So Bill and I are in the process of moving RBLibrary over from 3shost to our new babbage-tech server, and I realized today that we are totally justified in moving our hosting. 3shost used to have top-notch customer service. Oh how the might have fallen.
I don't usually post personal correspondences since I find that to be rude and childish. However, I am making an exception in this case just to illustrate a point.
I initiated this exchange by asking their helpdesk a seemingly simple question:
I'm looking for a way to change my DNS settings as I am moving to different hosting services.Thank you,
Aaron Ballman
They responded with a seemingly simple answer which I didn't get:
Hi there,You can request domain transfer & we will authorize the transfer process
Is this clear for you ?
To which I incorrectly responded:
Please set the DNS addresses to:ns1.baggage-tech.com
ns2.baggage-tech.com
ns3.baggage-tech.com
ns4.baggage-tech.com
ns5.baggage-tech.comThank you.
~Aaron Ballman
Now it gets fun... Their response was:
Hi there,What is this ?!
We did not ask for any DNS , We asked to request domain transfer to different registrar .
Our response was SO CLEAR
You can transfer the Whole domain to different REGISTRAR .
We will authorize this transfer .
We hope that you get it this time
Well then... I guess that clears things up, right? Well, now I'm a bit snippy...
Oh. Thank you for the CLARIFICATION. Please change the registration to Network Solutions. THANK you now that is is SO CLEAR.
To which I get a response:
ohhh.YOU request domain transfer from whatever registrar . It is your domain name . We are here to help you even moving away . So Again YOU go to ANY REGISTRAR & request domain transfer Clear for you this time or not yet ?!
By this time, my thinking cap is back in place and I realize that I need to initiate the transfer request myself (duh), and go to network solutions to get it done.
What an entertaining exchange, eh? I know I was being exceedingly dense (not on purpose), but come on... when I start to see phrases like "we hope you get it this time" I tend to stop thinking quite so clearly.
I'm excited for the new hosting service (and newly redesigned site thanks to Bill's awesomeness). Hopefully the transfer will be "approved" soon enough so that we can switch the DNS settings to the new site and be up and running.
That baffles me... that kind of response seems so "not-kosher" in any service based industry...
weird.
You're telling me! I was shocked to see that sort of a conversation. I didn't think a professional company would employ people like that...
The first reply, while not very bad, wasn't very good. By closing with "Is this clear for you now?" implies that it should have been clear to begin with and that you are too stupid to see that. Also, in that reply, it looks like the kind of answer you could have found on the website. Your first reply looks to me like a request to change.
And if the responce was SOO Clear, then they wouldn't be having this problem. They repeated themselves, remaining unclear. The question is "how" and they are saying request it. You request it, and they get mad because that isn't how you should request it.
Oh well. Good customer service gone bad. Reminds me of a blog I saw a while back about verizon and not knowing math...
Aaron, you should seriously think about posting this exchange and a final review on Webhostingtalk so that others considering that service can make an informed decision.
Bluntly, it sounds like your tech support person was not a native English speaker. Given the above, the "is this clear for you" was probably not meant with malice.
And yes, when changing registrars, you have to:
1. unlock the domain name from the old registrar
2. request transfer of the domain name from the old registrar via the new registrar
3. lock the domain name upon arrival.
However, you shouldn't need to change registrars just to change the DNS from one web host to another.
Like Christian said, you don't need to transfer the domain to change the DNS!
Be careful to whom you transfer your domain(s). I use RegisterFly.com as my registrar for my domains and I'm happy (so far) with them.
That's what I thought too! But I'm more than happy to transfer the domain to get it away from those nut jobs. The 20$ transfer fee is worth it -- I wonder if that's "clear" enough. ;-)
Hmmm.... let me check the whois of the domain...
Oh... now I think I understand. The domain was not registered on your name and was registered under their name "3SHost":
Registrant:
3SHost
160 Holden ROad
Pine CIty, NY 14871
US
Domain name: RBLIBRARY.COM
[snip]
Registrar of Record: REGISTERFLY.COM, INC.
Record last updated on 18-Nov-2006.
Record expires on 26-Nov-2007.
Record created on 26-Nov-2005.
and you needed to transfer to other registrar in order to become yours... and you are now trying to transfer it to Network Solutions. Is this correct?
Anyway, Network Solutions is an expensive registrar. On RegisterFly.com you pay $9.99 for a new domain, $8.99 to renew and only $6.99 for a transfer with 1 year extended.
From this page on NS
https://www.networksolutions.com/domain-name-registration/pricing-chart.jsp
it seems the renewals at Network Solutions costs about $34.99/year! (they don't say anything about renewals so I presume the price is the same). Also on NS if you need to make the domain whois details private you must pay $9/year - on RegisterFly is free!
And BTW... 3SHost registered the domain on RegisterFly, and it would be much more easier for you to open an account at RegisterFly and do the transfer. I'm not sure, but I even think you could use the "domain push" tool they have to get the domain into your account with no costs, if 3SHost allowed you to do a domain push from their account.
Suggestions:
1. Next time do not register a domain via a hosting company because some companies register the domain on their own name. Open instead an account in one of the registrars and register the domain in your own name.
2. If you have already paid for the transfer to NS and want to avoid those expensive prices, wait about 2/3 months and then open an account at RegisterFly registrar for example and transfer the domain to them. I think NS does not have any cost for domain transfers, but it wouldn't surprise me if they had.
What are you talking about? This post should have been SO CLEAR. ;-)
Clear for you this time or not yet ?!