and was told, "Don't start with the fucking attitude! Give me your damn name!". I in turn asked who I was speaking with, and was told, "I will pull your fucking box!" I asked "You're going to pull my box?" and was told, "Yes, there it goes", and was hung up on.
I shortly thereafter recieved the original email explaining that the account had been cancelled, and leading to the subsequent correspondence.
Again, my intentions were never to abuse or harass you or any of your staff, and only to rectify what I thought was a valid grievance. If level3 was to perform maintenance that was not emergency, and would impact your customers with no prior notification, I would assume you would step up to bat for us and seek to rectify the situation, and ask for measures to prevent it from happening again in the future.
We have been long time customers, in good standing, with little to no problems in the past. I hope to come to a resolution which requires as little additional downtime, nor any ill will. On your Acceptable Use Policy, where I can see this being addressed is the following:
_________
Refusal Of Service
We reserve the right to refuse, cancel, or suspend service at our sole discretion within human reason.
_________
I hope to appeal to that human reason, and see how we can reinstate ourselves. I fully understand that you are in the position to make this decision, and I would prefer to make amends than walk or be cast away.
HostDime wrote:Harlan,
I understand you were not happy about the reboot of your server. In reality it wasn't down more then 1 minute. However you may run some services which require manual start. I was told by David that your attitude was not vulgar but it was very hostile. David is a good person and goes above and beyond clients call of duty. He doesn't deserve to be treated like that when he wasn't the one who caused the issue.
You deal with clients too, I am sure you don't appreciate being treated like your not human. Yes you were upset but the way you handled the situation was not good. We will never tolerate any hostile or abusive conversations from clients. We are human just like yourself with feelings. It really effects the stress level when someone like yourself comes with such a hostible attitude over the phone.
As it stands now we don't have a good feeling about keeping your business as future issues may occur due to your way of handling situations. We can reconsider if you want to renew your server now for one year and I will make sure you are always called before anything is done on the server.
The renewal rate would be $110.00/month
Manny
Senior Engineer
HostDime.com, Inc
Hosting.Server.Solutions
DimeNoc Orlando. FL 32801
Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: RXR-152649
Department: Dedicated Servers
Priority: Low
Status: On Hold
Pyrella wrote:I promise I am not trying to beat a dead horse, however , this all stemmed from the situation 2 weeks ago in regards to our billing mix up. Any hostility I had came from issues that had been previously addressed, that were not followed up on. All I wanted was contact so that I could restart my services - even if these had taken place in the middle of the night, I'm usually either up, or up early enough to restart these before any customers are impacted. The issue was not about down time at all.
And yes, correct, my attitude was not vulgar, and I understand David may not have been directly responsible, but I was told he was a manager. When he was unable to provide answers to my questions, all I asked for was a supervisor. The person I was transferred to was both vulgar and hostile, when all I had asked for was a name so that I could have formal correspondence. How many times have you been called being told "some guy told me he could do this or that. What was his name? Oh, I don't know, some guy."
I also fully understand your support personnel are human, so am I, so are my clients. At the heart of everything, the client is the most important individual. My actions are for my clients - and as I said before, I apologize for any hostility I may have had, but vulgarities and hostilities were the least of what I heard when my clients had contacted me, which was minutes before I ended up contacting your office.
You said:
________________________
As it stands now we don't have a good feeling about keeping your business as future issues may occur due to your way of handling situations. We can reconsider if you want to renew your server now for one year and I will make sure you are always called before anything is done on the server.
________________________
Again, before 2 weeks ago, all my previous interactions with your company have been very positive. Everything from the transition of Servercove over to Hostdime, and the very few subsequent issues we have had were handled positively, and I believe good feedback from my side. With you calling me before anything is done that would impact downtime is all I had asked for originally. Even sufficient notice, or late night maintenance as you guys have normally had.
In regards to the subscription, as was handled 2 weeks ago with Mark and David, our account was set through March 27th, please see info at bottom of email.
As we're both aware, you guys do hold all the cards in this situation, and we do in fact need our data back. If your company can understand that I had overreacted, and am willing to make amends via a formal apology (I will even call David and personally apologize to him for taking out my frustrations on a person who was neither involved with nor able to change the disconnection issue.), I would do the same in regards to the means in which I was addressed after having spoke with the person I was last transferred to. I would like to look at it as a lesson learned, and give you my word that I will never react in a similar capacity again. We aren't a huge company with millions of customers, but every client we have is just as important to us as I hope we are to you. I would understand if you don't want our business any more, but I would like to request at least a fraction of our remaining time to pull some of our data off.
Reference:
[#JGA-xxxxxxxx]: Payment for your server 66.193.174.75 HD1046
PayPal info:
Payment Sent (ID #xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)
Business Name:
HostDime.com, Inc
Email:
paypal@hostdime.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Business Contact Information
Customer Service URL: http://www.hostdime.com Customer Service Email: sales@hostdime.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total Amount:
-$1,000.00 USD
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date:
Mar. 28, 2005
Time:
18:55:03 PST
Status:
Completed
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject:
Server 66.193.174.75
Shipping Address:
No Address Provided
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Funding Type:
PayPal Funds
Funding Source:
$1,000.00 USD - PayPal Account
HostDime wrote:Harlan,
I apologize for the delay, I have reviewed your request with
management and this is their decision.
We will plug the server back online after you process a $75 reconnection
fee. If you renew in 30 days we will credit you back the $75.00 in your
renewal Smile
We value your business very much however we also value our staff. As you
can imagine some people are more sensitive then others and it is hard
to find loyal staff. Our clients are important but so is our staff
and we do not want any disruption in their work because of one client
just being hostile.
I totally understand your reactions but there is ways to handle things
and I do not agree with the way you handled it. It was clearly something
we did wrong and it could have been addressed but the way you approached it
was not the best way.
I do apologize they did that to your server but I will assure you personally
it will never happen again.
Manny
Senior Engineer
HostDime.com, Inc
Hosting.Server.Solutions
DimeNoc Orlando. FL 32801
Ticket Details
===================
Ticket ID: RXR-152649
Department: Dedicated Servers
Priority: Low
Status: On Hold
I have paid the $75. We are backing up all our data (there is a lot)
We're coming up with some solutions for what we're going to do. 3 major ways we can go - Another hosted box, Buy our own box and colocate it, or do some gimp ass shared hosting which is what we out-grew and had to go to our own box for. All have advantages and disadvantages - hopefully by mid next week we'll have some options out there, and go from there.