The Deversus Blog

We recently upgraded our web server to a dedicated package with 1&1. After being moved to the wrong type of server, we called 1&1’s customer service department to try and have the issue resolved. Our experience with them was so bad, I’ve decided to write a short article about the importance of customer service and the consequences that even one bad customer experience can bring.

Our Attempt to Upgrade Our Hosting Package with 1and1

The issue, in a nutshell, was that we were misinformed about what server package we were being upgraded to. Being a customer with 1&1 Internet for about 6 years (transferring the account from my old web development business to Deversus in between), we’ve grown to the point where we require a dedicated web server to meet our needs. I used 1and1’s Switch Package feature via their control panel to process the upgrade. The Switch Package experience was awful, at best. It gave a terse listing of the available servers and their associated costs, with no description or links to indicate what the server package contained. After Googleing the package of interest (the 1&1 Dedicated Server Dual-Core M Website), we decided to go with that (as a caveat, the Dual-Core M package description we read was from the 1and1 UK website and is no longer on the US website).

Three days later, the upgrade was complete — sort of. It was at this point that we realized we had been upgraded to 1and1’s “dedicated managed server” and not a “dedicated root server” like we were expecting. We hadn’t a clue that there was even such an option. While one could blame us for not doing our due diligence to make sure of what we were getting, the general lack of information throughout the process was simply unacceptable.

Our Attempt to Resolve the Issue with 1and1’s Customer Support

I first e-mailed 1and1’s support@1and1.com address to inquire about the issue and attempt to have the managed server changed to a root server. After being told that there is no way to stop the upgrade process or change to a root server, and that I would need to purchase a separate server and migrate the files myself, I decided to call their customer support team.

It was downhill from there. I was transferred a total of 7 times, back and forth between departments, and placed on hold for 45 minutes. After trying to escalate the issue, I was told I would have to call their Germany office (which conveniently, was closed for business). The primary conflict was surrounding the fact that their Dual-Core M Website package was apparently no longer available. I was told that I would need to switch to a lesser package, in which case the server paled in comparison to the Dual-Core M, albeit for $10 less per month. Or, switch to the Dual-Core M package — a similarly spec’ed server — for nearly twice the price. Long story short, the best they could do was offer one month free for the Dual-Core L package, which I decided was petty. After an awkwardly long silence, I let them know that we would be pursuing a different hosting provider.

The Moral of the Story

As I so politely asked the 1and1 CSR, “what would you do in this scenario if you were the CEO of 1and1?”, there exists a big picture mentality that most customer service teams are simply not trained in. While perhaps insignificant to the overall profitability to their company, our $59/month over the next five years translates into $3540. This assumes, of course, that we don’t upgrade or add more servers to our account. Not to mention, being a custom software development company who deals with numerous other large companies with extensive server requirements, we are able to bring a lot of potential new business to a company like 1and1. Or what about the fact that I had such a bad experience that I felt compelled to write a blog article about the importance of customer service and the consequences a bad experience can have?

While I don’t hold any one of the individual CSRs I spoke with at 1and1 accountable for the inability to resolve our issue, I am in disbelief that it is possible for a behemoth of a company like 1and1 to instill such shortsightedness into their employee training.

I know that at Deversus, we value our client relationships because they are our lifeblood. We go out of our way to make sure our clients are happy with the work we do for them and if there is an issue, we do anything within reasonable means to resolve it.