6 ms·

Desperation: Go Daddy calling customers, begging them to stay

172 points by thatdrew 15y ago

zoowar 15y ago
Stick to your guns. If you decided to leave, leave. Teach corporations that they must serve customer interest at all times. Let Go Daddy be the example.
- robryan 15y ago
  Yeah I don't think a retraction should change anything, it s clearly a damage control measure I don't for a second think they have suddenly backflipped on a position they have taken up strongly and worked to form the act.
- thomasgerbe 15y ago
  Agreed. It'd be nice if people continued sticking to their guns with other issues. i.e. Net Neutrality and AT&T, but if this is a first step, I will take it.
- jayliew 15y ago
  They called me up too and told me they reversed their SOPA stance and I told them if they have to wait for customer backlash to do their right thing, it's already too late. On a separate note, I think they're a lightning rod for the anti-SOPA crowd now. GoDaddy is now an example for other SOPA supporters
- ChuckMcM 15y ago
  Its a tough choice. If you stick to your guns then GoDaddy says "Gee it doesn't really matter what we think they left anyway." and go back to their SOPA money. Or people don't leave after they switch and they internalize that they have to be a bit more aware of their customers concerns and get better. Of course there could be no level of 'customer' rational discourse at all they could just be trying to mitigate the damage and move on. But one would like to believe they could be trained by rewarding them for good behavior. Just sayin'
  - viscanti 15y ago
    It's not really about GoDaddy, or what their future position on SOPA might be. It's that if a company shows that they are clueless, people choose not to deal with them. I don't think many people actually "believe" that GoDaddy changed their official position. They're just not publicly stating that opinion because it hurt their wallet. It serves as a lesson to other companies in the future. Unless GoDaddy becomes the most outspoken opponent of SOPA, their public opinion on the matter is irrelevant. Some companies need to be reminded that their actions have consequences. It's not much of a lesson if the only consequence of a poor decision is that they have to go delete old blog posts and make a meaningless gesture.
  - Adaptive 15y ago
    This isn't behavioral modification. You don't need to reward GoDaddy for this change in stance after threatening punishment. Let me state that again: You are under no obligation to pat them on the back so they don't feel sad that customers are still leaving and so go back to their old ways. If it were that easy for them to reverse (again) this decision, do you think they warrant a pat on the back in the first place? They are engaging in a craven, cynical ploy to retain customers. There are no market-rules you need to play by. If you think that GoDaddy still stinks after this quick shower, walk away. And I for one think they still stink.
  - jlarocco 15y ago
    I think it makes the point even better if people leave anyway. They may have changed their mind, but they only changed it after their original stupid decision pissed everybody off. If they lose money over it maybe they'll think things through a little better next time.
  - chris11 15y ago
    GoDaddy didn't just support this. It has been actively reported that in the current form Sopa would exempt GoDaddy. So GoDaddy realized that the legislation could potentially hurt their business, but decided to support it while it was only used against some competitors. http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/sopa-hearing-will-never-end.php http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/sopa-hearing-wi...
iamandrus 15y ago
There's no reason to use GoDaddy anyway. There are a lot of better domain hosts out there (Namecheap, Name.com, and more).
- kennu 15y ago
  Does Namecheap have automatic credit card billing for renewals nowadays? I wouldn't consider it "better" if it still doesn't.
  - acabal 15y ago
    Shockingly, no. A few months ago I started registering new domains with them, and was very surprised that you had to buy credits for your account instead of having an auto-renew. I went with name.com instead when moving from Godaddy today. Name.com is about the same price as Namecheap, and they do appear to have automatic billing. The only nicer thing about Namecheap was the cheap SSL certs you could get with a domain purchase.
    - aiscott 15y ago
      I went with name.com as well. With the "NODADDY" coupon you get 10% off on transfers. My .coms were 6.65 I think.
      - iamandrus 15y ago
        I use Name.com as well. Excellent interface, support staff, and easy-to-use website.
yuhong 15y ago
Do anyone has stats on exactly how many domains were transferred so far?
- digitalsushi 15y ago
  I will be looking for a Christmas Plateau on a netcraft report sometime in early February.
  - rosser 15y ago
    Plateau or canyon? (Maybe even abyssal trench?)
mythz 15y ago
Well to their credit begging is a better PR strategy than "it's not noticeable impacting our business, so we don't give a shit". Although it appears that GoDaddy were to be exempt from SOPA, so they were just pro-actively pushing a law that would only affect their competitors: http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/sopa-hearing-will-never-end.php http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/sopa-hearing-wi...
Adaptive 15y ago
Do not think for a second that they were unaware of what support for SOPA meant. The lesson for them and others only gets stronger the more continued damage is done. Every registrar and SOPA supporting business watching this should see GoDaddy continue to lose customers despite this superficial about-face. We're really not this stupid.
dangrossman 15y ago
I know I'm not the first to ask this, but I'm still having trouble figuring out who to move to. 1) Namecheap has been the most recommended on HN. They don't take American Express and they don't offer auto-renew. Going back to manually checking and renewing domains every month after years of not having to do that feels like using rotary phones again. And they'd be my only business expense not on my Amex card. 2) Gandi.net gets mentioned in every thread, but they're in France, people have commented on trouble getting phone support because of a language barrier, and they're expensive. That extra $150 a year it would cost me compared to GoDaddy/Namecheap is a lot to waste. 3) Moniker has some very concerning reviews since some kind of management change, about silent price hikes and lying customer service. 4) Hover.com seems to have a rep here advertising, but I've never heard of them and they're too expensive given that fact. Is name.com all that's left? That's the only other one I see recommended in these threads, despite some less than ethical practices of their own, like hijacking the * A-record of your domain for ads if you host DNS with them.
- abraham 15y ago
  Check out https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/ https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/. You pay for what you use and they are the most upstanding domain/hosting service I've ever used.
  - dangrossman 15y ago
    Sorry for not being clear, but I'm asking about domain registrars, not hosting services. They're not an accredited domain registrar and I know I'm not the only one that cares about that. I want to deal with the company that controls my fate in the event of a legal issue, domain theft... or if we lose this battle, responding to SOPA actions. A reseller is a bit powerless to help you with those things.
    - abraham 15y ago
      Ah. I hadn't actually realized NFSN wasn't an accredited registrar. http://faq.nearlyfreespeech.net/section/domainregistration/accredited#accredited http://faq.nearlyfreespeech.net/section/domainregistration/a...
andrewflnr 15y ago
So one call was actually reported, and this constitutes "desperation" on GoDaddy's part? Maybe there's more going on (one other person on this thread got called as well), but this story by itself falls far short of its headline. I'm not familiar with GoDaddy's practices, but couldn't the volume of the transfer alone have triggered the call?
- chops 15y ago
  I tweeted[1] yesterday and today I get a call from Godaddy (I didn't take it, they just left a message). I can't imagine that they are literally calling anyone they can trace back to a name, but hey, maybe they are. https://twitter.com/#!/jessegumm/status/150134421612265473 https://twitter.com/#!/jessegumm/status/150134421612265473
  - andrewflnr 15y ago
    But you hadn't actually started to do the transaction yet? Interesting.
ForumRatt 15y ago
They didn't learn a thing from the Netflix fiasco, moron's. Spank their asses and leave GoDaddy.
evandena 15y ago
They weren't "begging them to stay", merely asking if there was anything they could do to keep the customer.
deleted 15y ago
[deleted]
kabdib 15y ago
Just curious: Why does it cost $10 a year to maintain a database entry? Does this aggregate into hosting a DNS lookup service (hardware + bandwidth + support staff)? It still seems expensive for what it is.

