Fed up with GoDaddy

[user-7256]

I've been a customer with GoDaddy for a while now - about 5 or 6 years I suppose. I remember when their site still looked like this: http://web.archive.org/web/20030401091726/www.godaddy.com/gdshop/default.asp?e=com

Their new marketing ploy of using women to attract business - in almost EVERY aspect of their operations - is bothering me. Without knowing him, I wonder if he has any morals and is just letting his money, wealth, and fame go to his head and to his business. We've heard all the horror stories of how they treat their customers. I haven't had the greatest time with them either.

But as far as morals go... you see this on their site now:

Anger Management --
-- "Go Daddy Girl" Style.
CAUTION: MATURE CONTENT!

8 years ago, they would have never done this - it wouldn't have even been acceptable.

What does this have to do with their business? Their market? Do they even know what kind of impression they are setting?

I wrote a letter through their "Send us a comment" form - which, by the way, took me forever to find - and I'm sure this will get tossed away after getting a sincere-looking auto response like "We can't read your letter because we're understaffed and don't really care, but hey - you wasted your time on OUR site. That's all we want."

Dear GoDaddy,

I've been a customer with you for about 5 or 6 years now I think. I needed to register a domain, and a good family member recommended me to your services for cheap costs, powerful domain management tools, and a reliable network. It is something I appreciated. The security of my work was in your hands. A seemingly good company was powering my website's domain.

Now, I'm in the process of transferring all my domains away from you.

I was impressed with the robust atmosphere of your website, the "power at my fingertips", so to speak, to do my domain business easily and with security. But since 2002, your site has become difficult to use: cluttered, and unorganized. I could smell it coming to this point by about 2005.

Another thing that bothers me is how you've handled some rather "media-potent" situations in the past with various customers. A variety of little fiascoes from locking them out of their accounts and transferring their domains away or shutting down their websites without legal jurisdiction or warning (sorry - you did give this one guy about 90 seconds) all adds into the lack of good, personable customer support I never got with you. The responses are artificial, your emails are not uniform, and besides that - they're ugly - they begin to mimic your site.

Finally, the issue that bothers me the most comes to light. Your little marketing ploys since about 2005 involving "Indy Car Star" models and presenting your CEO, Bob Parsons, as a "cool" man - trying to do nothing, it would seem, but please the world with his "such esteemed" wealth, advice, and general "popularity" image. He's played the "I'm a pimp" card by his appearance, blog/website, actions, and the focus of these models in your media.

I am appalled to see "Anger Management, -- 'Go Daddy Girl' Style. CAUTION: MATURE CONTENT!" warnings on your homepage. You sell domains! You sell website tools and SSL certificates. You sell business-oriented, website-related services. You are not an outlet for adult material!

Well, you weren't anyway...

I don't mean to be a typical "prude" but how far will your super bowl commercials get you? A bunch of drunk, overweight, white males watching the game - those that fall for your lure of flattery and erotic images - as customers?

What type of market are you serving? Are you short of male customers? Men like savings, security, and powerful features. These are appropriate and moral supplements to your services that you SHOULD be marketing, not sticking them in the corners where they don't fit.

The way you and your CEO highlight demoralizing content is not only an unfortunate indicator of how low you guys have gone, but also bad business practice. I don't want to see an Indy Car star model wearing a jacket with your logo on it. I know what your logo looks like. I want to see why I should use you guys instead.

Thank you for taking the time to read this - hopefully you did, anyway. I would not expect to get a partially sincere auto-response. But I would expect better of your CEO, management, customer support, and website maintenance team.

My business here is done.
-Matthew Holt
www.mwholt.com

 

[Sam]

brilliant point. Godaddy's marketing department deserves a raise. Any publicity from another "women's advocate group" will bring in $$$$.

 

[floatingworld]

some people do get their knickers in a twist...

 

[Michael]

I'm sorry you are disappointed. :D

Aside from all their other issues, I just kind of wonder why GoDaddy's going down this road. Call me elitist, but I think that using "attractive" (ugh?) women as lures is a derogatory practice, and I prefer to do business with non-degrading companies. If a company lacks certain morals, how "low" will they go with other non-moral issues, such as ethics, pricing, reliability, and customer support?

Anyway, I haven't seen improvements from them in the past years. I'm getting away from them before they go downhill much more.

