VAR Hosting -- Anyone using their reseller plans??

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Posted by SilverSting, 12-21-2004, 11:51 PM
Just wondering if anyone out there is using them... I want to hit your site and test the type of support they providfe you with !!! For those wondering what I'm talking about... VARHosting.net provide end-user support with all their reseller plans.
Posted by joshuayip, 12-22-2004, 01:00 PM
I would like to know that too. It seems that they will provide technical and sales support, on ticket and chat too! Joshua
Posted by UnifiedNet, 12-22-2004, 01:20 PM
If you use the search feature you will find some very interesting information about this company!
Posted by joshuayip, 12-22-2004, 01:31 PM
Ah... found it http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showth...ght=varhosting But I was looking if anyone has used their customer services before, one that is supporting the end user. Anyone? Joshua
Posted by SilverSting, 12-23-2004, 12:34 AM
I've been looking into VAR Hosting and HostingZoom... but both have rubbed me the wrong way... VAR Hosting is just a bad over all feeling... here's my last conversation with them... System: Please Wait while connecting to an operator You''re connected to sales representative - Dev Dev: Hi, how may I assist you? User: can you supply clients that currently use your reseller plans and also use your support for their clients? Dev: No we can not share this information. User: not even one client ??? No testimonials ?? Dev: We are planning to have our testimonials. It will be in our site soon. User: so can you often some ??? Which clients have given testimonials? User: unfortunately I doubt I'll sign up if I can't see nor feel your product Dev: You got a 60 days money back guarantee Dev: So if you are not satisfy with us then you can cancel the service. Dev: But I can say that our service is among the best in the market. User: thank you for your time.... I'll have to think about making a move over Dev: Sure. You can take your time. Dev: We would be glad to have you on board with us! Dev: Have a nice time!! Dev: Are you still around? User: ya Dev: Is there anything else that I can help you with? User: do you provide server stats/uptime for the past weeks and/or months ?? System: Operator has closed your chat And HostingZoom, well I've sent 2 (if not 3 emails) without getting a reply ?!?!? So much for support.... but just for hell of it I'll submit under one now !! and another thing about hostingzoom, they advertise the following... 24 Hour Live Chat Support Need a quick answer to a problem? Chat live with one of our support technicians and get an immediate resolution. Our support technicians are standing by 24 hours a day to assist you. but get this message EVERY freaken time I go... Customer service is available from 9am - 6pm CST Monday - Friday. If you are seeing this message during normal hours, that mean's all of our customer service reps are busy assisting others at this time. Please try again in a few minutes or leave a message and someone will get back to you shortly. Last edited by SilverSting; 12-23-2004 at 12:44 AM.
Posted by ioZoom, 12-23-2004, 02:07 AM
Hello, Where are you sending the emails or how are you sending them? We reply to every single email to gets sent in to our helpdesk. There would be no reason to not reply. More than likely, they are not reaching us for one reason or another. If you like, you can send me a PM here. In regards to the Customer Service message, that's because CS is closed during these hours. We are GMT -6 time zone. Our technical support dept is available 24/7 which is what that "advertisement" is in regards to.
Posted by SilverSting, 12-23-2004, 12:36 PM
Sorry, I don't agree with you. Your ad says "24 Hour Live Chat Support" and it's simply not true. I hold nothing against hostingZoom and believe that your support is good, but for me, you don't offer 24/7 Live Chat. As for the replies I never got.. well I don't know where they go, I simply filled out the form that was given to me when Live chat is not available... I see 2 possible options. 1 - Your form is sending the request to a wrong email address. 2 - I supplied the wrong email, which I doubt would have happened 3 times, but none the less still possible. do you have any emails that bounced back that looked like silversting in the domain ? I did get to speak to a live chat associate and support was good. Unfortunately, I want a custom plan that is smaller than your 5/50 plan and seems like hostingzoom doesn't want to do it, but refered me to resellerzoom. Resellerzoom has a plan that suits me but doesn't have end-user support which is what had brought me to hostingzoom in the first place. Looks like I may have to go to resellerzoom and then move to hostingzoom as our needs and client base increase.
