Before I say anything at all, let me admit that I’m ONE BIG SUCKER for making this decision. I’m not very happy about it. For several reasons, I decided to stick with the host that I paid to set up a dedicated server (last week), the same host that I wanted a refund from because I couldn’t get through to their customer service on the weekend. (Granted, their sales department was supposed to be off on the weekend, but customer service shouldn’t be as well.) Despite that, here are my reasons:

1. Access problems with current host – About a week ago, I was getting 406 errors and this blog was timing out for me. I took this problem to my current host. They fixed it alright, but for me only. I was told that the firewall blocked my IP for too many login failures.Brian (one of the authors on this blog) also had the same problem. My host couldn’t fix it for Brian. If you’re wondering why he hasn’t been posting, it’s because he can’t see this blog right now. He’s completely blocked off. If Brian is blocked and my current host can’t fix it for him, I wonder how many other readers/users are blocked as well.Whatever the problem is, it seems to be mod_security related. I’m not a tech savvy person so this is purely assumptions based on my research about 406 errors. I was told that the problem was fixed and if Brian continues to get blocked, it would be his machine’s fault.Frankly, I’m not convinced. I don’t believe the problem falls solely on the user’s machine. I’ve been with my current host for several months now and they’ve been absolutely great for me up until this point.Brian and I are the only known cases. However, who knows how many other people have the same problem.
2. I paid already so I might as well try. Getting a refund and waiting around to search for another host means I’ll be losing traffic, from people that can’t access the site because of my current host; again, this is what I’m assuming, but my host believes the problem is on the user’s end.
3. My HiVelocity account manager called me this morning. I’m glad he did. Otherwise, I would have to go through with the refund and find another host, which would be a big pain in the butt. Usually, I’d prefer to endure that pain to find quality service, but I don’t have that luxury right now.Basically, he explained why there was delay, why I couldn’t get through to customer service and customer service is 24/7, and that my server is going to get set up by tonight. Although I doubt that customer service is 24/7, I have to admit that I didn’t start a support ticket, which is one of the options to reach customer service.I felt good about the conversation and I’m an impatient person. That’s what it took for me to give this host a second chance to impress me with their customer service.

Also, I know that hosting is a thankless job. It’s impossible to provide 100% satisfaction for every client. Most of us don’t thank our hosts when they come through with something, but we sure tend to write thousand-word diatribes when they don’t respond to and resolve all ten support tickets within 24 hours, which would be a ridiculously time consuming and frustrating task.That’s why you’ll rarely read anything bad about web hosts from me and I try not to refer to them by their names if there’s a problem or I’m unhappy with something. Usually, I try to refer to my hosts by their names only when there’s something positive to say.The only host that I have a gripe with and the only exception is iPower or iPowerweb. They suck waffles.