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FastMail Forum All posts relating to FastMail.FM should go here: suggestions, comments, requests for help, complaints, technical issues etc. |
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17 Nov 2013, 01:50 AM | #1 |
Master of the @
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Fastmail the failure
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17 Nov 2013, 03:55 AM | #2 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 2,281
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Thanks for pointing out that interesting article. I think satisfaction with a provider depends in part on whether or not you are using it for business messaging and how much you are willing to pay for the service. I previously had a couple of Enhanced Fastmail accounts (which were top of the line back then) which I used for business. I, too, felt let down by FM when I experienced issues with my accounts. I have a much more expensive provider now, but experience nearly 100% messaging availability and receive awesome customer service for my business and personal email. Customer service includes calling me (on the telephone ) once when that form of communication was necessary.
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17 Nov 2013, 06:54 AM | #3 |
Master of the @
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is that luxsci?
how are you getting on with rackspace these days? |
17 Nov 2013, 08:00 AM | #4 |
The "e" in e-mail
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Location: San Francisco
Posts: 2,281
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I have accounts with several providers, which are discussed herein. I assume many of us who frequent EMD do. The one I was referring to above with the awesome support and uptime is LuxSci.
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17 Nov 2013, 08:22 AM | #5 |
Cornerstone of the Community
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I have been with Luxsci since October 2013 and the customer service is excellent, sure it is a little more expensive than the average e-mail provider but well worth the money.
I actually get my support tickets responded to in 45 minutes or less at Luxsci .........unfortunately, I can't say the same thing about FM Luxsci has been a problem free e-mail provider and I have been very happy with them thus far. David Last edited by EdinwolfPA : 17 Nov 2013 at 08:29 AM. Reason: added support ticket response time |
17 Nov 2013, 01:45 PM | #6 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2013
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Quote:
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17 Nov 2013, 02:03 PM | #7 | |
The "e" in e-mail
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Location: VK4
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Quote:
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17 Nov 2013, 02:31 PM | #8 |
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 14
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I would have to disagree with you on this one. He is pretty well known in the WordPress arena: http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thord_Daniel_Hedengren
And his issues: mostly the viewing of emails and delay in support concern me as well. |
17 Nov 2013, 02:55 PM | #9 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: May 2003
Location: mostly in Thailand
Posts: 3,090
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I thought his write up was a fair factual account of his experience. It is a fact that Fastmail's support is not consistently what many business customers are looking for. He was possibly unfortunate (and the precise limits he breached are unclear) but it is a fact that (i) when he gave up on Fastmail his problem was unresolved; and (ii) the request to let support staff look at his emails seemed irrelevant to explaining and resolving his issue, as well as making Fastmail look cavalier about email privacy.
I personally have few serious issues with FM support, only because I can step around their systems with private messages when I am desperate. However, FM really does need to understand that support is a critical need for business customers and consider how those needs can be properly address. For several years, I have suggested they set up a paid support phone line (which can be expensive) that is guaranteed to allow customers to get immediate help when waiting is not an option. Business customers forced to pay for genuinely fast response will moan, but they will not jump ship. |
17 Nov 2013, 03:24 PM | #10 |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: San Francisco
Posts: 2,281
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It's a long-standing issue, especially important when one considers business customer expectations.
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17 Nov 2013, 06:40 PM | #11 | |
The "e" in e-mail
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: EU
Posts: 4,943
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What alternative do you suggest? "Some messages do not reach some recipients. I do not want you to see either the messages or the recipients. Sort it out double quick"??? |
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17 Nov 2013, 10:00 PM | #12 | |
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Join Date: Oct 2013
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Having once working for a major web hosting firm, I can't recall a single time that I ever needed to access a customer's files. Every issue that customers sent our direction could be solved by reviewing the web server log files. Granted, I don't know how Fastmail has their setup configured, but I'd assume at least the basics are being logged to provide general accounting. |
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18 Nov 2013, 12:24 AM | #13 |
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Join Date: Oct 2013
Posts: 41
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To me it makes 100% sense for fastmail to limit sending on trial accounts. I'd imagine trial accounts are the biggest source of outgoing spam for them... If there is a limit they should indeed make that more clear though, to avoid making a potential customer angry as evidenced in the OP. But the fact that they have a limit on sending in trial accounts is something that makes complete sense IMO...
I do tech support at a small ISP, and outgoing spam is indeed a huge problem, if too much outgoing spam goes out the email provider can end up with awful situations such as being blocked by various spam filtering services, which in turn angers even more customers (this happened once at the ISP I worked at, it was awful lol). Last edited by bwat47 : 18 Nov 2013 at 05:09 AM. |
18 Nov 2013, 12:31 AM | #14 |
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Slow support is definitely a problem with FM. Even with an Enhanced account, it's typical to wait a day or two for simple questions to be answered. Maybe things are better with the recently introduced Premier account... but my server hosting company always responds to support tickets within an hour, and I don't think it's unreasonable to expect my email hosting company to do the same.
What I find even more annoying about OP's episode is that it took a couple of email exchanges for FM to even recognize that their sending limit was causing the problem. There was another thread a couple of weeks ago where someone with an existing business migrated to FM and their existing volume of email triggered the limits right away. This seems to be a common occurrence, but FM seems ill equipped to deal with it. If someone says they're unable to send emails, check the status of the account (e.g. sending limit triggered at 3 p.m.) before replying with a canned response! |
18 Nov 2013, 12:37 AM | #15 | |
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The following would probably also help to avoid these situations: 1. Put a disclaimer on trial accounts, saying what the sending limitations of the trial accounts are 2. Provide a proper error message in the webmail interface when the sending limit is hit. 3 ??? 4. Profit! Last edited by bwat47 : 18 Nov 2013 at 12:59 AM. |
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