Posted by joshuayip, 12-23-2004, 12:41 PM
This seems a bit weird. normally when ppl start small , outsourcing support is the best options, dont you think so . And when you needs grow bigger, probably you want to go on higher end support like , more sale and personalized support, and you might want to think of hiring your own tech when you have dedicaed server or something.... not sure if my way of looking at it is correct =) Joshua
Posted by SilverSting, 12-23-2004, 12:52 PM
joshua.... I couldn't agree more with you. The way I see it is this way... being small I want to provided good support to my current clients as we concentrate marketing and services. Right now, I believe that outsourcing support is in my best interest and then bring it in-house as we grow and generate more revenue. It's very rare that a small reseller could offer true 24/7 support. ResellerZoom and HostingZoom (for me) offer services that are geared to two different types of clients. So a starting plan of 5/50 gig may not be reasonable for all starters! And I don't understand why they can offer bigger custom plans and not small custom plans. And honestly is not a price thing (the 5/50 plan is 25$) but more of an issue of why pay for what I don't need.
Posted by ioZoom, 12-23-2004, 03:15 PM
Hello, If you note on that page where you see; 24 Hour Live Chat Support Need a quick answer to a problem? Chat live with one of our support technicians and get an immediate resolution. Our support technicians are standing by 24 hours a day to assist you. In the page header, it says, "24x7 Technical Support". Our technical support dept is available 24/7. Our Customer Service and Sales is not. You were clicking on the Customer Service chat link when it was closed that is why you kept getting that message. I hope that clears up any confusion you may have in that regard.
Posted by SilverSting, 12-23-2004, 03:20 PM
Whatever, I think if a label say 24 hour live chat... there should be 24 hour live chat. I never questioned the fact that you have 24 hour support.
Posted by ioZoom, 12-23-2004, 03:26 PM
This is our fault and I apologize for the inconvienence it caused you. The email address where these were being sent were wrong and have been corrected. This will no longer be an issue. Thank you.
Posted by SilverSting, 12-23-2004, 03:28 PM
You're Welcome.
Posted by SilverSting, 12-23-2004, 04:24 PM
Now if only HostingZoom can enlighten us on why they do not offer custom reseller plans that are smaller than their starter plan!
Posted by sparker366, 12-23-2004, 04:38 PM
Well because I do believe that is the purpose of resellerzoom.com. They are the branch that provides lower cost reseller accounts. I got a custom account with them 10gb/100gb with custom nameservers for 27.99 a month and first month for 7$. I would have liked to go with the hostingzoom but the price was a bit more then I could go right now with the xmas season on us. The $7 for first month at resellerzoom is what sold me. I also want to say that my start was rocky with them mainly do to my fault but their tech support is top notch. They provided excellent and timely service to my requests. I submitted a ticket around 2am in the morning and got a response back at 4 am that the problem was fixed. Seems most tickets are completed in around 2 hrs but I had some that were around 30 mins. Guess it all depends on the load they have. I do want to state that my problems were created by me in my move from my previous host.
Posted by SilverSting, 12-23-2004, 04:46 PM
You do realize that you saved 20$... and at the end of the year (IMO) you didn't save that much. I understand the resellerZoom purpose is to provide low cost hosting... but I also believe hostingzoom should accomodate small clients that are looking for end-user support because they don't offer identical services. I believe hostingzoom isn't accomodating small clients because they want them to use resellerZoom. The only thing is that there are many other players in the same ballpark as resellerZoom, and I may not go with them in the end.
Posted by niyogi, 12-23-2004, 06:37 PM
Hi SilverSting: Strange that Dev would just close the chat window on you (though I'm quite sure that it was a technical problem). Did you try re-initiating the chat to see why he would do this to you? As far as providing end-customer support, we do do this and have been doing something similar for quite some time now (albeit for other web hosting companies). PM for more information or just email me at niyogi@varhosting.net for more details. Thanks! Roj
Posted by SilverSting, 12-26-2004, 01:26 AM
Well, one thing that I must say is that I checked VarHosting several times during the holidays to see if their live support was always available... and they were! Times Checked Listed Below. Dec. 24 @ 14:35 EST Dec. 25 @ 02:50 EST Dec. 25 @ 21:12 EST Dec. 26 @ 12:09 EST
Posted by joshuayip, 12-26-2004, 01:54 AM
Just wondering why if they are already offering ticket support for our clients, why not put the chat window on our website as well? Joshua
Posted by niyogi, 12-26-2004, 02:15 AM
Joshua: As a matter of fact, we do offer live chat support to resellers' clients. For clarification (hopefully), check out the "Getting Started" guide that's located on our website. If you need to have me post the direct link, just holler and I'll do it. Merry christmas guys/gals! Roj
Posted by joshuayip, 12-26-2004, 12:18 PM
Hi Niyogi, Are you going to have a forum ? It seems like a good idea to let your clients tell us more about you, as I am really interested to know =) Joshua
Posted by niyogi, 12-26-2004, 12:42 PM
Hey Joshua: Good to see you (I believe we've chatted before)! Based on high demand by prospects, I actually do intend to put a forum up for our clients to use by mid-January. Roj
Posted by joshuayip, 12-27-2004, 05:52 AM
Yes Niyogi, we have. I am a fan ... =) Joshua
Posted by jfm30204, 01-15-2005, 01:27 PM
I'm confused. Are you really trying to say that this statement means something OTHER than what it says, which is clearly that live chat is available 24 hours per day? JFM
Posted by ioZoom, 01-15-2005, 03:04 PM
Now you have me confused. That statements means that our technical support is available 24/7 via live chat.
