Cert.'s expired
Submitted by Wayne on Mon, 2008-10-06 13:20.
Technology
I know TuscanyCircle's SSL certificate is expired. I renewed it weeks ago but was unable to load it onto the server due to some problem introduced by my webhoster, likely as a result of last year's NOC move. I filled out a help ticket on Sept. 19, but it seems nothing has progressed. I've not heard anything in response, nor has any visible condition changed (other than the ticket getting put on HOLD). Not long ago, the new support facility wasn't even working, so I had to use the legacy one. Now, the new one is working, so I've duplicated the help request in the new facility, too, though I've still not heard anything.
One year ago, their response would have been fairly quick--although their understanding of cacert's SSL certificates has always been wanting--but I don't know what's taking so long presently. It's possible the support workload is still quite large. Of course, six months ago, when I had this same problem, their response was at least better than it has been now, yet the support workload was surely larger then than now (if it's a result of the NOC move last year). Besides, I'm sure they could spare 30 seconds to tell me what's going on. I'm just as frustrated as you must be with the expired-cert warnings you're getting when trying to log in.
I had wanted to avoid putting my webhoster's name here in the hopes they'd get their act together soon. As much as we're crawled by the big boys, this would permanently link their name to this poor support experience. However, there has been no response on this matter for 17 31 days. Hours after filing a second, high-priority ticket today (since I have users who cannot log in), I've still received no contact at all. I feel potential customers need to know what to expect when they choose 5dollarhosting as their webhoster.
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Found a human at 5$
Submitted by Wayne on Wed, 2008-10-15 06:08.
I finally reached a human at 5$, but he was unable to fix the problem. Again, Craig (5$ owner) has been notified.
The human I reached said there are issues with both the old and new help ticket systems. Notification of "admins" (Craig & Terry) either doesn't work at all or is flaky. He felt sure, though, that Craig should have been notified, since I filled out help tickets on both the old and new support systems. He was at a loss as to why Craig had not responded in any way in almost four weeks. (I'm also at a loss as to why he has also seemingly ignored a private message to him about this support trouble.)
I recommend all help tickets be followed by a phone call--repeated phone calls, if necessary--if a satisfactory response is not received within a few hours. Craig has mentioned that call volumes are high and has repeatedly requested phone calls be avoided. However, with the apparent, technical glitches in their online system, there's no way to know that anybody will receive your request for assistance.
The jury is still out on 5$ support, since my SSL cert. trouble is unresolved. I don't know why first-level support made no attempt to contact me, nor do I know why Craig has not responded to numerous attempts to contact him. Satisfactory answers to these issues would go a long way to redeeming 5$.
Still no contact with 5$
Submitted by Wayne on Fri, 2008-10-17 08:13.
Since I talked to first-level support and learned that the issue had been escalated to Craig (and has been waiting on him since the beginning), there's still been no contact. It's been four weeks now with no sign of Craig. Even his first-level support guys are befuddled by Craig's silence. Given his history of top-notch support, I wonder if something tragic has befallen him. If so, it's quite strange his own support team is unaware of it. I think I'll try contacting his wife to see if all is well (she handles billing, orders, etc.).
Craig and Terry
Submitted by Wayne on Mon, 2008-10-20 07:32.
I've heard nothing from Craig nor from Terry about Craig. I have no idea what's going on. My ticket is over a month old, but there's been no word from Craig this whole time--not a peep.
Cert fixed!
Submitted by Wayne on Mon, 2008-10-20 14:08.
It looks like my expired certificate has finally been fixed! I haven't heard anything from Craig yet, though, and I'm anxious to know what happened with that huge delay. Nevertheless, the problems seems to be corrected! Yay!
Craig's alive and well
Submitted by Wayne on Tue, 2008-10-21 06:45.
I heard from Craig. He is indeed alive and well. I won't go into all the details, but there was indeed a confluence of several problems that resulted in a bizarre black hole into which my tickets kept falling. Craig is now more aware of these and will be fixing them over time.
One of the factors was indeed a grave illness in the family. Please pray for Craig and his family as they deal with this.
Still no contact from 5dollarhosting
Several more attempts to make contact with tech support have failed to reveal any humans. (I get automated responses only.) In addition to my help tickets, I've also posted on 5$'s forum, asking of others' recent support experiences and any status on 5$. Then, I sent a message directly to Craig, the owner, to see if he and his are alive and well. I'd hate to be insensitive if a personal tragedy has befallen them, but with no contact at all, it's difficult to know what's going on.
I look forward to the possibility that this is an uncharacteristic fluke that won't be repeated. I'd gladly include their explanation here. Until I learn otherwise, though, the simplest answer is the most likely: unacceptably bad support.