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Our First Month Review of DIYHosting
Posted by b2b3, 11-30-2004, 06:29 PM Hi all, When we signed-up with DIYHosting almost one month ago, I stated that I would write a review to outline our experiences with them. So... here is that review. But first, I would like to extend my thanks to the members of this forum who helped guide us in our search for a host: 1) To ldcdc - (Dan) from www.whreviews.com. Your website is an essential guide for anyone who is searching for information about hosting, reseller hosting, and reviews on individual hosts. Your site provided us with invaluable information during our search and enabled us to finally locate the right host for our company. Thank you for your time and dedication to this endeavor! 2) CartikaHosting - (Andrew). Thank you for recommending a superior hosting company to us! We are grateful to you for steering us in the right direction. If you hadn't, we may have never found DIYHosting! 3) WHT - If it weren't for this forum, we would have been lost! Many thanks to all of the contributors to this forum and to its admin's! Now to our review... We had offered hosting previously through a friend of ours who had his own server and a T1 connection, but it got to be inconvenient since we had no direct access to it and had to keep bothering him every time we needed to add another site. We had never really considered reselling hosting, but as developers, we knew that we had to have a better plan if we wanted to offer quality-hosting services to our clients. After searching for nearly 2 weeks and on the verge of giving up, we were finally directed to DIYHosting. We can't thank them enough for everything they have done for us. I don't think that we could've found a better host, anywhere. Their services are far more comprehensive then we had ever imagined. Their customer service is outstanding, their equipment is top-notch, H-SPHERE allows us far more control than we had ever thought possible, their costs are great, their service offerings almost limitless, and the list goes on and on This was the best move we could have made for our company. Our clients' couldn't be more thrilled with everything that we can now offer them. I think we are definitely on the right track with DIY and unless something goes terribly wrong in the future, I think we will stick with them for the long term! Since they were our first choice and we had never even tried another hosting provider, I may not have enough experience to say this... but from my standpoint, DIYHosting provides a level of quality that I would have never expected! I am most impressed with the level of customer service they provide. In an age when customer service seems to be rapidly declining, theirs is off of the charts! All of them have gone out of their way to treat us like equals and not like newbie's, (even though we are). Being that we were fairly new to this whole thing, we had asked some pretty unintelligent questions as we went through the setup process. But, they have never once made us feel foolish about asking them. Their patience and professionalism has been first-class! They made us feel welcome and went out of their way to treat us with respect. We very much appreciate that! Right from the start, we scheduled a 2-hour walk-through with Stephen (I know I am butchering his name, sorry). Stephen was extremely kind, courteous and accommodating. He never made me feel rushed, and explained everything to me in detail. I felt very relaxed and we accomplished a great deal during that time. On three separate occasions, I called and spoke with Mike. I had called their tech support line not because there was a problem, but simply because I didn't understand a particular procedure. I now know that I could have found this information by looking more closely at their documentation, but I needed the added reassurance of speaking to someone directly. Mike was an enormous help to me! I am sure (looking back on it), that Mike probably didn't want to have to deal with my dumb questions. But not once did he ever indicate that. He was patient and understanding with me each and every time, and helped me through it all! From our welcome letter from Callum, to an answered question from Craig, each time I turned around, someone from DIYHosting was helping us get started. And lastly but certainly not least, Simon helped us out immeasurably! We couldn't have expected all of the support we have received from him. I spoke to him on several occasions, emailed him and read his responses to my posts on WHT. He was "ALWAYS" extremely considerate, polite and professional! His follow-up email to me this morning is just one more example of their quality of service and their attention to detail! Each and every time we have called them (and there were several times that we had called), their people were available to us. It didn't matter if it were at 12AM, 3AM or 8AM Saturday, Sunday, or Tuesday, whenever it was... they were always there for us. The 2.5-hour walk-through they gave us was extremely helpful. Their Reseller Kit is a huge help, especially for newbie's like ourselves who need constant information and support. Their website is also very informative. We can't say enough about these folks! Hats off to Simon and his entire support staff!!! And, let me make it clear... There has never been one problem with the servers! No Downtime! Everything has been working flawlessly!!! We recommend them wholeheartedly to anyone searching for a truly exceptional host! www.diyhosting.com Bill Perrow PartnerTeq
Posted by foxmen, 11-30-2004, 07:57 PM Nice review "bsb3" thanks alot!!!! Its good to know happy people !!!!!!
