[geedee77]

Why are people so quick to blog about problems before trying to get them solved? The article clearly states that it was only after posting the original that the Moniker agent was contacted, isn't that the first port-of-call?

I had a similar situation recently where I cancelled my auto-renewal 6 months before the renewal date and my site was pulled (even though I'd paid for the year). I could've blogged about it and tried to encourage everyone not to use the provider, but I just contacted them direct and got a quick resolution. Maybe if I'd had no response I'd have tried to make it public but there was no need as it was a simple mistake.

It seems to me that these days people want to shout out their problems far too quickly rather than try and get them fixed. This is a strange way of getting things resolved.

[wccrawford]

When you've got a problem that is destroying your business, -any- time that you're forced to wait for them to contact you back is costing you money.

I don't blame him for reaching out to every available outlet while he waits.

In this case, he's already got at least 1 post that gives him someone else to contact in the company and get noticed.

And there's probably someone that works there that reads HN, so that's another thing in his favor.

[petercooper]

I have done this a few times over the past 10 years in the most egregious cases. You make a good point and it has been raised to me before.

I did try at least, but Moniker's support site is hideous. It's one of these "read the knowledge base 1001" nonsense sites that try to impede you getting in touch. I did some basic searches for things like "expired" and "pending deletion" with no results from their search engine. And you have to sign up for a whole new account just to use their separate support site..

Separate to that, this does not appear to be a one-off mistake, but a policy. Even if I had the ear of their CEO, I doubt they'd do anything beyond placate me, but this policy could burn a lot of other customers. The more people know about and whine about the policy, the more likely they are to resolve it.

I will concede, however, that I am keen on using my social media skills and connections to highlight things I consider bad. I believe it's the responsibility of the connected few to drive fear of the customer into the hearts of companies in order that they give solid service and that they do not violate their own TOS/contractual obligations. If Moniker had merely double billed me or been rude to me on chat, I wouldn't have written it up. When they take a site down and replace it with spam while I still legally own it against their TOS, that's time to get pissy.