For years, I have bought tons of things online – from big places like Amazon.com to small outfits. For the most part, service has been fine, especially from Amazon.com.
About a month ago, though, things went haywire. In one week, I had three bad experiences with online merchants.
The good news is that two of them were resolved very quickly. In fact, in one case, I knew the CEO. His company, VistaPrint Ltd. (NASDAQ:VPRT), is a fast-growing online printer.
Hey, even those companies that are built-to-last get things wrong. The important thing is how they respond. And VistaPrint was flawless. Impressively, I talked to the CEO a couple hours before his earnings conference call (and, by the way, his company had a blow-out quarter).
But my experience was much different with another company, Network Solutions. The company sells web hosting and domain names. I'm sure I've spent thousands of dollars – over the years – with this company.
About a year ago, I bought some domain names and a hosting account, but I did not use it. So, I wanted to cancel it before everything was renewed.
At first, I tried canceling via email. But apparently, this was against the company's policy. So, I had to call.
The call, too, was a pain. It took awhile to get a human on the other line. Of course, he also tried to get me to renew, such as by offering a discount. A week went by and yes, they charged my credit card for the hosting and the domain names.
I emailed the company – indicating I had called it and still nothing had been done. All I got was a form email in response. Just for fun, I wrote some gibberish in another email and got the same response back.
While a service person tried calling, it was complete phone tag from there.
Yes, it was interesting that – despite the fact they knew I had called to cancel – they still needed to talk to me on the phone. Needless to say, it was very frustrating.
So, over the weekend, I thought I would try a new tactic. I would say I would write a story about my experience. I even showed them how I write for various publications. Wouldn't that get their attention?
Nope. There has still been no response.
Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and operates InvestorOffering.com.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-25-2006 @ 3:39PM
Zune said...
I have had similar issues with NetSol over the years; in fact, it’s a bit of a joke in the Domain Name industry as to just how poor their customer service really is. I own over 500 domain names myself and they don’t treat me any better.
Best wishes,
Kimmy
10-25-2006 @ 3:52PM
Jean-Marie Le Ray said...
Next time try GoDaddy!
JML :-)
Disclosure : I've got absolutely nothing to share with GoDaddy
10-25-2006 @ 5:59PM
Zune said...
You know what Tom, this got me to thinking and I'm tired of companies getting away with these types of “Unethical Business Practices”. So, today I have initiated the transfers for all 36 domain names that I currently have with Network Solutions and I will not be conducting any future business with them.
I would like to take this moment to thank you for reminding me that it’s not good enough to receive immoral service and continue the status quo. This time I’m going to vote with my pocketbook and steal a line from The Donald – Net Sol, You’re Fired!
Best wishes,
Kimmy
10-25-2006 @ 9:43PM
Beth said...
I think their service is great. In fact, with all of the domain name hijacking going on, my Netsol rep explained to me why they need to talk to me and confirm everything that happens to my account.
As a large domain user, I appreciate that and I'm keeping my business with Netsol!
10-26-2006 @ 3:31PM
Zune said...
I find it odd that you would bring up security as a reference point for Netsol as possible reason why you would even consider their tactics as reasonable. They are notorious for being accessible to fraudulent activity. Consider Sex.com as a very small example as to why they are no longer the #1 domain name registrar.
Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sex.com
And, no I do not consider Wikipedia to be an absolute conformation on any given subject; however, with the widespread acceptance among those in the know in the domain name community, that Netsol is incompetent regarding such issues, it seems to me that they’re might be ulterior motives for such a post as the previous.
God Bless,
Kim
10-27-2006 @ 10:01AM
Shelley Rawlings said...
This is Shelley Rawlings, Senior Vice President of Customer Support with Network Solutions.
I usually don't respond or participate in blogs but I happen to come across this one and wanted to reach out to you.
I can completely understand your frustration of not being able to cancel your domain name and web hosting services via email. This is a security measure Network Solutions has put in place to protect our customers against domain hijacking, which is a growing concern across the internet community. We are unable to authenticate your idenity via email and with the rise in security theft, we want to be confident that the account owner is making decisions associated with their account. In our experience, the most effective way to do that is to authenticate our customers by telephone.
Since you selected a feature called 'auto renew' on your account, it is our company policy to charge your credit card 45-60 days prior to the cancellation
date in order to confirm that the expiration date on the card is current so that a customer does not lose their desired name or service. We can and will credit your account once you have contacted us.
It is unfortunate that my team has been unsuccessful reaching you. Based on our records, they have have left six(6) voicemail messages and sent four (4) email messages since Monday, Ocotber 9, 2006 in an attempt to solve this matter. At this time, no one has heard back from you. If you want to have your account credited, please contact our support line at 888-642-9675.
12-08-2006 @ 12:29PM
Terri said...
The posting by Shelley Rawlings is something completely different than I experienced in the last few days. The person I spoke with on the phone ("Bill") and the email I received after completing the survey clearly indicated that I would not receive a refund. I have disputed the charge with my credit card company (AmEx). I don't know what the outcome will be.