CI Host

[JeremyV]

Yeah, I had a few experiences with them in the past. They sucked. There was billing problems, many mysterious charges on my credit card, and you would have to go through about 20 hoops to get them to actually cancel your account. Not to mention all of the fine print in their TOS that can really catch you off guard. Oh yeah, and I forgot to mention, they just delete mysql databases for no reason at all if they get too big or your site is even somewhat busy. Not only that, once they delete it and you ask for it back via backup, they don't give you a .sql dump file, but the raw database files... and this is all after about 2 weeks of begging and threatening them to give you your data back :D

I could go on, but I don't need to.

[Robert]

Was this a virtual account you had with them or a dedicated?

[interactive]

<title>C I Host | #1 provider of managed Web hosting services for small and medium-size businesses</title>


Very funny :clap: :rofl:

[Robert]

They gotta be doin something right to be able to have 5 different office locations (despite we all dislike them).

[interactive]

Well they could just rip a ton of people off. Just like iPowerWeb or whatever that company is, they suck majorly but advertise a ton and therefore have a ton of customers. Remember the bigger they are the harder they'll fall..

[allan]

Originally posted by Robert:

They gotta be doin something right to be able to have 5 different office locations (despite we all dislike them).

Lots of advertising in places that hosting companies cannot traditionally afford to -- not to mention premium advertising on most hosting directories.

[JeremyV]

This was a shared account, but a fairly high end one, not the "SPECIAL" they offer that never ends :D

[jbiz718]

They were my first host. Even though I really do not like them, I think they have got better.

[FindSP.com]

hehe - a CI Host thread is a must in every hosting forum :)

[DarktidesNET]

I almost picked up a box there a few months ago. Good thing I didn't.

[JeremyV]

They were also my first host quite a few years ago. But over time I realized there was better solutions, so I went elsewhere. Then, I thought I would try them again, but as I explained, many problems. Also.. you know how they have those free gifts if you pre-pay for a year? Yeah, you NEVER get those. Even after calling them and emailing them... never will you see those gifts.

Not to mention if you do encounter downtime and ask for reimbursement, your tickets will go unanswered. Actually, anything that is their fault and if you try to contact them about it, good luck getting anywhere :)

[proxy]

I have also unfortunately had a run in with CIhost, i'll never make that mistake again.

[kunal]

Originally posted by jbiz718:
I think they have got better.

:nono: I don't think they have improved at all. They arent very response for any kind of work. I have worked for them on a couple of internal projects. Their responsiveness is appalling.

kunal

[jbiz718]

Well obviously as I left them because I had some problems with them, and you mention yourself having problems, I agree I wouldnt use them again.

I also think though they have a hugh customer base and some very satisfied customers. A bad company would not be in business still and retain the customers, CI host from reports grows in good numbers still, they are doing something right.

[proxy]

I think the only thing they are doing right is advertising.

[Hoobastank68]

Originally posted by Stealther:

I think the only thing they are doing right is advertising.

They sure have the money to do so, they have many customers but they still have a bad reputation, and yes i know no one likes them around here or WHT. :D

[tim_p]

yeah I was a customer of CIhost at one time. It's true, there's a crapload of hoops you have to go through to get them to cancel your account.

At some point I was so damn pissed off, I felt like flying out there an bringing my rocket launcher with me. They're just agrevating. But I gotta mention this is a while back, they may have taken steps to fix some issues. Although I highly doubt it

[jyt]

I personally had one bad experience with them, and I know lots of people that did as well. When I joined them, they say they could what I wanted them to do, which was an sql server with coldfusion and the control over my own databse files + custom CFX tags which was the most important, so I joined, then they couldn't do the CFX tags, then I couldn't create the proper sql or access relationship, etc, etc. SO i ask for a refund in their 30 days money back, but of course I lost the setup fee which is none refundable. One last thing, I had to call twice to finally get the refund on my credit card. How's that for good relationship.
Crap I may say.
So now I have my own win2k server which I host here in Montreal with Parangon.net which rent space from Peer1 and the service is pretty good, but I still had to come up with $2000 and by my own single space rack server.

[intellec]

Originally posted by allan:

Lots of advertising in places that hosting companies cannot traditionally afford to -- not to mention premium advertising on most hosting directories.

Oh, and don't forget the new kiosks at the Malls. They just rolled one out here locally.

[tim_p]

Ah cool, I had those kiosks in mind years ago, I thought I'd deck one of those things out with 10-15 LCD displays all the way around, and probably display different features/access time/prices/packages/etc.. on each display. And put a hot looking (playboy material) blonde wearing a hot pink bikini at the kiosk. Works like a charm if you ask me! :D

[Robert]

At work, we have 5 telephone lines tied into our Telephone system. A few days ago we got a call and it was an automatic message from CiHost, we hanged up. Another call, it was CiHost, this time it was "Jeff" asking if we needed help, while explaining to him we didn't want them calling us, another call came in on another line and it was CiHost AGAIN.

