Support changes from my host... No More free Phone Support

Zascar

I won't say who, you can probably guess, or they may even say it themselves, but one of the hosts I use has just changeed their policy on Support. Free Phone Support will no longer be available. You still have 24x7 live chat support, email and the ticketing system, but if you want phone support this will be a premuim rate number at €0.95 per minute.

Personally I do not mind at all. The service I have got from them all along has been absolutely excellent. I almost feel guilty for getting so much for so little! If I really had an urgent problem I'm sure the service I would get for the money would be worth it. God know's I'm sure they get innundated with muppets asking silly questions all the time (I've done my share in the past ). I'm sure this change will mean other areas of the business will improve because of this, making it even better in the long run.

What do you think?

miju

I just got that same email from 365 and I am seriously not impressed by that. Altough I have not had any issue that has caused me to call them I am seriously considering moving my 10 sites to another host.

If I was to have a serious technical issue that is of 365's doing. Why should I have to pay them to sort out my problem if I'm ringing them when they've already been paid for hosting for the year. There's an old argument that having the ability to easily ring up an Irish host is an serious plus, 365 should bear that in mind, without giving any advance warning on their imminent change (as if they had of given advanced warning I wouldn't have registered another 2 hosting accounts a couple of weeks ago )

Zascar

Really? Would it really be worth the hassle of moving 10 sites, based on the fact that you may need to make a phone call, which you have never done before? Not sure how you value your time but the cost of moving the sites would surely outweigh how much you potentially could spend on the phone to them. I'd say if the problem was serious, and needed a lot of time on the phone, they'd call you back after a certain amount of time...

miju

3 of them aren't dynamic , the rest wouldn't be too complicated to move either which is why I'm seriously considering it. and think about it, if you have a client on your back and you have to ring 365 and your paying 95c a min do you think client will be happy with being charged that outside the normal terms of a contract????

I've used their web support a good few times however this has been for issues which dont require a quick response (as in my experience the web support responses are not that quick from 365) . Point being if I had a serious urgent issue I wouldnt want to have to rely on their web support given their current support times.

EKRIUQ

To be honest it doesn't really bother me I never rang on the phone and I prefer to use the live support. I can imagine the phone calls they were getting but to charge a premium number if the hosting is down due to their fault is a bit mean.

Once the servers are working correctly 365 is still great value.

Here's the mail to save confusion or people drawing wrong conclusions (Mods take down if inappropriate

Dear Mr (Most Valued Customer)

As you might be aware, we have been working hard over the past year to improve the quality and responsiveness of our customer care.

This time last year we introduced a 24x7 team, dedicated to catering for our customers' every need.

In August 2007 we launched a new web site at www.register365.com, which delivered an industry leading range of web hosting and domain name registration services. Register365 became the cost and feature leader of the Irish market.

Incorporated with our new site, we launched a new support system at http://care.register365.com, Building on over seven years of experience in this area, the site includes our new ticketing system, for easily tracking support issues, a library of video tutorials, an extensive, searchable knowledge base, a wide range of downloads and tools and our new forums (directly accessible at http://forum.register365.com). We also revamped the customer control panels to provide a simpler, more straight forward experience.

At the same time, we started providing 24/7 support through Live Chat – available on every page of the website and control panels simply by clicking the 'Chat' buttons. This system links you at any time of the day or night, 7 days a week, directly with the care team.

Over the years, we've provided freephone telephone support during office hours. In that time we've learned through experience and feedback that telephone support is inefficient, expensive and not as effective as email or live chat at delivering problem resolution.

In order to continue offer the most efficient and timely customer support, 24/7, we are discontinuing telephone support from Tuesday 18th March 2008. After this date it will be no longer possible to call 1800 365965.

Here are the standard support channels available to you – all 24/7/365.

- Live Chat – Click Chat on any webpage at http://www.register365.com
- Tickets – http://care.register365.com
- Email – support@register365.com

Premium Support is available as an option during office hours – Monday to Friday 0900-1730 GMT – by calling us on 1550 365 965. [ Please note that calls are charged at 95c per minute ]

Kind regards,
Register365 Team

Register365, 5 Beckett Way, Park West, Dublin 12, Ireland
Company Registration Number: 350330 Register365 is a trade name of 365 Hosting Limited.

aidan_walsh

Charter.