<joke>Sex appeal, Domains ... correlation? Domains are sexy... what? Yeah, that's a great message to send about. </joke>

I wasn't disappointed, I was just curious if you even watched the video you wrote the letter about. I think you're being a little overly-sensitive on this one, the Godaddy models are not half-naked or in compromising positions. If that is degrading to women, you must think that 90% of the female modeling industry is abhorable. Anyway, everyone is entitled to their opinion and it seems several people agree with you.

 

[Dave_Z]

If a company lacks certain morals, how "low" will they go with other non-moral issues, such as ethics, pricing, reliability, and customer support?

It's case to case, though how "low" depends how one sees it.

Fortunately, we've got options. Imagine if they were the only registrar in the
old days instead of Network Solutions.

 

[Sufyan]

Yet, none of the other registrars is growing as fast, or competing as strong.

Truth is simple. Sex Sells. You dont have to like it, You have a choice. But as mature adults you can let sex be the issue, or you can enjoy the quality product at the quality price and look past it.

Sex sells = Internet porn reduces sex crimes = Prostitution should be legal

 

[DotWeekly]

IMO the model or whatever stuff just looks tacky, and the racing car stuff just seems pretty random. i'm not sure how much crossover there is with a soft porn huntin, car racin, domain reggin crowd.

Each and every weekend in NASCAR there are 100,000+ people attending these races. Let alone the Millions that watch on TV. At the indy race for NASCAR there were nearly 300,000 that attended JUST the race as well as the Indy 500!

The reason Godaddy advertises in NASCAR and Indy Car is because the races happen Weekly, they practice during the week, the drivers are in print ads and tv commercials all in there driving suits which have sponsor names on them. Race car drivers get a TON of attention. Danica Patrick is the #1 most popular driver in Indy Car and Godaddy sponsors her and her team. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the #1 most popular driver in NASCAR and Godaddy sponsors him and his team. Plus the Age range of the people at these races I would say are in the 20-50 range, an age range that Godaddy would focus on...

The swimming chick... I don't get. Candice is Eye Candy.

 

[user-7256]

I wasn't disappointed,

You thought I was serious when I said that? Read emoticons

Fortunately, we've got options. Imagine if they were the only registrar in the old days instead of Network Solutions.

Dear me... that would be terrible. Yes, options are a good thing, and now we can distinguish between them even better.

Now that you guys mention it, maybe it's a good thing that this thread isn't getting a major popularity buzz with other media and websites, because, as you have said, it gives them attention - negative - but attention nonetheless...

 

[smashfactory]

sex certainly sells- and i personally have had no problems with them- but i do come from the school of thought that if you are all you say you are- and are "that" good- you dont need all that, you're service and product will speak for itself.
most major professional companies do not resort to any of that, and are doing just fine.
thats all it boils down to me, and after reading comments from members, that is exactly what godaddy set up- a cheap place to reg a name- not so much build a business- like a back street ally guy with an earring, selling cheap regges.
i reg there to, but nothing else. they dont draw me in as a business customer, i just use them for the cheap prices- as does most here.
if that is what godaddy planned, to basically be the walmart of domains, then kudos, they have accomplished that.
but i generally have a hard time taking them seriously for anthing else.

 

[htmlindex]

Sex sells = Internet porn reduces sex crimes = Prostitution should be legal

It is legal.....depending on which country you live in.

 

[weblord]

i still go with them coming from netsol before
i have the freedom not to view those mature content if i choose to.

 

[treebytheriver]

Thanks for posting the screenshot! I actually like the site alot better then, it's so cluttered and tacky now. I do buy with them because they have the best prices on dot tvs, havent had a problem so far.....

 

[mr-x]

Google Results:
1,910,000 for godaddy problem
118,000 for enom problem

 

[ssamriga]

I have most of my domains at Godaddy (using about 15 other registrars too)
Haven't had any problems, all my support tickets have been always answered quite soon and polite (also fixing any issues I needed to be fixed)
Danica is the only girl I like from their site, and I have no problem with them using attractive women to sell their products
(hope my wife doesn't read this )

 

[labrocca]

Great email.

I must say to those saying "sex sells"...well GD was in it's #1 position as a registrar long before their sexual ad campaigns. So don't give that credit. The simpler truth is they were one of the first cheap, reliable, and independent registrars years ago.

 

[Phakkat]

Y not go 4 hostgator?