It's insane.

[jyt]

That's it only two lines at once, not bad
Man they most have their shares going down lately, or perhaps they want to sell the company. ;)

[emstro]

Budget hosting is ALWAYS high risk, but it's not always bad.

There are a lot of quality budget hosts, with owners that care about their customers. That's not always the case though. There are a lot of people trying to make a quick buck with no business experience.

[MStar]

I Thought Their Tech Support Was Great... Most Of The Time.
Everything Else Sucks.

(Still A Customer Until I Fix The Other Dedicated Server lol)

[projo]

Even after finally getting my account closed they kept trying to charge my card, for 3 months. I had to report the card stolen since my bank would not block them.

Ahhh. That felt good. I have not had a CIHost rant in some time.
Gary

[tim_p]

lol, that's pretty bad. Why can't so many of these goddamn large companies get their act together and cut it off when you ask them to?

I've changed my friggin address with my bank 3 years ago, and I've called in and screamed at them about it at least 6 times, they still send correspondence to my old address every once in a while!!!
It's like can't you just wipe that old address off of my account you goddamn imbeciles!

[projo]

Just got this. Of course I have not transferred or parked any thing at CIHost.


Hello :

Thank you parking your domain MYDOMAIN.com with C I Host. We would like to offer
you a very special offer for web hosting of this domain. This offer is only
good to our Park-It! customers. This is an unbelievable offer because it
includes: 10,000 MB of storage space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited POP3
accounts plus tons more - all for $20.00/month! If you signup by July 31,
2003 we will even throw in 3 free months of service to any quarterly or
yearly contract you signup for - THIS INCLUDES DEDICATED SERVERS! No other
web hosting company has an offer even close to this! For more details please
call our sales team at 1-888-868-9931 (24 hours a day - 7 days a week) or
have your account activated and your logins emailed to you within 3 minutes
of signup. Just mention promo code "PARKITSPECIAL"

*** Hurry -- This is a limited-time offer and it will expire soon. ***

Thank you again for trusting your web presence with C I Host - Your
E-Business Solution.

C I Host

1851 Central Drive Suite 110
Bedford, Texas 76021

1-888-868-9931
sales@cihost.com

[markblair]

Originally posted by tim_p:

Why can't so many of these goddamn large companies get their act together and cut it off when you ask them to?

That's because they think they can. A large company treating customers like garbage is mostly the same as a small company treating customers like garbage. The difference is the small company will fold first due to their size. If 10 people complain to the small company, that could be a huge number for them but for someone the size of CI Host, 10 people mean nothing. Another 100 will probably sign-up tomorrow anyway outweighing those 10.

[projo]

I hope the above is not considered advertising. I don't know what I would have to do to myself if I sent a customer to these guys.

[markblair]

...unlimited bandwidth...

This alone should help deter many people ... those that know better anyway. :rofl:

[tim_p]

a lotta galls for them to be talking about unlimited bandwidth. A company the size and age of CI host should know better not to get involved with crap like that!

[hostthebest]

Originally posted by MStar:

I Thought Their Tech Support Was Great... Most Of The Time.
Everything Else Sucks.

(Still A Customer Until I Fix The Other Dedicated Server lol)

That truly & the Control panel also suck. :banana:

[projo]

Their advertising was so good that I found them before finding any host discussion forums.

[Adam]

Originally posted by interactive

Remember the bigger they are the harder they'll fall..

Oh so very true :)

Originally posted by FindSP.com

hehe - a CI Host thread is a must in every hosting forum

lol :)

Originally posted by proxy

I think the only thing they are doing right is advertising.

I don't think they're doing it right. I think they're just doing it. For example didnt they just pay thousands to advertised on the back of someones head? Pfft! 'nuff said!

[Chicken]

That they did. I don't think you canargue that their marketing deptartment is strong. They advertise havily on any major web directory, in addition to odd things like the back of people's heads (which I personally find asinine, but that's just me). They also send out a press release if they install new carpet in the lobby (well maybe not that ;)), which is probably something more hosts should do. As with anything, there are lessons to be learned by studying any company, both good and bad. It pays to study the products, services, and marketing of *any* large company. You may not make the same mistakes, and yo might get a few new ideas for your own company.

[allan]

You are right about the press releases Chicken. When I ran DCW the number of press releases issued by CI Host significantly exceeded those sent by any other hosing company. Their PR machine seems to be in constant motion.

[Adam]

lol about PR releases...i need to talk with you allan :) Pm sent.

[intellec]

Let's see their PR after they get denied by the US Supreme Court