I’ve recently purchased a new domain with an Austrian TLD (.at) for a new project, more information of which will be revealed here soon. Perhaps due to habit, I always buy my domains from 123-reg* and then move them over to Heart Internet*. So, on 15th May I trot over to Heart, buy my new Austrian domain and then attempt to change the nameservers. But computer said no:

Nameservers for ****.at were not changed to
ns.**************.com and ns2.**************.com

Error text: Authentication Error.
If you are attempting to modify nameservers for an .eu domain, we are currently looking into this issue.
please try again later.

Apart from being a bit miffed they couldn’t recognise I was trying to move a .at domain, not a .eu domain I carried on trying then headed over to the new support website and posted a ticket. I’m not much of a support ticket kind of guy, I tend to find solutions on my own via the web or asking people but in this case it was required. Being a full-time internet guy who’s used to real-time updates and fast information, as well as past experience with support tickets at other internet companies such as Heart, I expected a prompt response. Wrong again.

Apart from the relatively rubbish automated response that tried to direct me to answers that couldn’t solve my problem, I had to wait until the 21st May for a response. That’s almost a week, a bloomin’ eternity in internet time, especially when I wanted to get my new project going! The ticket didn’t even solve the issue, it merely mentioned the incident had been passed to product development. Oh joy, it had now turned into one of “those” incidents. On the 24th May (almost 10 days now), I got a new ticket saying the issue had been solved. Hurrah! Off I go to my control panel, change the nameservers and…ah. Computer says no again.

Nameservers for ****.at were not changed to
ns.**************.com and ns2.**************.com

Error text: Command not supported.
If you are attempting to modify nameservers for an .eu domain, we are currently looking into this issue.

Now I’m miffed. 10 days, 2 updates (3 if you include the automated response) and no solution. I was seriously contemplating just moving all my domains over to Heart and start buying them there and attaching them to the hosting straight away. It would be a lot of hassle, but if I’m going to get grief from 123-reg, it might be worth it.

But…wait! On 25th May, I received a ticket saying it’s been solved, the nameservers changed and I should wait 24 hours for the changes to propagate. 24 hours later and the domain has now been moved and is happily sitting, waiting for my new little project to be launched upon it.

Along with the support ticket, I received an e-mail that apologised for the delay (due to high volume of calls and e-mails, naturally) and that they had even tried to phone me which is a personal and kind gesture from a company that has made me wait 10 days for a solution.

And then on top of that, I received a new support ticket titled ‘Is everything OK’ from a support agent who had spotted my unimpressed Tweets and associated the profile with my 123-reg account. I don’t think I’m even being followed by said support agent or 123-reg (which looks like it’s either being squatted unsuccessfully or woefully unutilised). I found this quite amusing, especially since my Twitter account has a link to this website, where a contact number is actually displayed.

So what’s the lesson here?

1. 123-reg – you were very close to losing a customer. Granted, I don’t spend millions with you (and I’ve even admitted I use Heart for my hosting) but I do have a good list of domains, have used you for clients and you seem aware I have an internet profile (over 200 followers on Twitter! w00t!). Word-of-mouth seems especially important for the ridiculously saturated market of hosting and domains. Plus my domain addiction is only getting stronger; I’m planning on buying many more over the coming months. Please don’t make me wait so long again :tounge:

2. 123-reg again – If you’re watching Twitter, use your own Twitter account to communicate with us! If it’s being squatted, get it back. I wonder how many hosting companies do communicate with their customers and potential customers on Twitter. It must be on a weekly basis where someone asks on a forum or other social networking site “What hosting do you use?” etc. Customers are there ready for the grabbing!

3. Everyone – you’re not necessarily being watched on the internet but it’s damn easy to connect the dots. Someone might be reading what you’re saying about them :tounge: