In case you missed the occasional Twitter post our FourSquare check-in, last year I worked for HostGator.com for a few months. While the pay was nice, and a new phone was gotten, I had a feeling the guy at the top, Brent Oxley, had largely checked out. I was introduced to one of his lieutenants at the time during my second interview, and when I got the job, was given a tour of the Houston offices (which surprisingly did not include an office for Brent.
Hostgator was a nice company to work for, and it was a shame that my tickets per hour didn’t get to a high enough level to keep working there. I have only three gripes about them as a whole.
1.) Some of the managers (then Chat Tech manager Nathon H. to cite an example) act as they have authority over all they see when they are listed as in charge of a single department. They also act like douches some of the time toward other employees.
2.) The catering. The chef in charge lets his assistants prepare the food for the graveyard shift, and THEY DO NOT REMOVE THE BONES FROM THE CHICKEN BEFORE CHOPPING IT UP, LEAVING BONE FRAGMENTS IN THE LUNCH!!!
3.) The rumored buyout by EIG. This is my super-gripe about Brent, who was in favor of John McCain to win in 2008. The below quotes are sourced from the leaked email at http://pastebin.com/nV9bc7Cv and reported on numerous sites already, along with possible “what we think he means” witty retorts.
”* I want to travel the world before my wife and I have kids.”
Read: He wants to go ex-pat with his wife soon
”* I’ve been doing HostGator since I was 18, and I’m looking for a new challenge.”
Read: My life is hollow and without meaning.
”* I’m extremely worried about the financial path our country is headed down.”
Read: I need a better tax haven to move to
”* Taxes will be going up significantly in 2013, making it more difficult for business owners.”
Read: With healthcare reform rules constitutional by the Supreme Court, I might actually have to spend some money on health benefits for the employees.
”* I’ve failed more times than I can count to launch software that would allow us to compete as a registrar.”
Read: I’m too lazy to push the button and publicly launch the in-house registrar (Launchpad dot com) I got accredited last year
”* We have tried and failed to develop a billing system that has automated and can integrate with our key systems such as chat, phone, affiliates, and tickets. I think we are finally on the right track, but unfortunately I no longer have the patience to wait for it to all come together. Thankfully EIG has tackled a lot of these challenges already.”
Read: Our Billing and ticketing system is a piece of shit, as well as the phones and chat. Integrating them is too much work to bother with.
”* I have practically 100% of my chips in HostGator and if something should ever happen to the company, I’d more than likely be bankrupt in a matter of a few months.”
Read: My investments (outside from real estate) have drastically underperformed.
The letter goes on to mention him leasing the main office/converted bank building in Houston, and the one in Austin, back to EIG.
In short, HG has many little issues which could possibly get worse in the long run…