Posted by freak, 11-30-2004, 08:04 PM That's a great review. Keep up the good work
Posted by b2b3, 11-30-2004, 08:15 PM Thanks foxmen & freak, I Don't mind giving kudos to a company that truly deserves it. If they had dropped the ball, our review may not have been so rosy. Fortunately for us and them, they do deserve it! b2b3
Posted by IHSL, 11-30-2004, 08:32 PM Hi Bill, Thankyou for the feedback - it is always great to hear from our users, and I'm glad to see you're having a good time with your account and everything else As with all reviews, good and bad, I print them out for our guys to take a look at. I am sure all involved will be glad to hear everything is going smoothly. Simon
Posted by b2b3, 11-30-2004, 08:57 PM Hi Simon, We look forward to growing our company along with DIYHosting. Thanks again for the great service and here's to a lasting partnership! Bill
Posted by ldcdc, 11-30-2004, 09:40 PM Wonderful review b2b3! Sounds like you're in love with a hosting company, so I wish you a long and satisfying relationship with DIYhosting! Simon & the team, take good care of him! PS. Thank you very much for the nice words b2b3. They mean a lot to me!
Posted by b2b3, 11-30-2004, 10:29 PM You deserve it too Dan! Thanks again
Posted by cartika-andrew, 11-30-2004, 11:26 PM Hi Bill, Im really pleased to hear you found a host that suits your needs - DIY is a very service orientated company - something that can sometimes be lacking in this industry. Considering how frustrated you were previously, Im happy I played a small role in your new found faith in this industry Andrew
Posted by b2b3, 11-30-2004, 11:43 PM Turned me right around Andrew! Youre right! Since we were just starting out with reseller hosting, service was at the top of our list. As time goes on, the mechanics of hosting will slowly become more important to us. With that said, I still think that DIYhosting has that under control as well! Thanks again Andrew! Bill
Posted by ioZoom, 11-30-2004, 11:48 PM I agree. I think Dan has a nice site going and think he is a very honest guy. Keep us the nice work!
Posted by Martinez, 12-01-2004, 12:35 AM Thanks for the review b2b3. To bad Dan's comments regarding President Bush in the past steered me away from DIY.
Posted by b2b3, 12-01-2004, 12:40 AM Thanks Martinez. I'm not sure I am aware of the President Bush comments??? Care to enlighten me?
Posted by RossMAN, 12-01-2004, 01:04 AM Nice job Dan and Simon!
Posted by IHSL, 12-01-2004, 01:53 AM I'm confused. Why would Dan's comments about George Dubya, keep you away from DIYHosting? Dan is not an employee of mine. Even so, I don't think Dan (or myself) have posted anything about George Dubya that is outside of a polite political discussion. Simon
Posted by Gen-T, 12-01-2004, 02:09 AM A 'one month' review is normally scoffed at around here (mostly for good reason, since that's not enough time to really get an accurate reading), so I'm surprised to see it welcomed with such open arms. The crowd must be in a friendly mood today. Anyway, it's good to hear positive feedback, even for such a short period. Come back and update us after 6-12 months, and hopefully your experience will still be a positive one. Thanks for sharing, and thumbs up to all parties involved.
Posted by b2b3, 12-01-2004, 02:14 AM I personally do not see how a persons political persuasion would have anything to do with the host they choose for their company??? I dont even know Simons political views, or Dans as far as that goes, and quite frankly I dont care! All I know is that DIYhosting is the company for us. It may just be that Dans and Simons political views are the opposite of mine. Then again, maybe they are the same! I just do not see how that matters. How can that make you change your mind about hosting with them? When it comes to making educated and well thought-out decisions concerning the future of my company, I can assure you, politics do not even enter the picture. Bill
Posted by b2b3, 12-01-2004, 03:20 AM Please forgive my ignorance to that fact. I was totally unaware of that rule. I can certainly understand the reason behind it, however. I hope that I will be able to return to this site in 6 months with another positive review. Bill
Posted by cartika-andrew, 12-01-2004, 03:26 AM I think any review period is a good one - first impressions are just as important as lasting impressions... Sadly, most customers that ARE happy after 6 months do not bother to come back and post a review - the only ones we see here are the horror stories - which makes it even tougher for a browser of this board to find a good host. Im all for 1 day reviews, 1 week reviews, 1 month reviews and 1 year reviews.. I think all are a good indication and provide valuable information for browsers of this forum.. Afterall, if a company has several good "1 month" reviews and little or no negative reviews - what does that tell you?
Posted by b2b3, 12-01-2004, 03:54 AM For what its worth I must agree with you Andrew. That was exactly the problem we faced when searching for a host. There were dozens of BAD reviews for even less time then a full month. We were ready to quit searching due to that fact. We had even come across bad reviews by people who had only been with a host a few days! It was tough to find any host that was exempt from that type of scrutiny. The only host we found without any bad reviews (unless we missed them) was DIY. Hence, our reason for taking a chance on them. Looks like so far it has paid off.
