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Do you offer 30 day Money back guarantee?
| Posted by rbrowme, 05-23-2005, 08:14 PM |
| One thing I have noticed recently is the amount of web host that are dropping the 30 day month guarantee.
It used to be that every host had that with no execptions now it seems that some host don't even bother with that anymore.
I would like to know your thoughts on offering a 30 day moneyback guarantee , if it works or if you just end up getting a bunch of tire kickers who go from service to server every 30 day's? or do you get a lot of frauds?
Last edited by rbrowme; 05-23-2005 at 08:19 PM.
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| Posted by BF-Gary, 05-23-2005, 08:16 PM |
| My guess is that it was adopted as a way to seperate themself and then everyone started doing it. Then people abuse it by dropping the 29th day. I guess the real question is that the type of customer they want to have?
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| Posted by rbrowme, 05-23-2005, 08:18 PM |
| yeah that is what crossed my mind. If I offer a 30 day policy I dont want to attract the type of people that will just cancel on the 29th day no matter how good the service is.
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| Posted by BF-Gary, 05-23-2005, 08:23 PM |
| We do offer it because our target market wants it. We very rarely have people that abuse it though.
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| Posted by ldcdc, 05-23-2005, 08:38 PM |
| I so suspect that particular markets are prone to abuse by unscrupulous customers.
Trouble is that many customers are so accustomed with such guarantees being present, that they expect them even when they're not there. They're very suprised and upset when after say 20 days of what they consider "testing period", they ask for a refund only to find out they're not going to get one.
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| Posted by cartika-andrew, 05-23-2005, 09:03 PM |
| This is the exact reason we havent dropped it. Although its not something that has been abused with us (as of yet) - I do see the potential for abuse - and frankly, the first month with a new client is the most expensive for a provider (at least for us). I dont necessarily think it is the providers responsibility to assume this risk - however, as Dan so correctly indicated - consumers are accustomed to this privilage. Personally, I think the 30 day SLA money back guarantee model makes more sense - but for now - status quo
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| Posted by okihost, 05-23-2005, 10:16 PM |
| I have always offered it, The only time it has ever really been used is when a client signs up for a package without mysql and is expecting it and decides to move to someone who provides it for a cheaper rate.
This has happened 3 times in the past three years and one other which canceled on about the 7th day and gave no explanation.
Also something I find cheesy about some 'guarantees' is they require you to fill out a form of exactly 'why' you were not happy. Personally I wish them the best of luck and ask for any feedback regarding anything they did not like or suggestions on how I can improve.. thats it no test to get a refund here.
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| Posted by subigo, 05-23-2005, 10:44 PM |
| I offer it... in fact, I normally give a refund to anyone that is unhappy for any reason. (For that month only).
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| Posted by IHSL, 05-23-2005, 11:26 PM |
| I've never been a fan of the 30 day money back guarantee. I don't think it serves much purpose, for both the hosting company, and the client.
We dropped it a year and a half ago, and opted for the full rolling SLA.
Customers may be accustomed to the "30 day money back guarantee" star on a website.. but they are probably also accustomed to bad service.
If you're looking for a '30 day graphic' on a prospective host's websites, you've probably just been burned by the hosting company you're leaving.
I've seen many, many pre-sales questions start with "My last hosting company stung me.. do you guys give money back if i leave under thirty days", or words to that effect. I rarely see a pre-sales question about the MBG that doesn't have some story about how XYZHost.com sucks attached to it.
Simon
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| Posted by SmakDaddy, 05-23-2005, 11:37 PM |
| No.
We do the anytime thing. 30 days each and every 30 days.
No one's abused it yet and she's been done from the start.
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| Posted by WO-Jacob, 05-23-2005, 11:51 PM |
| We offer it because... I think it boosts confidence by the consumer. Our packages really are not cheap enough to attract the people who would abuse it, and it hasn't proved to be a problem thus far.
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| Posted by net-trend, 05-24-2005, 06:09 AM |
| Net-Trend offers a 30day money back guarantee and it never got abused.
RevoServe however only offers a 7 day money back guarantee and if a client uses that money back guarantee, they can no longer be our client again in the future.
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| Posted by EuroVPS/Director, 05-24-2005, 06:26 AM |
| The only problem with 30 day money back guarantee is that there will be customers, many in fact, who will sign up for a server - then use 800GB of bandwidth & ask for a refund at 25 days.
This has happened enough times to make us reconsider our 30 day money back policy. It's quite unfortunate that some have to ruin it for others, however, nobody is in the business to lose money.
It remains my opinion that the 30 day guarantee is a good idea, however it would be nice if people would quit abusing it.
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| Posted by AussieHosts, 05-24-2005, 10:00 AM |
| We've never offered one, the same as we have never offered an uptime guarantee.
A "30 day moneyback guarantee" translates to "we'll work hard to get your account set up, and answer your support enquiries if you have any, but if you find a cheaper deal in a few weeks we'll give you your money back because we don't need to look at the "bigger picture" and ensure that all of our clients are well looked after".
"Money back guarantees" are for things that may or may not work, or may or may not suit the environment that the buyer has been assured by the salesman, is "going to be fine". We know our servers work, they've been kicking over for years. We know how quickly we answer support enquiries. That much is guaranteed. There's no need for us to lose money for keeping things running well.
