Server rentals :: NFOservers.com

A TF2 update came out and I decided to upgrade my VDS core package since the servers had to go down for the TF2 udpate. Well, my servers have been down for almost an hour now. At no point in time was I made aware that the upgrade could take this long. I really feel like that is something customers should be made very aware of before they make the change. Before we can make any change to our package we are taken to a page where we review the changes. It is very surprising to me that for a change like this you don't have a big, red, bold warning message saying that this change could take a long time because of "x,y,z" reasons and that we should either check with you all first or make sure we have "x" amount of time to allow the upgrade to finish without noticeable down time. Same thing applies to any change that would force a server restart. There should be checks to insure that people are well aware of what will happen if they initiate certain changes. I don't know if it's my anal programming mentality taking over here but it just makes sense to me. I'm just trying to offer some constructive criticism here because one of your selling points is "unmatched customer service" and I don't feel that I got that here. I don't understand why this is not something that is already in place. It's a fundamental thing that wouldn't be very difficult to implement in my opinion.

I would like to formally request that you implement some type of warning system for server changes like the ones I spoke of above. A very noticeable text warning would do the trick. Or, prevent them from being made until we talk to you like you do for any change that would result in the deletion of a server. It's like you have good checks and balances for some critical areas and not others :/

We appreciate the feedback and it is always welcomed! Unfortunately the honest truth is that 99% of people completely ignore our confirmation page Adding something like that could help out though.



This is something we already have, if you make any changes to your server such as if it were to delete or remove a server from your package the confirmation page tells you to contact us so we can provide a coupon code to proceed.

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<@TimeX-NFo> Hey, we used to have to carry our packets to the servers.
<@TimeX-NFo> And it was upstream, both ways.

<@TimeX-NFo|away> You're asking the old dude for help?????
<@Kraze^NFo> Yes

I don't ignore it.

And if there had of been a noticeable almost borderline obnoxious warning message on that page or a warning pop-up dialog box informing me of what could potentially/would happen if I initiated the upgrade there is NO way I would have done it. I would have waited until morning when I know I would have had 2 hours when the server would have empty anyway. Not now, when I have tons of my community members waiting, growing more and more impatient.

From a Systems/Programming POV, you should strive to cover all your bases, regardless of how many people you think will pay attention. Because it is small things like this that blow up in people faces and piss them off. Small things like this that end up being a big deal and possible make people think twice about doing business with you.

You should re-read what I said. I said that you already have it in place for any change that would result in the deletion of a server. I was suggesting that you possibly implement that kind of feature for a change like this one that could take hours to complete. Just to ensure that we know what we are doing.

The confirmation actually does already give a warning about exactly this. Here's what it says:


"We talk more about this in our Knowledgebase" is a bold red link there, though it doesn't show that way here in the forums.

Usability is always a delicate balance. We could make the warning bigger or bolder, or even make it a popup or extra checkbox that you need to click to get past, but that would de-emphasize other just-as-important information on the page, make the ordering process more cumbersome, and honestly wouldn't change much -- many customers click through on things without reading them. Since this particular operation isn't destructive, the usability trade-off versus the current warning may not make sense. With server deletions (highly destructive operations), it did make sense to prevent customers from continuing at all, which is why we require a special coupon code for those.

Everything on the confirmation page is very important, and it's a very concise page. I can't stress enough how important it is to read it.

Concise: expressing or covering much in few words; brief in form but comprehensive in scope;

Comprehensive: 1.Complete; including all or nearly all elements or aspects of something

My point here is that you don't say how much time it could take upfront. Your wording is "Please note that VDS adjustments can take extra time." and then you link to the KD thread. I find this interesting for these reason:

Your description is pretty vague. In reality, any upgrade takes "some extra time". That wording doesn't provide a strong distinction between the amount of time a VDS upgrade can take from any other upgrade (Which, as I had to learn the hard way, can significant). Then, there is the KD thread that you link to which is five paragraphs long. And in this thread you don't even start talking about how long the upgrade could take until the 4th paragraph. And that's fine, i guess. But this is where I get hung up. Out of all of the important information in that thread, the only part you chose to highlight on the confirmation page is in regards to the timeframe of the VDS upgrade (again, vaguely though). So, why then, if that's going to be the only part that you highlight, would you not be as concise as possible in regards to that? Why would you require me to go to a seperate thread and read through 4 paragraphs of information just to find out exactly what you mean by "Please note that VDS adjustments can take extra time."? Why not just say how long it could take in that one sentence...since that's the only part your are going to highlight?

Why not say, "Please note that VDS adjustments can take up to 'X' hours in some cases."...then link to the thread.

or

"Please note that VDS adjustments can take anywhere from 20mins to 'X' hours"...then link to the thread

Or several other one sentence combinations that would do a much better job of letting people know upfront exactly how long their upgrade could take.

I appreciate the input. My opinion differs from yours, as I feel that what saying "extra time" on the confirmation page is enough (and best, versus a very general estimate) -- those interested in more information can easily click the link and read the full process, which actually goes over several other items, such as the possible need for IP changes and whether any files will be lost or adjusted, all of which we broke out in the interest of keeping the confirmation page brief. I feel that the vast majority who might be concerned about the time factor will see the message and read it, and that has indeed been the case so far; before we added the message long ago, we had quite a few surprised customers come to us about it, and you are the first one that I've seen since then who has missed it and expressed dissatisfaction.

We're constantly improving systems here, major components of which are developed in-house. At some point in the future, I do plan to implement a system that provides a more accurate estimate of how long it will take for an upgrade, based on the size of the size of the existing on-disk image and whether the customer can be upgraded in place. While it's a fairly simple improvement to make, I have not yet had time to implement this.

Ok John. I disagree with you entirely so i'll just agree to disagree seeing how it is your company. But just because i'm the only person to complain doesn't mean that my point is any less valid or that your current method doesn't need improvement. In the end i'm only talking about changing one part, of one sentence, on one page to make it stand out more and draw more attention to and important highlight on the page. Because again, out of all the important information you cover in the KD thread, that is the only part you make note of on the confirmation page. Or implementing a stern warning system like you have for any change that could erase or delete a server that would kick in for any change that would result in significant downtime.

Appreciate you listening/responding and hope you and your staff enjoy the upcoming holidays.

I think that this does say something about the severity of the situation. I do feel that we would be getting many more complaints if this were a major problem (as we were before).

We're on the same page about wanting something more specific. My next step will be the improvement that I mentioned which checks to see whether this applies to each upgrade request that is made. Customers who don't need to be moved then will still be given the link, but the page will state that it is unlikely to occur unless the situation changes before they trigger the upgrade.

I'm glad to hear that is on your list of things to implement. I think it would be a very good, and in my opinion at least, welcome improvement. I don't think there would be much, if anything, left to be desired at that point. You would have a check to ensure people don't mistakenly deleted or cancel a server. And you would have a check to ensure people don't render their servers inactive for an unforeseen, prolonged amount of time. One is definitely more servere than the other but I classify them both in the same category. This kind of thing would fall under what my boss calls the "no choice" policy. It's a design strategy where you leave users no choice but to be knowledgeable of what would happen if they were to do certain things. So, i'm very glad to hear you are taking further steps in that direction.

As always, thanks for the prompt responses, insight, and assistance.

These improvements have been to the confirmation page. Customers now are told in advance if the server needs to be moved, and how long it might take.