Posted by Gen-T, 12-01-2004, 04:26 AM Bill, it's not a rule. You did nothing wrong. I was just saying that many people here often scoff at reviews for such a short period, and I was surprised to see it given such a warm welcome. I'm not saying that's good or bad - just surprising. Many would say a 1 day / 1 week review is rather pointless (overall) but it can serve some purpose I suppose. Anyway, I was just commenting on the fact that reviews of such short periods are often not giving much credence by other members. Since you brought it up though, I have to say that a 1 day / 1 week review is a bit silly in my opinion. Anyhoo.... moving right along.....
Posted by b2b3, 12-01-2004, 04:54 AM Thanks for the clarification GEN-T. I believe I might know what has caused this review to get such a warm welcome. I posted a month back about my frustration in finding a good host. Many of the people who posted here, were people who had also posted there at that time. I think that they were just expressing their thoughts (good or bad) about our obvious success in finding a reliable host. So, I suppose they sort of followed along and waited for the eventual outcome. I may have misspoken earlier by stating what you said as a rule. I apologize. I suppose I should have phrased my reply more accurately. No offense taken.
Posted by subodhm, 12-01-2004, 05:02 AM Dan, why don't we find DIY in your list of honest hosts?
Posted by Gen-T, 12-01-2004, 06:49 AM Same here Bill. Thanks for the post.
Posted by CretaForce, 12-01-2004, 07:26 AM It's nice to see happy customers :-) Thank you for you review.
Posted by Aussie Bob, 12-01-2004, 07:28 AM I'd say it's been received so well based on how well it was written. There's lots of details there, and it probably took a while to put together. IMO, there's 3 phases in a host/client relationship - 1. Snuggling in phase. This is when the new client gets snuggled in and used to their new surroundings. Both parties are overly mannered, as the relationship is new, and they're feeling their way. 2. Mid term phase. Client has been with the host for around 6mths and is well and truly settled. Probably experienced some problems, but they are hopefully worked through. 3. Long term phase. Client has been with the host for 1 to 2 years and has probably been through the good and the bad times, with the host. The above testimony was from the "Snuggling in phase", and if you don't get that right, you don't get to the next phase. The WHT crowd is generally a pretty friendly crowd.
Posted by Aussie Bob, 12-01-2004, 07:36 AM Yes indeed. Dan's site is full of great information. I also think there's only 1 referral commission there too, and not hiding referral links under all links to hosts. Folks could spend hours there reading and empowering themselves with knowledge. I'm currently building an Aussie Hosting directory, and Dan inspires me! Great job Dan!
Posted by Gen-T, 12-01-2004, 07:41 AM Bob, I'm aware of all that, and I agree. I was really just thinking outloud with my initial post, because of how many times I've seen people post such short term reviews, only to be greeted by other members saying that it's too soon to really judge the service. I was merely echoing what has been said 100 times before, and for the most part, I happen to agree. While it's nice to see an initial good short term review, the ones that really seal the deal for many, are the longer term reviews. The "mid term" and "long term" as you put it. But yes, that "snuggling in" phase is where it all begins. Blow that, and chances are you lose the customer. Getting off to a good start is crucial.
Posted by coight, 12-01-2004, 08:13 AM Good work Simon and team, I'm sure you will be well looked after!
Posted by coight, 12-01-2004, 08:15 AM Without a doubt, the usual review is "I signed up with XXX their great signup now !!!!" This was well written
Posted by b2b3, 12-01-2004, 10:45 AM Thanks to everyone for your kind words regarding our review! We seem to have sparked somewhat of a lively debate with it. Thats fine I think since debate helps to open minds to new possibilities. I for one can speak to the fact that as much as WHT helped us in our search, it also tended to shape our view of the hosting industry as a whole. And, that view at least initially (until we became more informed), was somewhat negative. I base this purely on all of the negative reviews we read here. I personally thought that by expressing our satisfaction with at least one host, this might help the next person see a different side of the industry. Since most of you are hosts yourselves, I would think that a more positive view of the industry is a value to you. So yes our review may have been a little premature, but a positive one verses a negative one can only help the industry and help to change peoples perceptions for the good. Just my 2 cents!
Posted by IHSL, 12-01-2004, 11:40 AM we're still on Dan's "hitlist" (aka : to do list) Simon
Posted by ldcdc, 12-01-2004, 12:31 PM One answer is that I like to take my time and think things through. Some hosts are serious blips on my radar; DIYhosting is among the *very* serious ones. There you go, I blew the secret away! I supposed that my political views would get me in trouble some day. To my defense: I'm European so from where I am things look different. I apologise to all parties involved for inadvertently steering Martinez away from DIY. For the record, my political views have nothing to do with my opinions about hosts. Thank you Bob for the nice words!
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