I did a search and found a few posts related to "who is the best hosting company" theme. Most of these didn't provide much meat as to WHY they considered their hosting company so good. Just comments like "I'm very happy with X" or "I've had luck with Y". I wanted to set some standards and see who is really a great hosting company.

Forget the "squillion GB for only $2.95" bargains. Hosting is much more than price.

How does your host stack up as regards technical support. Example: you need a specific software installed for a job. How quickly do they react to solve your problem? Do they understand what it is you require on the first go 'round (assuming your request was clear)?

How intuitive is their control panel? Easy or hard to use. Any bugs in ther system or smooth going etc.. etc..

Ten years ago I started using pair.com. I tried at least 8 others during this time trying to save a couple bucks and every time I was disappointed with their service/CP whatever... I've found pair.com servers and service to be exceptional. However I am sure many of the more experienced websters have other sources. I'd like to know about them.

Sorry if this sounds like a blatant plug for pair.com but it's not. I would love to find other good quality sources of hosting so I can have various options I can recommend for clients.

www.sectorlink.com

I've been with them over 5 years (which is more than most hosts have even been around!)

Not really sure about their control panel, since I have about as much use for CPanels as Rosie O'Donnell does for Weight Gain 4000 (BeefCAKE! BeefCAAAAAAAKE!)

I've had my dedicated box with them since December of 2003, so I can install most things myself. If I can't do something or think I'm gonna screw it up though, I get them to do it and they respond quickly and well.

Their last major bug that affected me was in 2003, just before the infamous Northeast US power outage. A hard drive crashed on one of their servers and it took a few hours to get everything back up and running. Since then, though...smooth sailing.

I know it's not a one-man show because at least three employees have the same first name and different last names (and voices). There are three Jasons (including the owner) that I know about and a Brian (who's a really smart accounting-type dude.)

They've sent me business over the years...kickass.

Hopefully, that's enough of a why.

Obviously I'm not really in a position to provide a response to this as such.

However, I felt compelled to say that I agree with the sentiment and examples offered by seolman, and as part of a hosting company striving to achieve greatness it really bugs me when people only consider price/features without looking at the bigger picture of service quality (including intangibles like support etc.).

Looking forward to a really good thread here - I'll try my best to sit quietly and watch from the sidelines