This Happens When Good Companies Tell Little Lies…
The other day I was reading a post on a popular web design blog. While looking around the site I came across an endorsement for a hosting company. Because I’m interested in finding decent hosting for an upcoming site, I clicked on the link. This company was everything I was looking for - it was damn near perfect. Well, that is, until I got to the final order page.
The site offered hosting for $9.95 a month, with no set up fee. This graphic was taken right off their page.
As a matter of fact, this pricing claim was made on every page I visited… from the landing page through the entire ordering process.
Honestly, it’s a great deal considering everything you get with the package. And, I would have happily paid more.
But then I hit the final step in ordering - confirming the total amount right before finalizing the deal - and it all fell apart.
On the “total to be billed today” page it gave a total for the entire year.
WTF?
Not once did I see any indication that this hosting service was billed annually. Every price related item on the site inferred it was a monthly thing. I mean, look at the graphic above… does that give you the impression you’re required to pay annually?
No, I didn’t think so.
I immediately closed the window and cussed at my computer. I was pissed.
It’s not that I can’t afford the annual fee. I would have still bought this service based off the the endorsement that brought me there…
It was the fact that they deceived me right up until the payment was being made.
THAT little lie pissed me off to the point that I’ll NEVER do business with them. And that included all the other company names they do business under.
If they are willing to screw with me at the very beginning of our “relationship”, I’d hate to see how things go later down the line.
No, thank you.
I’m certain I’m not the only person who has bailed out on the order page in disgust.
People pick up on little incongruencies in sales copy, and if they are bad enough, it will turn your prospect off… forever.
It’s definitely something to think about when you’re proofing your copy before going live with it. Take a minute and check for any inconsistencies. It could make a world of difference in the way you are perceived by your prospects.
How would you, as a consumer, have dealt with this?
Would that little “trick” send you packing? Or, would you have purchased the hosting service from them anyway?
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comment section below. I’d love to hear from you.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Hi. I'm Sean.
Stay Notified:
Archives
- July 2008 (1)
- April 2008 (3)
- November 2007 (2)
- October 2007 (2)
- September 2007 (2)
- August 2007 (1)
Recent Posts
- One Way You Might Be Turning Off Your Readers
- Often Overlooked, Always More Profitable
- Redefining Continuity Programs
- GEICO, Tony Blake, and Reducing Attrition.
- Anatomy of a Phucktard: Don’t be this guy.
Recent Comments
- Carissa (GoodNCrazy) on One Way You Might Be Turning Off Your Readers
- jared on One Way You Might Be Turning Off Your Readers
- leah friedman on One Way You Might Be Turning Off Your Readers
- Sean Mize on Redefining Continuity Programs
- Out Wrong on About
Blogroll
Visitors Online
- 01 visitor(s) online
- powered by WassUp
Actually, I have done the very same thing as what you did for a hosting company that tried to pull the same ‘trick’ on me. I was mostly frustrated due the amount of time you spend shopping their site to see if they have the services that you need and then picking one out, etc. Then bamm! Totally sneaky. Nobody likes a sneak.
Excellent point, Sean. This seems to be really widespread in the hosting industry.
Try Dreamhost.com
Not the best but they are honest and upfront.
http://www.dreamhoststatus.com for status and boy
are they blunt.
Sean, you made the proper decision, and there is no need to pay any company, a year in advance.
I use host monster. They have more features than you can shake a stick at, and it’s only $5.95 / month billed monthly. Their support is live 24 hours a day, and they really know their stuff. I use godaddy to register all of my domains (I think I have 12 or 13 now) the hostmonster.com to host all of them. They allow you 100 mysql databases, unlimited domains and email accounts, and more bandwidth than anyone would ever need.
I won’t post my affiliate link for them here either becase I don’t want you to feel like I’m selling something.
-Steve
Hey Steve,
What is your affiliate link? You can post it here - I think it’s obvious you’re not trying to smap. Go for it.