Re: UKNM: UK hosting/ catalogues

[Ray Taylor]

Harry Warner <

H [dot] R [dot] C [dot] Warnercity [dot] ac [dot] uk

 asked:


>I have been lurking for some weeks and have finally got something to

>post which may be of interest. My question is what you think of getting

>US hosting for a UK E-commerce site.


I think it is a great idea, Harry.


I am surprised that more UK sites are not hosted on US servers. We have

always used only US hosting services for the following reasons:


1. Very high levels of customer service - as compared with shabby service

from UK ISPs

2. Access to high bandwidth as part of the package, and direct access to US

audience (ie no transatlantic connections required).

3. Low-pricing and reliable market pricing - as opposed to arbitrary pricing

from UK companies

4. Good packaged deals suitable for low-level requirements (our company web

presence is minimal) + scalable costings for additional requirements

5. Unlike many UK services, US suppliers do not sneer at low-spending

customers. As a company I like to think that we provide the same high level

of service to our smallest customer as we do our biggest client. I see no

reason why I should not expect the same from our suppliers. And as a general

rule I would always judge a supplier by its customer service at the lowest

level of spend before committing any serious spend with them.


But it's not just me. Most of our clients (many of whom have some serious

web hosting requirements) complain about their hosting services. Poor

service, minimal response, extortionate pricing for simple things like

decent bandwidth, pricing arbitrary, and technical "support" people who's

main job seems to be to attempt to convince the customer that everything

they want is really difficult to do (therefore taking weeks to execute,

costing a bomb). Sound familiar?


A client told me only this week that they were quoted �1,000 to set up a few

email redirects under the hosted domain name. Can you believe that? �1,000

for a few minutes work and an infinitesimally small server allocation. And

even then, it looked like taking several weeks for the jack-asses to get out

of their beds and/or stop playing tomb raider, and actually program them

into their servers. Still, they are one of the biggest ISPs in the UK, so I

guess you have to pay for their bigness, and the huge number of techies that

sit around playing with each other all day. I am told some of the smaller /

local services do a much better job of it.


As to the question of using a US supplier being unpatriotic. If my  house

were infested with rodents, I would call in Rentokill to deal with the

problem. I'm sure the house (and its inhabitants) would be healthier in the

long run. And who cares about a few smelly rats getting topped?


The sooner some decent US ISPs come over here (the ones already here are so

far no better than native ISPs) and start to eradicate the unhealthier

elements within the UK ISP business, the better the UK industry will be in

the long run. A healthy internet business means a more prosperous country as

a whole. So anything anyone can do to sort the ISP mess out should be

considered patriotic. I have never seen anything patriotic in supporting

outdated British institutions like the monarchy, the �5 note, and warm beer.


It took a couple of retailers to sort out the UK dialup business. Thank you,

thank you, oh thank you Tesco and DSG. Fortunately in this instance the job

of rescuing the business from the mire it was sinking into was done by UK

companies who know a bit about customer service (in the case of Dixons, a

bit is as far as it goes).


This is proof that British companies _can_ sort out ailing British

industries without any help from the cousins across the pond. But hurry,

because the end is nigh!


</rant> - see! even I can talk nerd-speak :-)


Ray Taylor

Prophet of doom 

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