still on hold
Written: Oct 24 '00
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Pros: inexpensive, extensive options, 24/7 customer service, online control panel
Cons: haven't fully integrated Concentric customers
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| monkeyhoot's Full Review: XO |
As I write this, I am on hold, still, with XO. What am I holding for? Someone to tell me why I'm not and have not ever received a bill for the web hosting services (although the money is certainly taken out of my account).
I have been on hold now for about 20 minutes. Customer service with XO is really a game of chance. Sometimes I get someone who is extremely helpful and I have no wait time.
At other times I have waited a long time and spoken with people who I can barely understand. A lot of times XO's e-mails are not in complete English sentences and I have to decipher them.
Why put up with it? Well, XO is cheap. If I could ever get a bill, I'd tell you how cheap...! All I know is I pay $49 a month to have 5 web addresses hosted each with their own e-mail addresses (up to 5 each). I run an NT platform and am under the Pro Plan. I can have unlimited addresses and e-mails and have 100 MB of space. Each domain can have its own e-mail addresses and they can be managed separately but from the same, online control panel.
To add a domain to your account is easy. There is a very useful control panel available online so that I can manage my accounts on my own. To add a new domain, I just have to go to the Add/Transfer option and type in the name. Provided it's available, it's a $37 one time fee and that's that. The only tricky part is the NIC handle which I never know what to type in so I have to call, but other than that, it's pretty straightforward even to us novices.
In the control panel, I can see how much disk usage I have and what I've used each month for each individual domain name. I can also change my credit card info and add new e-mail names to accounts if I want to. Since I'm still on hold as I write this, it's nice that I don't have to call anyone every time I want to change something or add new domain names. I can manage each domain from the same panel separately by just clicking "view new domain." So, I don't have to go to 5 different control panels to check on the 5 different domains.
The bad part is that XO is a little unorganized. This is because I used to be a Concentric customer. But Concentric was swallowed up by XO and they haven't totally integrated us old customers into their options. Before it was Concentric, it was 9NetAve and I was a customer then, too. So, we've undergone two transformations (plus 3 moves of mine to different states). So, my information gets lost in the quagmire. Many times I end up calling all three companies before I get my answers.
When I call XO, they often refer me to a Concentric number but not always. As a Concentric customer, I do not have the option, yet, of acquiring my billing information online and have to call - and apparently wait on hold (I'm still holding). So the main complaint is that they haven't fully integrated old customers.
Wait! I've got a live guy to help me - hold on. Well, the guy was extremely helpful and told me that I will not receive a bill - they don't do that for mere web hosting charges - it shows up only on your credit card bill. So, if you like to keep a paper trail, this isn't for you! And he told me if I wanted more, detailed information about my plan and the charges I could call 9NetAve... here we go again.
I was also told that XO does not offer the Pro Plan anymore and soon I will be offered a "comparable" plan that XO offers. So, I don't know if you can still get a good deal. Their site is http://www.xo.com and they offer dedicated lines, web hosting, e-commerce. Pretty much what they all offer.
Web sites at XO start as low as $12/yr for domain name registration and $19.95 a month for basic hosting (plus $9.95/mo for yourname.yourweb.com emails if you want). There is a $50.00 one time set up fee and the monthly plan usually costs $24.95/mo - it's only $19.95 for a 1 year prepayment. You can get e-commerce packages starting for as low as $44.95/mo.
So, you're looking at a starting fee of $289.40 (that's one year pre-paid hosting at $19.95 and the $50.00 set up fee)and your done for a year. Or, a start up fee of $74.95 ($24.95 monthly hosting each month - since it's only $19.95/mo if you pay for a full year - and $50 set up fee) and then $24.95 each month. It will be more if you want the cool e-mail to go with your cool new site (add $9.95/mo per mail box).
Customer service, as varied as it is, is available 24/7. That's really nice. This is an option that you will want.
They provide DSL, wireless, dedicated and dial up internet options; private data networking options; and for web hosting they offer managed servers, co-location servers and application hosting. Plus they can, if you want them to, design your site. Or, you can design it. They support third party web authoring programs like FrontPage.
I'm sorry that this isn't going to be informative to new XO customers as I don't know if things would be smoother for you coming into it new. I only know that as a past Concentric customer, XO isn't doing a great job integrating me into their system. I feel like a kid caught between divorced parents...
Plus they've recently had server problems and one or more of my sites has been down maybe 4 times in the last month. Granted, it doesn't last long (usually for an hour or two), but there have been a few glitches recently - problems getting e-mail due to downed servers or sites not coming up, etc. I don't know if this is due to the efforts to integrate or not.
But, I'm not going to switch because I like the 24/7 customer support and right now I'm getting a good deal. I have also found that if you call and get a customer service person who isn't helpful, you can call back and usually get someone to solve your problem. Problems are usually solved quickly provided you get the right person to handle it.
Recommended:
Yes
Monthly fees (US$): 49
Platform used: Windows NT
Hosted on Secure Server: Yes
Main focus of Web site: Publishing/Content
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Epinions.com ID:
monkeyhoot
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Member: Joyce
Location: Lawrenceville, NJ
Reviews written: 37
Trusted by: 12 members
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