PowWeb dumps customers–why?

This past weekend, PowWeb entered the Business Execution Hall of Shame for dumping with no notice a top Internet web entrepreneur after having solicited web hosting on the basis of:

• Unlimited bandwidth
• Unlimited disk space

Why would a company so arbitrarily and capriciously dump a loyal customer of 6 years with no notice?

One could speculate that PowWeb makes certain assumptions about how much bandwidth and disk space it expects a “typical” customer to use.  It is likely this web entrepreneur exceeded the norm, perhaps by a very wide margin.

What has happened in the last 6 years to the Internet?

Two important factors are driving the need for more and more bandwidth and disk space: audio and video. These factors really didn’t exist 6 years ago and, today, represent a significant drain on resources that normal html web pages do not.

I suspect that PowWeb took a close look at who the big consumers of disk space and bandwidth were amongst their customer base and unceremoniously dumped them to protect the infrastructure needs of their other clients.  It may well be that a very small number of customers tied up a sizeable chunk of PowWeb’s infrastructure capacity.

Is this excusable?  No.  PowWeb remains in our Business Execution Hall of Shame for its actions.  It is horrible to dump a customer with no notice.  They should have given notice and a reasonable period of time to migrate to a new web hosting company.

It is not realistic for PowWeb to offer the “earth, moon and sky” at the lowest price in their market particularly given the way the Internet has involved to require more and more bandwidth and disk space.  It is not, as has been proven here, a sustainable business model for them.

The question is who within PowWeb’s customer base is next to go if not now, next week, next month, next year?

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

PowWeb Enters Business Execution Hall of Shame

I received disturbing news this morning from a top Internet marketer and entrepreneur, Nerrisa Oden (also known as The Video Queen):

On Thursday, http://www.freevideocoding.com,  was shut down without warning. I saw the situation this morning and began working with my webhost of 6 years to get it back up. But they refused citing it had exceeded its’ unlimited bandwidth amount.  (I’m not making this up!)

“Just upgrade me,” I said.

“No. We don’t offer upgrades,” powweb.com said.

So I immediately changed to another web host company. During this process http://www.freevideocoding.com was offline. Currently it’s new servers are being propogated across the Internet. It’s happening fast so everyone should have full access by the end of the day Saturday.

I am also moving these websites:
http://www.freevideoediting.com and
http://www.videocodemaker.com

Again, the interruption in service should be minimal and well worth the move. I am just sorry that it happened suddenly and without warning.

It takes about 48 hours under the best of circumstances to migrate web hosting to a new Internet service provider if you have time to plan for it.

To cut off a customer of 6 years with no notice who is operating within the published parameters of “UNLIMITED Data Transfer” and “UNLIMITED Disk Space” is absolutely unforgivable.

By the way, if your Internet business is dependent on PowWeb, caveat emptor–let the buyer beware!

For this action, “PowWeb, The Perfect Hosting Solution,” is hereby entered in our Business Execution Hall of Shame!  Congratulations, PowWeb.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

Manufacturing sector still wobbly

From the Associated Press comes this report yesterday, the 25th of September, 2009:

Durable goods orders, a key indicator for the manufacturing industry, fell unexpectedly in August. The Commerce Department said orders for goods expected to last at least three years slid 2.4 percent, after rising 4.8 percent in July. Economists polled by Thomson Reuters had forecast an increase of 0.5 percent.

It was the second drop in three months and the latest sign that any rebound inside the nation’s factories is likely to be slow.

While some may want to declare that the worst recession we have ever experienced is over, there are indications that we have a ways to go.

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com

Manufacturing Sector Growth After 19 Months

The U.S. manufacturing sector grew in August for the first time in 19 months as new orders from customers jumped to the highest level since late 2004.

The better-than-expected reading Tuesday by the Institute for Supply Management showed the highest number for its manufacturing index since June 2007.

What is your company doing to prepare for the coming turn-around?

Dave Gardner, Gardner & Associates Consulting

http://www.gardnerandassoc.com