172 points by thatdrew 15y ago

Stick to your guns. If you decided to leave, leave. Teach corporations that they must serve customer interest at all times. Let Go Daddy be the example.

robryan 15y ago
Yeah I don't think a retraction should change anything, it s clearly a damage control measure I don't for a second think they have suddenly backflipped on a position they have taken up strongly and worked to form the act.
thomasgerbe 15y ago
Agreed. It'd be nice if people continued sticking to their guns with other issues. i.e. Net Neutrality and AT&T, but if this is a first step, I will take it.
jayliew 15y ago
They called me up too and told me they reversed their SOPA stance and I told them if they have to wait for customer backlash to do their right thing, it's already too late. On a separate note, I think they're a lightning rod for the anti-SOPA crowd now. GoDaddy is now an example for other SOPA supporters
ChuckMcM 15y ago
Its a tough choice. If you stick to your guns then GoDaddy says "Gee it doesn't really matter what we think they left anyway." and go back to their SOPA money. Or people don't leave after they switch and they internalize that they have to be a bit more aware of their customers concerns and get better. Of course there could be no level of 'customer' rational discourse at all they could just be trying to mitigate the damage and move on. But one would like to believe they could be trained by rewarding them for good behavior. Just sayin'
- viscanti 15y ago
  It's not really about GoDaddy, or what their future position on SOPA might be. It's that if a company shows that they are clueless, people choose not to deal with them. I don't think many people actually "believe" that GoDaddy changed their official position. They're just not publicly stating that opinion because it hurt their wallet. It serves as a lesson to other companies in the future. Unless GoDaddy becomes the most outspoken opponent of SOPA, their public opinion on the matter is irrelevant. Some companies need to be reminded that their actions have consequences. It's not much of a lesson if the only consequence of a poor decision is that they have to go delete old blog posts and make a meaningless gesture.
- Adaptive 15y ago
  This isn't behavioral modification. You don't need to reward GoDaddy for this change in stance after threatening punishment. Let me state that again: You are under no obligation to pat them on the back so they don't feel sad that customers are still leaving and so go back to their old ways. If it were that easy for them to reverse (again) this decision, do you think they warrant a pat on the back in the first place? They are engaging in a craven, cynical ploy to retain customers. There are no market-rules you need to play by. If you think that GoDaddy still stinks after this quick shower, walk away. And I for one think they still stink.
- jlarocco 15y ago
  I think it makes the point even better if people leave anyway. They may have changed their mind, but they only changed it after their original stupid decision pissed everybody off. If they lose money over it maybe they'll think things through a little better next time.
- chris11 15y ago
  GoDaddy didn't just support this. It has been actively reported that in the current form Sopa would exempt GoDaddy. So GoDaddy realized that the legislation could potentially hurt their business, but decided to support it while it was only used against some competitors. http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/sopa-hearing-will-never-end.php http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/sopa-hearing-wi...

