Chat with HostGator.com, I Love the Competition

I just had a chat with Andre with HostGator.com. I love chatting with the competition, its funny.

Please wait for a site operator to respond.

Welcome to HostGator! You are now chatting with ‘Andre’
Andre:
Welcome to HostGator, how may I assist you?
Paul:
Do your servers really look like that?
Paul:
Like on http://www.hostgator.com/

in the “shared” and “reseller” and “dedicated” boxes
Paul:
cause I think thats really cool
Paul:
Andre?
Andre:
Hello Paul
Andre:

No
Andre:
They do not
Andre:
That makes the page pretty. Good servers are usually ugly
Andre:
The uglier the better :p
Paul:
oh, so if i signed up for hosting it would be on an ugly server?

Andre:
Yep. Ugly and Reliable
Paul:
oh, the uglier the better? hmm
Andre:
Yep
Paul:
so what kind of servers do you guys use?
Andre:

Dual Xeon 2.4 Ghz + 4GB of Ram
Paul:
thats pretty awesome. i know some hosts put a *ton* and a half of accounts on each server. how many do you guys put on them?
Paul:
cause my current host puts too many on and my site is slooooow
Andre:
It depends on the usage, Paul
Andre:
We do not have a rule for that

Andre:
We analyze it by the cpu load
Paul:
thats my biggest concern, cause a system with like 8 xeons and like 100GB of ram would hold a lot of sites.. cpu load? thats good, what do you try to keep the cpu load under?
Andre:
We simply monitor all the servers.. When we see that the CPU is already its work load (but stable) , we do not put any more accounts on that server.
Andre:
*has already its work load
Paul:

so what happens if i sign up and my site is wicked slow? we are losing business because it takes almost a minute for our pages to load
Paul:
like the static pages go fine, but ones that have some php and mysql take forever
Andre:
It just won’t happen
Andre:
Even if it would, we could move your site to another server
Paul:
oh cool. i think my current host only has 1 server they wouldn’t move us. hey, i think i might try out your hatchling plan can you offer any discounts if i sign up for a year

Andre:
You can only pay yearly if you signup for Hatchling
Andre:
All the other plans can be paid per month
Andre:
Unfortunately there are not discounts for that
Paul:
oh smack, thats like the cell phone companies
Andre:

What?
Paul:
ok, well i’ll think about it then. i just dont want to get burned again. you’ve been most excellent, thanks
Paul:
you know the cell companies, they get u locked in and rake you
Paul:
i dont want to get raked anymore
Andre:
Ah

Andre:
That is only for hatchling Paul
Andre:
Because the price is too low
Paul:
ok, what would you recommend and what can you do for me?
Andre:
You mean what plan?
Andre:

Well, if you prefer to pay monthly, the Baby plan should be ok (it is our best seller, by the way)
Andre:
You can host unlimited sites under that account
Paul:
i wouldnt mind upgrading but if u guys burn me then i get burned for less with a cheaper plan u know
Andre:
I understand that Paul
Andre:
80% of the web hosting companies are not even legal businesses

Paul:
what are they?
Andre:
That is why everyone worries when buying hosting
Andre:
Resellers
Andre:
HostGator.com, LLC is a legal company with its offices in Boca Raton, Florida
Andre:

If you search the web you will find many many positive reviews of HostGator
Andre:
We work hard here, 24/7
Paul:
argh. they just want my money dont they. you sound pretty reputable
Paul:
how many years in business?
Andre:
Since 2003, Paul

Paul:
thats only 2 years, are you guys profitable? Can I expect you to be around for a while?
Andre:
Yes we are Paul, 15,000 customers
Andre:
We cannot just disappear
Paul:
Thats a lot of customers.. uh oh you are cutting out. can you hear me? I think my internet is going out.. hello?