Rick, Peter, and Catherine are always giddy to serve me. But I’m never that giddy about seeing their fake names and faces flash up in front of me unexpectedly. It’s just like walking in the store and being barraged by salesmen.

It is understandable that companies need a way to help customers with questions. Why not provide an actual support number? How about you have a chat box, but include a large-font note saying, “Click here for instant support.” I’d much rather this than an annoying pop-up.

It is crucial to your website’s success to have a host that offers support, and having a wide variety of support options to choose from is certainly a plus. Some useful support options are:

Email – Check for low response time. You don’t want a host that takes a week to answer emails.

Support tickets – Similar to email, response time is critical.

Chat – Some hosts offer online chat directly from their websites. Test it out to see how often they are online and how quickly they offer support.

Telephone – Although phone communication is less common these days, it is still needed. When you call, do you get a recording, a call center, or an actual technician?

Knowledge base and/or FAQ – Whether it takes the form of a wiki or some other publication, a web host can save itself and you a lot of time by publishing answers to frequently asked questions.

Forums and Community – Big hosts have the advantage of having a large body of users. Some provide forums so that those users can communicate and support each other. Sometimes, this is even faster than traditional support methods.

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As the name implies, managed hosting means the server provider takes care of everything for you. The services available vary from host to host, but will always include traditional server administration tasks like installing software, system reboots, and hardware installation as well as security and general maintenance. Managed hosting is the preferred route for most first-time dedicated server owners, but with the helping hand comes additional costs.

For the faint of heart or experienced server admins, good deals can often be had on unmanaged servers. With this support option, the provider will install the operating system you request and leave the rest to you. You will need to install all necessary software for your site to run, troubleshoot any problems (except hardware malfunctions), secure your server from hackers, and make sure everything stays up-to-date.

Some hosts also offer a semi-managed option that leaves simpler tasks for you to complete, but lets the provider handle the rest.

Strapped for cash, there’s always someone with no computer skills whatsoever who rents an unmanaged server thinking they can learn the ropes along the way. This always ends in disaster. You can always set up a small server to learn with in your home, but in order to keep a profitable website operating, someone somewhere has to know they’re stuff– whether it be you or the host.

1. Be specific.
Support personnel need all the facts in order for an issue to be fixed quickly. What is the problem? When did it first start? Is there anything you could have done to influence the problem? What steps have you already taken to try and fix the issue? What is the error message and number? If applicable, what operating system and web browser do you use?

Answering these questions can help support staff quickly rule out possibilities. If they don’t have to ask you or look around for basic information, the problem will be fixed faster.

2. Tell it like it is.
Nearly all support ticket systems require you to select the severity of the problem from a drop-down menu. Available choices might range from low to high, or non-essential to critical. If asked the priority of your issue, be honest. Filing a “critical” support request because you forgot your FTP login will just aggravate tech support and possibly delay resolution.

Many support systems also ask you to choose a category such as “Sales” or “Domains” when filing a request. Make sure you pick the right one.

3. Be polite.
In a perfect world, everything would work flawlessly. No one likes it when things break and getting down to the root of some problems can be frustrating. However, there is no excuse for being rude. Escalating tensions will just make the problem harder to solve, and if you’re polite, technicians will be more willing to go the extra mile to resolve your issue.

Photo: Flickr