Posted by niyogi, 01-15-2005, 03:52 PM
JFM: I think that the confusion is about departments really. Customer service (from what I've read so far about this thread) is open during business hours and 24x7 support for existing customers at HostingZoom is open well...all the time. :-) Roj
Posted by manolson, 02-18-2005, 08:51 AM
SilverSting, I just like to mention that I tested the 24 hour live chate for tech support at hostingzoom.com/support/ and the service was the best Ihave ever seen. A real linux guru chat with me for a very long and carefully answered all my questions regarding their service. ... at first I was a little mixed up about how to get to the 24 chat, as you were, but aside from http://hostingzoom.com/contact.html being a slightly confusing, I think you slammed them a little hard. I am also trying to decide now between them and varhosting. All my research shows that both are very good companies.
Posted by manolson, 02-18-2005, 09:11 AM
Dear silver sting, regarding the chat you posted with varhosting: I have so far had pretty good experience testing their 24h chat. I thought i would ask the same questions you did... and what-do-ya know: You''re connected to sales representative - Bob Bob: Hi, how may I help you? user: can you supply clients that currently use your reseller plans and also use your support for their clients? user: I am considering signing up Bob: I can give one example, www.nexionhost.com. user: Thank you user: do you provide server stats/uptime for the past weeks and/or months ? Bob: You can see the server stats when you login to the the WHM. user: ... no I mean historical data of uptime for your servers. Bob: We are not providing this at the moment. user: ... Do you have any approx idea how much down time there has been on your servers over the last months? Bob: In the past few months we have not exceed 45 mins of down time as yet. user: So, your claim is that you have not exceeded 45mins per server of downtime in the last say, 3 months? user: correct? Bob: Yes, that's about right. Bob: For a clearer picture you may email sales@varhosting.net.
Posted by axe9, 02-19-2005, 03:35 AM
I must say, I am EXTREMELY pleased with the chat I had with Roj of VARhosting.net. Informative. Answered all my questions. Personal, fast, friendly, knowledgable. I brought up concerns, he related, and gave the reasons and methods they use to address the concerns. Also, that I got to actually talk with the owner of the company one-on-one was excellent. Didn't try that HostZoom place.. might in a bit. I'm still disapointed with HostGator's sales staff... They don't know the company polices (Some do, some don't), don't seem enthusiastic, and don't TRY! When talking to Roj, I could tell he had a genuin interest in talking to me. But the 4-10 minute response times of the HG rep I talked with left me feeling naglected. I'm leaning more and more to VARhosting.net. Though, I'm wondering if anyone has any negative feedback for VARhosting.net I'll keep looking, and post an update. [edit] On ending my conversation with the HG rep, I said "Thankyou for your time" And the reply I got was "Ok". With Roj, I got: "Roj: Thanks Benjamin. You take care yourself and feel free to drop back in to chat with us." Who do you think made me feel better about talking to them again?
