Choosing an ISP
July 29, 2003
Choosing an ISP (internet service provider) for the first time can be a bit daunting. My advice is to make sure you take note of their attitude to customer service and the added services that are offered.
It's tempting to compare prices and bandwidth, as well as other features such as number of email addresses but that only matters in getting up and running. But what's important once you're established is how well their system works and how often does it fall over? When that happens, how quickly does it take to get it working again? I was experiencing difficulties last Friday and became increasingly frustrated because there was no-one answering the customer support line, no message posted on the website to inform customers about when/how the service would be back. I'm with Digiweb by the way, but most of the other ISP's tend to offer more or less the same level of service.
However there is one particular hosting company that stands out for its total lack of customer focus and short-sightedness, and that is IE Internet.
I came across this company because of some well-written marketing materials about their anti-spam product. The bumpf is so well written it makes you forget that most ISP's already offer anti-spam protection.but anyway, I came across this info around the same time as I needed to register the url for Brightspark (see 25th July for the angst involved in that one). I logged on to IE Internet's site, read the piece on anti-spam and then used the tool to check availability of my domain name. When I found out it was still available, I paid by credit card to secure it.
Weeks later when I was ready to start building my website, having chosen another host with a better package on offer, IE Internet refused to pass my website over to my hosting company. A large number of phone calls and emails from myself and my hosting company elicited no response. Nowhere on IE Internet's site does it state that when you buy a domain name from them you must also buy a hosting package. It was only after 6 weeks and the threat of legal action that IE Internet actually flicked the switch (or whatever minor job they had to do) to allow my site to be accessed by me and my hosting company.
So, the lesson learned is - in some parts of the internet industry, there are some shoddy firms out there. Be warned. And if you do come across an ISP that excels in its customer service please let us know.