5. Customer Service / Support

5. Customer Service / Support

Pre-sales

What is your preference on the customer service? Would you call and speak to someone live, or are you satisfied with the use of email to answering your questions? Many providers have a toll free number you can call to meet the pre-sales issues while others may provide a FAQ document pre-sales, live chat option or a member forum where you can scan messages and find answers to frequently asked questions. As a consumer, you want to make sure you have some options to choose from.

Support

Many vendors offer support through Help Desk software online. Rather than linking telephone lines using live, they use their Help Desk to facilitate support requests from users. Some suppliers may have forums where you can ask questions and receive help from other hosting customers. If you feel that you are not internet savvy, check whether you can benefit from live phone support. Be aware that you may be required to pay extra for the privilege.

You should be able to contact your hosting provider for more than one method. Be cautious of any provider that does not provide adequate methods of communication and the limits you only email contact for questions and support pre-sales. Customer friendly hosts usually provide you a contact phone for questions and most likely, it will be free of charge. If you elect a hosting provider that does not provide telephone contacts, do your research! Do they have testimonials? Do they have a forum where you can openly connect with other hosting customers and ask questions or seek help? A was positive feedback about their service? In this case, you will rely on the answers to questions / answers posted and your intuition.