I'm with Jeyce. I don't need support all that often (maybe once or twice a month), and it's not on a set schedule (I can go 2-3 months without needing to contact my host).
When I do need support, it's usually for one of two things:
1) I need a domain name added to the host's DNS servers. I update the domain myself, and already have the site prepared on my server (I operate a dedicated box so I can add/delete/run/stop sites myself).
2) I have an issue or question that goes well outside of the norm as far as hosting questions are concerned.
For example, I noticed recently that one of my clients was seeing spam blocker bounce back email messages that were in no way the responsibility of the client (because the original "email" was sent using a mail forward, thus making it impossible for my client to have actually sent the email themselves). Most people will never run into an issue quite like that.
Another thing I might ask is for permissions to be changed on certain files/folders for clients that are hosted through my host but not on my server (some are, some aren't, but it's all the same from a developmental standpoint to me).
For the most part, these are the types of questions I ask not only of a host, but of any organization I need some form of support from (e.g. IBM, Bell Canada, Rogers, etc.) The good thing about this approach is that it allows me to weed out the companies worth dealing with vs. the ones not worth dealing with. The ones that are worth dealing with understand and solve my problem; the ones that don't attempt to pigeonhole me into some problem that was mentioned on page 289 of the employee training binder and that is at best tangentally related to my actual problem.
My host (
Sectorlink, in case anyone's wondering) never tries to pigeonhole me, and I've talked to/dealt with them enough times for them to know who I am and what I'm all about. Rogers is also in the same position; they see from my support tickets that the only time I ever call is when there's an outage, and they actually run an area check first now when I call.
Bell and IBM, on the other hand...no such luck. Every problem I have has to be solved by going through some idiotic steps in a training binder that I've already been through or that don't relate to the problem. "YES, I powercycled the modem. NO, there isn't a router plugged into it, which is immaterial because the DSL light isn't on. YES, I powercycled the modem. I already told you twice, YES, I powercycled the modem." If you want to piss me off and lose me as a customer (and probably a lot of other people for that matter), that's a great way to do it.
I try not to ask too much of any host because 1) I don't want to have to wait for something that I may be able to do myself, and I can do most things myself; and 2) I do try to be a good customer, so that way when I do need help, they know I'm not just some whiner who needs someone or something to complain to.