iamandrus 15y ago

There's no reason to use GoDaddy anyway. There are a lot of better domain hosts out there (Namecheap, Name.com, and more).

kennu 15y ago
Does Namecheap have automatic credit card billing for renewals nowadays? I wouldn't consider it "better" if it still doesn't.
- acabal 15y ago
  Shockingly, no. A few months ago I started registering new domains with them, and was very surprised that you had to buy credits for your account instead of having an auto-renew. I went with name.com instead when moving from Godaddy today. Name.com is about the same price as Namecheap, and they do appear to have automatic billing. The only nicer thing about Namecheap was the cheap SSL certs you could get with a domain purchase.
  - aiscott 15y ago
    I went with name.com as well. With the "NODADDY" coupon you get 10% off on transfers. My .coms were 6.65 I think.
    - iamandrus 15y ago
      I use Name.com as well. Excellent interface, support staff, and easy-to-use website.

yuhong 15y ago

Do anyone has stats on exactly how many domains were transferred so far?

digitalsushi 15y ago
I will be looking for a Christmas Plateau on a netcraft report sometime in early February.
- rosser 15y ago
  Plateau or canyon? (Maybe even abyssal trench?)

mythz 15y ago

Well to their credit begging is a better PR strategy than "it's not noticeable impacting our business, so we don't give a shit". Although it appears that GoDaddy were to be exempt from SOPA, so they were just pro-actively pushing a law that would only affect their competitors: http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/sopa-hearing-will-never-end.php http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/12/sopa-hearing-wi...

Adaptive 15y ago

Do not think for a second that they were unaware of what support for SOPA meant. The lesson for them and others only gets stronger the more continued damage is done. Every registrar and SOPA supporting business watching this should see GoDaddy continue to lose customers despite this superficial about-face. We're really not this stupid.

dangrossman 15y ago

I know I'm not the first to ask this, but I'm still having trouble figuring out who to move to. 1) Namecheap has been the most recommended on HN. They don't take American Express and they don't offer auto-renew. Going back to manually checking and renewing domains every month after years of not having to do that feels like using rotary phones again. And they'd be my only business expense not on my Amex card. 2) Gandi.net gets mentioned in every thread, but they're in France, people have commented on trouble getting phone support because of a language barrier, and they're expensive. That extra $150 a year it would cost me compared to GoDaddy/Namecheap is a lot to waste. 3) Moniker has some very concerning reviews since some kind of management change, about silent price hikes and lying customer service. 4) Hover.com seems to have a rep here advertising, but I've never heard of them and they're too expensive given that fact. Is name.com all that's left? That's the only other one I see recommended in these threads, despite some less than ethical practices of their own, like hijacking the * A-record of your domain for ads if you host DNS with them.

abraham 15y ago
Check out https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/ https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/. You pay for what you use and they are the most upstanding domain/hosting service I've ever used.
- dangrossman 15y ago
  Sorry for not being clear, but I'm asking about domain registrars, not hosting services. They're not an accredited domain registrar and I know I'm not the only one that cares about that. I want to deal with the company that controls my fate in the event of a legal issue, domain theft... or if we lose this battle, responding to SOPA actions. A reseller is a bit powerless to help you with those things.
  - abraham 15y ago
    Ah. I hadn't actually realized NFSN wasn't an accredited registrar. http://faq.nearlyfreespeech.net/section/domainregistration/accredited#accredited http://faq.nearlyfreespeech.net/section/domainregistration/a...

andrewflnr 15y ago

So one call was actually reported, and this constitutes "desperation" on GoDaddy's part? Maybe there's more going on (one other person on this thread got called as well), but this story by itself falls far short of its headline. I'm not familiar with GoDaddy's practices, but couldn't the volume of the transfer alone have triggered the call?

chops 15y ago
I tweeted[1] yesterday and today I get a call from Godaddy (I didn't take it, they just left a message). I can't imagine that they are literally calling anyone they can trace back to a name, but hey, maybe they are. https://twitter.com/#!/jessegumm/status/150134421612265473 https://twitter.com/#!/jessegumm/status/150134421612265473
- andrewflnr 15y ago
  But you hadn't actually started to do the transaction yet? Interesting.

ForumRatt 15y ago

They didn't learn a thing from the Netflix fiasco, moron's. Spank their asses and leave GoDaddy.

evandena 15y ago

They weren't "begging them to stay", merely asking if there was anything they could do to keep the customer.

deleted 15y ago

[deleted]

kabdib 15y ago

Just curious: Why does it cost $10 a year to maintain a database entry? Does this aggregate into hosting a DNS lookup service (hardware + bandwidth + support staff)? It still seems expensive for what it is.