Many a time we've seen threads arise due to 'poor support' and slow turnaround times.
Whilst there's the unavoidable fact that the provider can be slow to respond, it's always a good idea to make their understanding of your problems as clear as possible.
Keep the upper hand by giving them all the tools they need to resolve your ticket as quickly as possible.
These pointers are written from my own experiences with receiving support and giving support.
1. Read Their Terms Of Service
It's important for you to get a grasp on what you can/can't expect from your provider.
Although you should do it before ordering services, have another read through just to make sure your request is reasonable.
The vast majority of providers on this forum are unmanaged which means besides the hardware and network aspects of your server, you're on your own.
If you're having an issue with a particular piece of software, they'll be unable to help you however may point you in the right direction to get help. Better still, you can always ask on forums like this when you're having an issue. Generally speaking, people are pretty helpful in diagnosing, troubleshooting and resolving server related problems.
2. Appropriate Ticket Priority & Title
Although your problem may be annoying you, unless the server is completely offline refrain from using 'High Priority'.
Questions regarding upgrades, downgrades and cancellations should realistically be placed under the 'Low Priority' category.
Performance issues, depending on the severity should be Low/Medium priority.
Try and keep down to a few words, 'Slow Network Throughput', 'High Disk Latency' and 'Service Cancellation' are directly relevant to the problem at hand. Y U NO MAKE HAPPY' probably won't be too helpful, neither will 'YOU'RE LOSING ME MONEY'.
3. Clear & Polite Language
Although their service might be a tad awful at the time, you'll be talking to human beings. Remember that how you interact with them will influence how they interact with you.
Try to be courteous, don't give them an excuse to lower the priority of your ticket.
If English isn't your native language, it may be a good idea to first attempt to articulate your problem in English, but write the same below in your native language. If the employees are having trouble understanding you, a quick Google Translate might be able to clear things up.
4. Provide Relevant Information
Provide evidence for your problem - This may be in the form of benchmarks, traceroutes or outputs from other statistic generating programmes. Also, make it clear that it's an ongoing and not a sporadic problem by generating your evidence at different times.
5. Be Patient
If you're dealing with an unmanaged service, understand that there may be a wait until you get a response.
Response times may be dependent on your timezone, the provider's timezone, whether it's the weekend or not, public holidays, etc.
6. Be Appreciative
As pathetic as it may seem, it's important to maintain your relationship with your provider. If you're a nuisance, they'll remember it.
In the future you may really need them on your side, for example if you're the victim of a DDoS attack; don't give them another reason to kick you out.
If I've missed anything, give me a buzz and I'll add it on.
Whilst there's the unavoidable fact that the provider can be slow to respond, it's always a good idea to make their understanding of your problems as clear as possible.
Keep the upper hand by giving them all the tools they need to resolve your ticket as quickly as possible.
These pointers are written from my own experiences with receiving support and giving support.
1. Read Their Terms Of Service
It's important for you to get a grasp on what you can/can't expect from your provider.
Although you should do it before ordering services, have another read through just to make sure your request is reasonable.
The vast majority of providers on this forum are unmanaged which means besides the hardware and network aspects of your server, you're on your own.
If you're having an issue with a particular piece of software, they'll be unable to help you however may point you in the right direction to get help. Better still, you can always ask on forums like this when you're having an issue. Generally speaking, people are pretty helpful in diagnosing, troubleshooting and resolving server related problems.
2. Appropriate Ticket Priority & Title
Although your problem may be annoying you, unless the server is completely offline refrain from using 'High Priority'.
Questions regarding upgrades, downgrades and cancellations should realistically be placed under the 'Low Priority' category.
Performance issues, depending on the severity should be Low/Medium priority.
Try and keep down to a few words, 'Slow Network Throughput', 'High Disk Latency' and 'Service Cancellation' are directly relevant to the problem at hand. Y U NO MAKE HAPPY' probably won't be too helpful, neither will 'YOU'RE LOSING ME MONEY'.
3. Clear & Polite Language
Although their service might be a tad awful at the time, you'll be talking to human beings. Remember that how you interact with them will influence how they interact with you.
Try to be courteous, don't give them an excuse to lower the priority of your ticket.
If English isn't your native language, it may be a good idea to first attempt to articulate your problem in English, but write the same below in your native language. If the employees are having trouble understanding you, a quick Google Translate might be able to clear things up.
4. Provide Relevant Information
Provide evidence for your problem - This may be in the form of benchmarks, traceroutes or outputs from other statistic generating programmes. Also, make it clear that it's an ongoing and not a sporadic problem by generating your evidence at different times.
5. Be Patient
If you're dealing with an unmanaged service, understand that there may be a wait until you get a response.
Response times may be dependent on your timezone, the provider's timezone, whether it's the weekend or not, public holidays, etc.
6. Be Appreciative
As pathetic as it may seem, it's important to maintain your relationship with your provider. If you're a nuisance, they'll remember it.
In the future you may really need them on your side, for example if you're the victim of a DDoS attack; don't give them another reason to kick you out.
If I've missed anything, give me a buzz and I'll add it on.
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