Conversation with IPowerWeb Support

This was my conversation with ipowerweb support today. There is no surprise. Their customer service level is very consistent in the last few years. The conversation was near 1 hour. There are always several minutes to 10 minutes wait between my last sentence and his answer.

Chat InformationWelcome to IPOWER! You are number 15 in the queue. Your wait time will be approximately 7 minute(s) and 30 seconds. We apologize for the wait time. Please hold for a site operator to respond.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to

provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Steven Davidson’
Steven Davidson: Hi . My name is Steven, how are you today?
Steven Davidson: How can I help you today?
wangjianshuo.com: Hello
wangjianshuo.com: My site was transferred to the new platform
wangjianshuo.com: and I cannot connect to the MySQL server.
wangjianshuo.com: What is the new MySQL host name?
Steven Davidson: Okay.
wangjianshuo.com: My original setting was: ObjectDriver DBI::mysql Database wangjian_blog_2007 DBUser wangjian_mtsys DBPassword DBHost localhost
wangjianshuo.com: Localhost seems is different database than the shared server.
wangjianshuo.com: What is the new DBHost setting?
Steven Davidson: To protect your account from unauthorized changes, can you please verify for me the answer to the Security Question:
Steven Davidson: While reviewing your account I noticed that you have not set up the Security Question. In order to set the security question, please follow the steps given below:
Steven Davidson: 1. Log into the Control Panel with your account username and password.
Steven Davidson: 2. Click on the link ‘Set Security Question’ under ‘Account Information’ section.
Steven Davidson: 3. Click on the radio button ‘New Profile’.
Steven Davidson: 4. Enter the First Name, Last Name, and set the Security Question and the Security Answer.
Steven Davidson: 5. Click on the ‘Save’ button.
wangjianshuo.com: OK. Hold on.
Steven Davidson: Okay.
wangjianshuo.com: OK.
wangjianshuo.com: I set it.
wangjianshuo.com: Can you answer my question now?
wangjianshuo.com: The database screen shows my MySQL Server Host is: wangjian.ipowermysql.com
wangjianshuo.com: but I cannot use it to replace localhost.
wangjianshuo.com: What should I do?

(after several minutes)

wangjianshuo.com: Are you still there?
wangjianshuo.com: I cannot find the setting anywhere on your site.
Steven Davidson: Okay.
Steven Davidson: Please provide me with the answer to the Security Question: What is your mother’s maiden name?
wangjianshuo.com: ***
Steven Davidson: Thank you for the authentication.
wangjianshuo.com: This should be a common question, and you should put it onto your web site.
wangjianshuo.com: I don’t believe that no one ever tried to connect to MySQL. But there is no connection information
Steven Davidson: Okay.
Steven Davidson: You need to change the host name for the database in the config.php file.

wangjianshuo.com: What is the host name?
wangjianshuo.com: Which config.php?
Steven Davidson: Can you please hold while I look into this for you? I should have some more information regarding your issue in 2-4 minutes.
wangjianshuo.com: OK.
wangjianshuo.com: Appreciate it.
wangjianshuo.com: I just want to have a database name that works.
wangjianshuo.com: BTW, I don’t use PHP. I am using MovableaType which is PERL

(after more than 10 minutes)

wangjianshuo.com: any update?

(after more than 5 minutes)

wangjianshuo.com: Hello?
Steven Davidson: Can you please hold while I review your account and get back within 2 to 3 minutes?  
wangjianshuo.com: OK. I appreciate that you gave me update every 3 minutes, instead of let me wait
Steven Davidson: Okay.

(after about 5 minutes)

Steven Davidson: Thank you for holding.
wangjianshuo.com: ok
Steven Davidson: You need to change the hostname for the database wangjian_blog_2007  in the path cgi-bin/mt/mt-config.cgi .
wangjianshuo.com: I know. What is the host name?
wangjianshuo.com: That is my original question. Can you tell me what I should put into the DBHost?
wangjianshuo.com: Do you know the answer?
Steven Davidson: Yes.You need to put wangjian.ipowermysql.com
wangjianshuo.com: It does not work
wangjianshuo.com: http://wangjianshuo.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt.cgi
wangjianshuo.com: Check this
wangjianshuo.com: Got an error: Bad ObjectDriver config: Connection error: Unknown MySQL Server Host ‘wangjian.ipowermysql.com’ (2)
Steven Davidson: Okay.
wangjianshuo.com: Then what is the connection string?
wangjianshuo.com: What is the host name?
wangjianshuo.com: That is all I need from you.
Steven Davidson: Okay.
wangjianshuo.com: I don’t believe I am the only customer asking this question. Everyone need it. Would you please check around and give me an answer? I have been waiting here for half an hour and so did you.
wangjianshuo.com: Are you still there? You always seem to disappear.

Connection was lost….

