5 March 2008 Wednesday | 1:28 | -
Apart from the main page, you won’t be able to access all other pages on cruzteng.com for the time being.
Guess who screwed this up? My webhost! I had them check why my stats page wasn’t functioning. They rectified one problem and created another. Well done.
I could pass you their contact if you’re keen to:
- have lengthy telephone conversations with their technical support staff who flatly refuse to help you because they don’t understand the problem. They have to realise that closing the browser and rebooting the system ain’t the key to everything.
- explain to them how unprofessional it is of them to ask for passwords over unsecured channels and delay their action because you refuse to send them your password via an email;
- wait up to two days before they realise they are not ever going to have your password, then therefore access the site through their own means;
- be surprised at suggestions that access was denied because you forgot your password.
It took me seven emails over five days before they were certain that I did not forget my password and proceeded to do whatever they should have done five days ago. If I could tell you what should have been done, I would be on the other side of the help desk and not sit here with a helpless look caused by their apparent inefficiency in dealing with my problems and amazing talent at screwing up my site which more than 2,000 people visit daily. (Close to 3,000 on Monday with a few hundred new visitors streaming in after they googled that terrorist’s name.)
I wouldn’t be so mean to publish their name on the front page. But if you leave a comment… …
Oh. You would have to wait for them to resolve the issue before you can do so.
On a totally irrelevant but happier note, my secret project has been approved! I’m going to work myself (happily) to death for the next couple of weeks!
That will mean that I’ll be much more grouchy. And when Cruz Teng gets grouchy, the people who received my money for one year of webhosting and fail to deliver “reliable service” as promised on their website will bear the brunt.
EDIT: Ok, everything’s working now!
EDIT 2: Correction. The site’s ok. But once again, I can’t access the stats page. How wonderful.
i hope it isn’t “f o c u s h u b” !
ya grouchy n snappy n all the unmentionables have been wagging their tails already
hurhur*
悲慘的éé‡. ä½ ä¸æ˜¯ç¬¬ä¸€å€‹..!
Sometimes I just don’t understand, what’s wrong with the management of companies?
Just because we paid already, doesn’t mean we are not the priority!
im still contemplating whatever action should i take.
GRRRRRR
ARH!
Just in case if you are wondering. my 悲慘的éé‡ story is located at my nickname’s link. Read if you are interested.
i too need suggestions on how to handle this.!
Ai Ya.. so common already. You are not the only person who encountered this. All operaters will tell u the same thing… If they can push will push (Tai ji). Feedback so many times and still the same. Haizz….
So what is the company name? Can mail me in private also can! Cause I am going to sign up for a package !
Another company in the limelight for bad service. They should be ashamed of themselves
haha.
another bad service.
hmm. jia you for the secret project ya! hehe
well.. at least I’m having no issues with my provider for the past 4 yrs. =) I can help you troubleshoot if you want.
cruz: thanks shuyun. i’ll email you when the current contract expires. meantime, they will HAVE to solve the prob
maybe they want some attention from the public through your site?
Tsktsk. Change webhost! 8|
“see open abit”~~~
Hey Cruz, am one of your fans but i am disappointed with your post. I was formerly a system admin 3 years back working in in a hosting company in the east. I have to say that Singaporean customers have not always been the most understanding of all. They demand the sky and refuse to believe the technical aspects of web hosting. This is unlike some customers i have handled from Europe/US/Australia who are very patient.
Will quote you an example:-
For a singaporean customer, You tell them that the server is ‘down’ and they are like – ‘why ? what is the problem…i want to speak to your manager, etc’
For a European/American/Australian customer, they will be like “Ok, fine. Do bring it up as soon and thanks !”
I have also asked the passwords from my customers. As unprofessional as it sounds, this is sometimes important to try and create the same environment that our customer is having. There is NO WAY for a system admin to retrieve your password as it is in encrypted form on the server. What a system admin can do is to reset your password but this causes more problems that a typical singaporean customer will start questioning why there was a need to reset the password in the first place.
Changing hosting company is a good solution but do perform background checks on a company before signing up. For instance, always find out how long a company has been in business, etc. There are 1001 hosting companies in singapore but only 4-5 are very reliable (excluding singnet/pacnet/starhub) and will probably still be around in the next 15 years. The new kids on the block basically run of a single machines they call a “server” and have minimal expertise. Not forgetting many other hosting companies that are resellers and do not even own a server in the first place.
By the way, how much are you paying your hosting company every month ?
sometimes, web hoster is like tt de. they thought they know everything.. but yet they know nothing… xi nu xi nu… hahaha being angry will only add more wrinkles to you… later u no longer forever 18 le. hahaha.
this is to shaun.
I can’t believe you call yourself a system admin when you advocate the act of customers telling other people their password. Password is something personal and confidential. They should never have been passed around like a storybook, whether to their system admin or even to their spouse.
Much of the scamming online involves website that phish for user’s password and private information. So much has been mentioned about not letting other people know your password, even system admin. Yet, here you are, telling people that it is ok to have system admin ask for password.
A good system admin does not need the user’s password to create the same environment causing the problem that the user is facing. Even if there is a need, it would have been more prudent to suggest the user change to a temporary password so both the system admin and the user can resolve the issue together.
In cruz’s case, I do not think there was a need to have the password to see the source of the problem. Average user like you and I could have seen that half the site was down without any of us knowing cruz’s password!
Singaporeans are not as all you have said. It would be immature of you to have generalised Singaporeans because of the few unpleasant encounters you had. Most Singaporeans I encounter are friendly and understanding. Particularly in areas which are not their expertise, they ask questions and strive to understand instead of making slamming statement as you had done.
This having said, I am glad I am a Singaporean, where we are proud of our country. Inperfect we may be, we are still ranked top by expats for being the best place to be in!
HI CJ,
1) I shall not dispute your comments on the password issue. A good system admin – no matter how skilled – is still constrained by the limitations of the system. Please don’t blame the system admin if the system does not allow him to go in with a password
I certainly asked all my customers to reset their password temporarily for me to go in …
2) I am glad i am a Singaporean and i still fly back to Singapore every year for my Army in-camp-training (though it would be easy for me to defer till i ROD). Its not the country but the ethics of people in the country itself.
3) I certainly don’t mean to generalize my comments but look Singapore really need to improve as customers. If you expect the cashier at the counter to smile at you when you make a purchase, then it is just right that you reciprocate.
Going over to an entirely different matter, check this out:- http://comment.straitstimes.com/showthread.php?t=9538