By Gabriel Princewill-
Godaddy experienced technical difficulties that affected multiple customers, potentially thousands, their representatives admitted today
The admission came after our technical team were unable to access the site to upload articles for four hours, this being the fourth time in the past year this has happened.
The last time this happened during the Christmas, our services was disrupted for a week between Christmas eve and the New Year. We were compensated by Godaddy the moment the problem was solved, but the compensation did not exactly match our losses during that period.
Today, the dashboard at the back end of our site was unresponsive for a few hours, leading to their expert hosts to escalate the problem in search for a resolution.
A painfully long queue of about an hour also prevented focus on other endeavours while waiting for the highly established hosting site to rectify the defects. This must have set many customers back from their routine engagements.
The irony is that while kept holding, we are forced to listen to a beautiful musical melody punctuated with a periodic statement saying: ” we appreciate your business and can’t wait to exceed your expectations’. Please remain on the line and we will be with you shortly”.
Shortly generally means within 10 mins, but when it exceeds ab hour, one starts to wonder whether the content of the recorded message should be varied to cater for extended wait times.
Shortcomings
Problems of this nature are not a common occurrence with Godaddy, but they are not a rarity either. The shortcomings are in dire need of expert rectification, as they are not conducive to the smooth running of any online business. Godaddy staff acknowledge this; ”the system is not perfect”, their hosting department tell me each time we encounter this type of problem.
When experts need to defer to higher level personnel to solve a problem within their remit of professional training, something is clearly amiss.
Solution
The impact of failings like these are made worse when an immediate solution is not forthcoming and one has to wait for an excessive amount of time before a workable resolution. Neither does it help that several others are equally trying to access Godaddy at the same because they are experiencing a similar disruption to their services, or that Godaddy staff are working remotely because of the pandemic.
Paying customers want to see their services functioning optimally, not incur further losses due to the challenge of getting through to a global hosting network run by a billionaire expected to hire the best experts to solve technical hindrances quickly.
Efficiency
Godaddy staff are always courteous and friendly, but maximum efficiency is integral to an established organisation of their stature. Waiting over an hour to address a technical problem caused by the imperfections of their system is far from ideal. There is no provision for customers to leave a message to be called back; the alternative to waiting to music is leaving the problem unsolved.
Surely, there is a void here Godaddy need to contemplate. Innovation is necessary to minimise some of the problems happening more often than desired. Call backs may not be possible for every customer, but provision can be made for those individuals or organisations prepared to pay a fee for speedy attention when urgent issues arise.
Credit must be given were due, and the hosting provider always do their best to make necessary amendments, but prevention is better than cure.