Globat: Overly Cautious or Due Diligence?
Posted on July 19, 2007
Filed Under Uncategorized |
I’m going to be launching a new blog very soon. I’ll tell you all about it in a future post, after it’s gone live, but for now, I want to talk about my web host. For this blog, I am lucky enough to have be hosted for free. Because I’m a moderator and very active user on a web forum that he made, Bartek Gniado (who, apparently, never updates his blog) has given me free hosting.
I could probably get away with hosting my new blog on Whahay! for free as well, but because it’s going to be a business, I figured I’d actually get some paid hosting, rather than draining all of Bart’s resources if the thing becomes as successful as I’m hoping that it will.
After looking up a bunch of web hosting companies, and reading a bunch of reviews, I decided to go with Globat. They’re cheap, they’ve got more server resources than I’m probably ever going to need, and they apparently have incredible support staff[1]. The only thing that I find a little bit odd is that they confirm all orders over the phone.
You pay online, as you normally would, and then they have a customer service rep call you to confirm your order. I haven’t been called yet, because I registered my account after they had close for the day. I suppose having them phone to confirm your order helps prevent credit card fraud (at least, hypothetically), but I just find it strange. I’ve never had any company say that they needed to call me after I’ve already given them my credit card info online. Plus, secure HTTP is actually much more secure than giving information over the phone.
Still, they came highly recommended, and they’re a participant in the BBBOnline Reliability Program, so I’m sure I can trust them. They’re not phoning me to scam me (besides, if that’s what they were doing, they’ve already got my information from the online form). I guess it’s better to be overly cautious than to lack due diligence.
Update: I’ve since stumbled upon another review site, with tonnes of user reviews, and they seem to be universally slamming Globat. Great, just fucking great. I think I’ll cancel my account ASAP. In fact, they haven’t even activated the account yet, so maybe I’ll get lucky and get out of this mess before it even begins. And…maybe I’ll pay the extra cost and go with someone like BlueHost or DreamHost after all.
Another thought: If Globat is as bad as the reviews indicate, how are they still in good standing with the Better Business Bureau? Bah! First thing tomorrow, I’m canceling the account and switching to another hosting company.
Update 2: Well, despite all the negative press, and despite the fact that, yes, there control panel is PAINFULLY slow, I’ve got to give props to the Globat account cancellation department. I was on hold for maybe 5 seconds before I got to speak to a real person, and she cancelled my account in under 5 minutes, without difficultly. She even told me that she will void my previous payment, rather than making me have to try and chase down a refund.
Maybe all of the negative reviews were slightly exaggerated? The customer service that I received really was excellent. However, I’m still glad that I cancelled the account because I did play around with the control panel a little bit before cancelling it and, man, it was SLOW. I can’t imagine having to deal with that for a year.
And, now, by popular recommendation, both here and elsewhere, I’ve decided to go with DreamHost.
*****
[1] If you’re American, or Puerto Rican, they actually have an offer going on until the end of the month that will allow you to get your first year of hosting for free, with a mail-in rebate. It’s too bad it doesn’t apply outside of the US/Puerto Rico, because free hosting for a year would be really nice.
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8 Responses to “Globat: Overly Cautious or Due Diligence?”
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I would recommend Dreamhost with 95% enthusiasm. I’ve been using them for three years now. They have been solid with the exception of a string of bad connectivity last summer (2006). They have those issues ironed out now. I still notice the VERY occasional (like maybe once every two months) service outage. Their web panel is second to none and the support is outstanding. You get a shitload of disk and bandwith (more than you will likely ever need) with even their most basic plan. Unlimited MySQL databases and on and on. They’re really great.
I second that Dreamhost recommendation. I’ve had nothing but good experiences.
Yeah, I’ve decided to follow your guys’ advice and go with DreamHost.
Also, as you’ll see from my update above, it looks like Globat might not be as bad as the user reviews seemed to indicate. I got GREAT customer service when I called to cancel today. Still, their control panel (and probably their load time for sites) is ridiculously slow. It’s like going back to the days of dial-up.
Hi,
Fraudulent domain and hosting registration is a big problem in the hosting industry. People open accounts using stolen credit cards and then send millions of spam emails or operate phishing sites to steal more personal information. This affects everyone on the Internet and anyone sharing the same hosting resources even more.
We also let the bank know when we detect a fraud attempt. Many times the owner of the card doesn’t even know it’s been stolen so we help minimize problems.
Criminals constantly change their tactics making any automated system vulnerable so we provision very few accounts automatically. By calling we cut down on fraud by 90%. We tried to call you twice but your line was busy both times. We finally provisioned your account within 24 hours based on a human decision.
I’m sorry you cancelled before we had a chance to prove ourselves to you. I see that your credit card charge was voided. Globat actually has pretty high customer satisfaction based on customer surveys but there is always room for improvement. I’ve recently been hired by Globat for the purpose of improving customer satisfaction.
One thing I’ve noticed is that satisfied customers don’t say too much, but dissatisfied customers are usually pretty unhappy. I read their comments and I’ve been listening to support calls and monitoring email “tickets� and I’m developing processes to improve. Hopefully, with care we can reduce the number of unhappy customers.
Hi Tom,
Thanks for the comment. You’re right, a satisfied customer tells no one. An unhappy customer tells ten people (or ten thousand, if they post their thoughts online).
As far as the phone calls, my line shouldn’t have been busy, as I was at work most of the day, and thus not on either my home nor cell phone lines. I don’t see any information on my caller ID, either, which is strange.
In any case, even though I cancelled my account, I am very pleased with the service that I received in the very short time that I was a Globat customer.
I likely won’t come back, as I’ve already switched to DreamHost. But, I have updated this post to commend your company on the great customer service I received. Between that, and your comment, I think people who read this blog will be able to decide for themselves if they’d like to deal with Globat.
Thanks for commenting.
Avoid Globat At all costs .. they are simply the worst hosting company out there with poor incompetent staff.
Server are terribly slow and no one in the company has an answer as to why and more importantly a solution.
Globat do us all a favour and shut down your scum operation.
Good move. Globat has never been but a pain in the ass for me. Even after past two years cancelling all my accounts with them (few hosting and domain names), They still charging me EVERY DAMN YEAR for the services that I’ve cancelled long time ago. I have to chase them down for refunds every time they charge me. Thieves! Avoid Globat like plague.
@xfahmix: They keep sending me emails trying to get me to “change my mind” about canceling. I’ll have to carefully review my last few credit card bills, as I have a feeling that I’ve not been refunded.