This is the second try:

Chat InformationWelcome to IPOWER! You are number 6 in the queue. Your wait time will be approximately 3 minute(s) and 0 seconds. We apologize for the wait time. Please hold for a site operator to respond.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide t

he answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationWe appreciate your patience. All operators are currently assisting other customers. Please continue to hold and we’ll be with you as quickly as possible. In the meantime, please be prepared to answer your Security Question when we begin chatting. To enhance our security protocols, we’ll need you to provide the answer to your Security Question at the beginning of our conversation. If you have not yet set your Security Question and Answer, please log into your account now to set it up. Thank you for waiting.
Chat InformationYou are now chatting with ‘Steven Davidson’
Steven Davidson: Hi Jian. My name is Steven, how are you today?
Steven Davidson: How can I help you today?
Steven Davidson: Did you receive my last message?
Steven Davidson: I’m sorry, it appears that we may have been disconnected. I am going to close this chat, please feel free to chat with us again.

Chat InformationChat session has been terminated by the site operator.

This was partly my fault since after waiting for one hour, I didn’t catch the 1 minute window, and when I check this window again, the session has already been terminated.

P.S. Please note the interval between every "We appreciate your patience" was set to be 2 minutes. I saw 33 of them during the technical support process.

8 thoughts on “Conversation with IPowerWeb Support

  1. So bad for you! I know what you have been through! That tends to happen with the call centers, at least before you had the certainty when you called to an office, that someone was going to show up and be listening… welll well, thx technology then!

    Hey, JS, one question, what happened to the arrows, that before allowed to move back and forth between the posts? Would they come back hehe?

    I hope so…

    Love, And MERRY XMAS!!!! To you, wendy, the baby and all your beloved ones!

  2. well…. am smiling … Why?

    Only ME (and many others) can feel what wangjianshuo.com was feeling during that hmm illuminated tech support chat!!

    Horrible…horrible horrible service! I cannot believe how bad ipowerweb came to be!

    My website is constantly practicing heavy issues. Support is rather incompetent

    what a pity

  3. It proves one thing – if someone provides really bad technical support, and it still has many customers, it means…. it must have provided some other values – like cheaper package?

  4. Did you ever resolve the issue? How? I’m experiencing the same thing now with one of the sites I have. They transitioned it, said everything was tested and because I host my DNS externally, I switched over only to find none of the database stuff worked. After some useless assurances that it was working (when it wasn’t), I spoke to them in email as if they were 2 year olds, and that seemed to get my simple point across — that the site was down. The came back saying that I need to change my scripts to use nnnn.ipowermysql.com, which doesn’t work either. I actually found your post when I typed in that name in the browser and google brought me back some other possibilities…

    This is the first db driven site to be transitioned, so I’m scared that I’m going to have issues with every single one of them…

  5. In January 2008, I called Ipower Web tech support and was on hold for 2.5 hours before someone came on. I don’t know why I waited this long anyways. Then after about 2 minutes, the call lost disconnected. I called back a 2nd time and was on hold for 30 minutes. I was connected back to the same person as the first time. This tells me they probably only have a few (if not one) tech support guy working. I wanted to do a little test, so I called back and pushed 1 for sales. Within 20 seconds, I had an answer. Well this is a good way to do business. You provide good fast service to your potential customers to suck them in, then after you get their money, just forget about helping them any further! My advise, do not even think about calling Ipower Web Hosting!

  6. I have been with ipowerweb for 8 years. And I have been thinking about moving to “hostgator.com” because of continous tech horrors with it since about 12 months ago. I am reluctant to leave because of the troubles of moving my site which is visited by close to 20,000 visitors each day. However, after reviewing a few sites dedicated to ipower-bashing, I now feel that if I do not leave them now, I might be among the last few customers left before it completely close for business – there is an exdus which is too late for ipower to stop.

    Here is one of those ipower-bashing url.

    http://hostjury.com/reviews/ipowerweb

  7. I have had the same problems with ipower web. I have been working with alot of hosting companies and they have not always been good to me, but IPOWER WEB SUCKS!! its by far the worst hosting company I ever worked with. this new integration to the ” better improved vdeck” sucks!!! it is slower than ever.. If i want to access mysql it take over 20 min to load the page ( on a good day), and everytime I get on the support ( after waiting on hold for over 1 hour) all they say is that they have acknoldged the issue and their engineers are working on it.. 5 weeks later NOTHING HAS BEEN FIXED!!!! I don’t know how they are still in business, I am not paying them anymore.. so if anyone is considering Ipower web DON’T DO IT!!! THEY SUCK!!! go with hostmonster.com or inmotionhosting whatever you do, do not go with ipower you will regrett it .. I promise!!!!

    ~D

  8. i just spent 2 hours with ipower support and i was up sold, told it won work by level one script reading fools, and to have them open a ticket wit teir two.. complete and utter fools.

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