That said, someone lodged a ticket yesterday and simply said "Guys, I just can't get Plesk to play the game. Any chance of a refund?". He wanted to go back to Cpanel (it is more of a toy after all ). His bi-annual payment was refunded within minutes.
We don't want money that we haven't earnt, but I guarantee we wont stand to lose any that we have. It makes little sense in business, to me, to offer a money back guarantee for something unless you're not sure what you're offering is going to make the grade.
Gary
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| Posted by WO-Jacob, 05-24-2005, 10:19 AM |
| For servers I believe an SLA 30 Day MBG would be more appropriate. Servers can have more expenses associated with them, and definitely more time, so I don't believe the same financial rules should apply for the customer as for shared hosting, and people expecting 30 day MBG 'for any reason' on servers are just being unrealistic.
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| Posted by Aurelian, 05-24-2005, 10:20 AM |
| good answer aussihosts. I like the way you treated the guy with cpanel/plesk.
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| Posted by ldcdc, 05-24-2005, 10:56 AM |
| Gary, you certainly sound like someone I would love to deal with, as I prefer someone with a good sense when it comes to distinguishing right and wrong.
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| Posted by BF-Gary, 05-24-2005, 03:58 PM |
| I guess it depends on your view. I would look at this as we believe in our product so much that we are not worried about providing you your money back.
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| Posted by 2Grumpy, 05-24-2005, 04:58 PM |
| I've had my own 30 day policy blatantly abused a couple times by people but this is far outweighed by how many people I know who sign up because they've heard we do infact stand behind the guarantee, and so it works out as a "good" thing to have even though once in a while it gets abused.
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| Posted by JohnCrowley, 05-24-2005, 06:20 PM |
| My loose translation... "You gotta risk money to make money."
The few that burn you are often largely overshadowed by the larger number of clients that chose you because of such a guarantee. IMNSHO
- John C.
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| Posted by ldcdc, 05-24-2005, 06:25 PM |
| Which is exactly the role of a moneyback guarantee - from the host's point of view, of course. For some hosts it works, for some it doesn't, while for some it simply seems like a thing they simply shouldn't offer. Like AussieBob would say, it's all good.
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| Posted by AntevorteNET, 05-24-2005, 09:45 PM |
| If a customer wants to prepay for a year or more, then I'll offer it to them. It helps me make that sale. If they just sign up for a month then I don't offer it. Worst case scenario is they don't renew and it keeps people from abusing it.
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| Posted by FeatureHosting, 05-25-2005, 01:58 AM |
| I understand why many of you are not big fans of 30 day MBG's. It can cause a lot of agony on the host's side, especially with billing and what not. Further, what AussieHost makes a lot of sense.
However, I feel it is important on the customer side that they are 100% satisfied with the hosting solution they selected. For some, it might be an easy way to get out of a host once they find 'the better deal,' but it also gives the customer the mental feeling that they are secure and can get out of the situation in a worst-case-scenario, heaven forbid!
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| Posted by rbrowme, 05-25-2005, 08:08 AM |
| Perhaps its that guarantee that usually makes a host so good in the begining!!
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| Posted by Aussie Bob, 05-25-2005, 09:15 AM |
| I've offered a 30 day MBG for years, and it's been abused only a small number of times. That could be because of the multiple domain/reseller niche I was (and still am) in, and that folks would be less hesitant to up and move multiple sites, over if they had just the 1 site to move.
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| Posted by Aussie Bob, 05-25-2005, 09:22 AM |
| Yep, it's all good.
If a MBG works for you and your business, the roll with that. If it doesn't work, and you're not comfortable with it, then don't offer it. Either way, it's up to each host to implement policies that work for their business. There's no blanket right and wrong, in this instance, imo.
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| Posted by Mad_Elektra, 05-28-2005, 04:25 AM |
| Not neccessarily. Risking the money can be prevented by not refunding the setup fee, since most of us "did" the setup portion for the customer.
If customers are sincere in "tryouts", why not they risk their small bits on setup fees to go on a month trial on our services? They still get back their money (minus the setup fees). I think it's still a win-win situation here.
Furthermore, we can reduce frauds and spammers in this way - good for other hosted sites on the same server...
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| Posted by ldcdc, 05-28-2005, 09:15 AM |
| But, given a choice, the customer might prefer the provider to assume all risks. It's just human nature.
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| Posted by DediZoneSales, 05-28-2005, 10:32 AM |
| Well, it's true that many people sign up and cancel at the last day and request a refund.. but these are a few things you cant avoid if you are offering the 30day money back.
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| Posted by WireNine, 05-28-2005, 06:44 PM |
| 30 Day money back guarantee, not many dedicated server provided offer that. 90% of the hosts that offer shared and reseller hosting do offer it, including us.
In my opinion it is important to offer 30 day money back guarantee to assure the client that if they are not happy with our services, they are not obligated to stay with us. They can simply leave, no questions asked!
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| Posted by IHSL, 05-28-2005, 07:26 PM |
| Shared hosting, I'd agree that it would seem a quite large percentage offer it (though 90% is a stretch).
Reseller hosting however; I disagree greatly there. Out of the first 10 reseller hosting providers I think of, not one offers a 30 day money back guarantee. Most of them however have sterling reputations, and SLA agreements that are legally binding for the protection of both parties.
Simon
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