Posted by ricardosanX, 02-28-2005, 07:29 PM
I've been with varHosting for a week or so now. No complaints on support. Chat guys know what they are doing... Raj shows flexibility (eg. installed the cPanel proxy scripts to allow access on port 80). I'm waiting for them to add ModernBill next month, then plan to bring more accounts across. Richard
Posted by AlexClifford, 03-01-2005, 12:42 AM
I signed up with Varhosting 2 weeks ago. I am just about ready to launch my site and go live with the end-user support. Up until now Varhosting have been 100% supportive for me and extremely responsive. Roj, Bob is my favourite techy , although do let him know I'm dissapointed that he knew Boonie was a Tassie but not Ponting! I have used Live Chat Support a total of 18 times since I first heard about Varhosting a month ago until this day. Each time there was a techy available and always very helpful. My only suggestion to Varhosting would be to send a personalised email to a new reseller to point out all the features they have purcahsed and how they can go about setting them up. Although I have now almost got Varhosting support to setup everything, I had to request them seperately and this took numerous Live Chats (all of which were fast and responsive of course ). What would be really good is if you employed a dedicated Sales rep or two. They could be responsible for contacting your new resellers, either over IM or Email, and help them 1 on 1 to setup their purchases services etc, (whether it is helpdesk, billing software, ticket system, etc) Keep up the good work Varhosting! (and talk to you soon Bob! )
Posted by countrytyme, 03-01-2005, 06:43 PM
If I am not mistaken you should have received something from Varhosting.net that your account was setup successfully. This has all the details in it necessary to start up your reseller account. Setting up a helpdesk, billing software and ticket system should really be the responsibility of the end-user. I had 2 billing software systems on the go. The first took 6 months to finally put online. The second one I purchased was up in 5 minutes, but it is the first that I am using. It's all part of a real learning experience and you certainly remeber a lot more when you do it yourself. Don't get me wrong, I always appreciate the help, but never expect to have it done for me. Consider it a plus if they do. Just remember, you may one day have a client asking the same of you and you don't know how to do it.
Posted by AlexClifford, 03-01-2005, 08:50 PM
Howdy! You must have misunderstood me sorry. I have received all my information like you said. What I was meaning was a more person to person run down of the helpdesk/billing/ticketing systems. Since I purchased these as an extra and they are run by Varhosting.net I had to get them to set them up, (they weren't software that was available to me just to download). I hope that clears things up, thanks.
Posted by countrytyme, 03-01-2005, 09:03 PM
I won't say that I totally misunderstood. Just out of curiosity, does the installation not have a docs file or readme? If not, then I can surely understand why you suggest what you did. I better stop here because it's been a very long day and I can't make sense of what I want to say anymore.
Posted by AlexClifford, 03-01-2005, 10:55 PM
I'll explain again. The extras I purchased require leasing from a third party company, and I'm paying for it through Varhosting. So I don't actually own the license, therefore I don't have access directly to the installation files, therefore Varhosting had to obtain this for me and install it. This is why I had to request the extra purchases software to be setup. Hope this clears things up.
Posted by niyogi, 03-02-2005, 02:13 AM
AlexClifford, Good suggestions - going to work on folding this into the program. The extra charges that customers order we aren't specifically notified about (because Lpanel wasn't designed that way). However, we'll figure out a workaround so that things are smoother and customers are proactively contacted instead. I find that the first few days are the most confusing for customers but after that, things are much better. Apologies for the issues you faced right at the beginning though! Roj
Posted by AlexClifford, 03-02-2005, 02:36 AM
Hi Roj, Things could be folded together yes, but everything ran smoothly for me, just had to use the support a number of times, but its always fast so no one can really complain Good luck working out a new strategy for getting new resellers fit into your surroundings more comfortably.
Posted by SeanFromIT, 04-20-2006, 01:49 AM
Back to the original question: you wanted to try out a reseller who is using Var Hosting's provided support systems. You can checkout my site at www/.hotspottech/.biz and look at the Contact page for my link to their live chat support or look at the Help Desk page for my link to their support ticketing system. I've been with them for going on a year now, and they've been very supportive helping me get it all set up. Feel free to test it all out for yourself!
Posted by hfohrman, 04-21-2006, 03:39 AM
I have been with Bungeecode (That is one of Roj's brands selling the UK server) that uses the same setup for support as Varhosting. I se the online chat as support questions for endusers (and myself). They have been online more than 97% of time during my time on the system. Also the support ticket system works good. It is setup on your domain with a database for just your calls. They have a login and you have your own login. In the ticket system they have 3 different groups. When a call is logged on any group a mail is sent to me. When a call is logged on group "Technical Support (24x7)" it also goes to VarHosting support team. And they normaly respond within an hours. (I have had round 20 calls) So they do not take any calls in presale and billing that is good as they can not solve that. And in Technical Support (24x7) I can take it if I se it and like to take it. They also have a FAQ that you can direct customers to. pls take a look at my site http://webhosting.bokskogsbacken.se/support.html
Posted by swflnetworks, 04-23-2006, 06:02 AM
Uh.. Thread.. Is.. A YEAR.. OLD!

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