I wrote the review below just before the end of December 2007. I had
intended to launch Entrepreneurs Review at the start of January 2008. After
spending most of the Christmas holidays dealing with the less than
satisfactory support at Go Daddy I have now slightly changed my views on
this company and also the way in which I conduct my own business. I think for the benefit of things here I will leave the original review
intact. Its unfair of me to change my initial thoughts before the
situation that has slightly changed my mind about certain aspects of Go
Daddy.
It all started when I decided to bid on a .fm domain name. Originally the
guy who was selling the name advertised it through one of the webmaster
forums. As the price of the domain name was getting high and with my
persistence at wanting to own the name it was decided for both our benefits
and protection to list the domain name on Go Daddy’s auction site. I will
review this separately at another time.
On the last day of the auction I set my alarm for round about 03:00 AM UK
time to keep an eye on the bidding and hopefully get the name for a nice
bit of money. At the time I had some great plans for the name and strongly
believe that its a good investment for the future. After reading some
opinions that may have been a bad mistake but who knows. Luckily for me or
so I thought I entered the winning amount.
This is where the fun starts. Its normally a simple a simple enough process when you win an auction. If the name is being auctioned by someone who still owns the names its transferred to the winning bidders account quickly. I you win a name that has been dropped there is a grace period before the name is yours.
The .fm example should have been very straight forward. I won the auctions pass the names to me and we are all happy. However I was informed that with a .fm name as the winning bidder I would need to contact the .fm registry myself and arrange for the whois to be changed. Something similar needs to be done when someone buys a .co.uk name from someone else.
I contacted the .fm registry who then told me it was actually the registrar who needed to d the amendments. As I continued to contact Go Daddy support over the next few day then a week it soon become clear that I would not be buying any .fm names again. I spoke to at least four different people. There were occasions when a new person come back to me with a standard reply. I have a lot of domains through Go Daddy, I just wished that someone could have checked my account and history a bit more before sending a standard reply.
In the end the problem was sorted. However it did genuinely put a damper on my Christmas holidays worrying whether or not the domain was going to be in my possession or not.
In the end the problem was fix. Unfortunately my confidence in the support at Go Daddy was damaged. Its going to take me a long time to build up a trust of their support system again. I am still registering new names with these guys but have held of buying any through auction at the moment.
Below this point is my original Go Daddy review.
I first discovered Go Daddy almost a year ago when I wanted to purchase a
domain name through one of the Internet forums that I am a member of. The
owner at the time had the domain name managed by Go Daddy so for ease of
transfer of ownership to myself I decided to open a Go Daddy account and
progressed from there. One of the first things that struck me about Go
Daddy was the user friendly and very professional web site that they have.
They also sponsor several famous personalities. Probably better know to the
American public but one or two of them are also known worldwide.
For a company to sponsor people of this stature and for these people to want
to be sponsored by a company like Go Daddy goes a long way in reassuring
people like me of the companies goals towards its client base. I strongly
feel that they wouldn’t invest a lot of time and publicity in these people
if their personal goal was not to be the best. I now have over 150 domain
names with Go Daddy. By most domainers standards that’s not a lot. But for
me to put my money into this company does mean a lot for me.
Go Daddy don’t just sell domain names. They also sell and support everything
you need to get your business online. I must admit I don’t host any of my
sites with Go Daddy. They are hosted with another company. The reason is I
simply prefer the way the other company has its hosting interface set up.
It meets my needs better than what Go Daddy does.
The Go Daddy guys also produce a weekly live radio show. This is also
available for download or you can listen live. These shows are normally
about an hour long and feature industry news along with a special guest
interview. The owner of Go Daddy normally sits in the main seat of the show
although his busy schedule does mean that he is sometimes away from the
action at Go Daddy HQ. Its a shame as I feel the shows are a lot more
entertaining with him at the helm.
So who is the owner and founder of Go Daddy? Well its a guy called Bob
Parsons. Bob has a link from the main site to his blog. At first appearances
Bob looks a bit of a mean guy but your soon discover when reading his blog
or listening to his pod casts that he’s actually a very nice fair kinda guy.
This quote here is from his Marin’s anniversary blog entry. “A very special
message to Vietnam Vets.
And for those of you who served in Vietnam: I know that the war still lives
on in most of us. Sometimes it’s easy to have those memories. Sometimes
it’s not. But one thing is for sure: the war will be over for all of us
someday. Until then, from the bottom of my heart and from all of us at Go
Daddy, our message to you is Thank you. And welcome home.
This is a message from the heart with genuine feeling. I like to deal with
companies run by people with a heart. Not a stone cold heart but a big
beating one. If Bob was to ever write an autobiography I would love to be
the first in the queue to buy it. Its easy to realize Bob has been through a
lot in his life and these events have helped to shape a very genuine guy.
He also has a love of motorcycles having Orange County choppers of American
Chopper fame build him a Go Daddy theme bike. I have not seen that show
yet but would love to. I should probably check to see if its on You Tube.
I’m sure it is.
Bob’s approach to advertising his company has made the headlines in
America on more than one occasion. There has even been a term coined to
represent the way in which Go Daddy goes about its business “Go Daddy Esc”
It basically means edgy. With several Super Bowl ads banned by the TV
Network and the ones that do get approved highly criticized both in a good
and a bad way Bob intends Go Daddy to be around with a dominating force for
some time yet.
If your looking for a company who is not afraid to speak the truth, offer
excellent prices to its customers as well as after sales support then Go
Daddy is the company for you. Infarct part of my own goals and ambitions are
now based on Bobs own out look on life and the way business’s are run. Keep
up the great work Bob. Don’t lose contact with the most important people in
your life your clients and one day I hope to interview you personally.
Until then take care and all the best.
I wasn’t impressed Godaddy and their hosting. Domain names are fine with Go daddy, but for hosting, I wouldn’t touch them with a 10 foot pole. Read my Godaddy review.