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The $7/Year "Technical Eviction": DediRock's CEO says I'm "too advanced" for them
1265578519
Member
Hi LET,
I think I’ve just achieved a new milestone in the LowEnd world: Being force-refunded and evicted for fixing my own performance issues.
I recently picked up a $7/year VPS from DediRock (@DediRock ). Soon after, I noticed the CPU was screaming at 100% usage during basic web traffic. After a quick technical audit (perf and cpuinfo), the cause was obvious: AES-NI flags were missing in their KVM config, forcing the CPU to do software emulation for every SSL request.
The Support Cycle:
Me: "Hey, the AES-NI flag is missing. Can you enable passthrough? Here is the perf report."
Lead Support: "We can move you to a new node, but you'll lose all your data and your IP."
Me (The Workaround): I didn't want to migrate, so I optimized the web server myself. I switched to ChaCha20-Poly1305 (no hardware acceleration needed).
The Result: CPU usage dropped from 100% to 20%. I was happy. The server was stable.
The "CEO" Solution:
Instead of saying "Glad you fixed it," Danny Dahl (CEO) issued a forced full refund of my $7 and basically told me to get out.
Direct quote from the CEO:
"As you said you are looking for a partner that can support your technical level, I honestly don't think we are that company for you right now."
The TL;DR:
Apparently, if you know how to debug a server and optimize your cipher suites, you are a liability to DediRock. They won't fix a KVM flag—they'll just throw your $7 back at you and cancel your service.
Proof of my workaround (20% CPU on a $7 box without AES-NI):
https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/212270/1000-cash-prize-bong/p28
Current Status: Evicted.
I’m now looking for a new home for my $7/year budget. If anyone has recommendations for a provider that:
Isn't scared of users who know what a CPU flag is.
Actually knows how to configure hardware passthrough.
Won't "Refund & Kick" you for being "too technical."
Let me know!
Comments
Next time, don’t open tickets or optimize, just turn it into artwork:
https://lowendtalk.com/discussion/214556/dartnode-13-99-flash-deal-the-9gbps-houston-firehose-vs-the-5-iops-soda-straw
I would recommend increasing your budget next time looking for a server for serious provider with knowledgeable support.
@DediRock is just a clueless @ColoCrossing reseller and it's not the first time their support is acting like this.
I mean -- at least you got a refund
I truly appreciate the honesty @DediRock
Well, too advanced, isn't too advanced for looking for 7$/y for serious usage
It's a pattern and in longer term, it never ends in good way.
It is better to part ways prior to everything goes sour.
I got a feeling that there is more to this then just Dedirock refusing your business.
Because if the issue can be fixed on your end you can just close the ticket with Dedirock and that should be all. I don't see why a provider will refuse your business unless they feel insulted or something.
Hey @1265578519
I do apologize for any upset caused, again I do think a full refund at this point was the best path forward. I do hope for the best, and maybe can earn your business again in the future.
Thank you.
lol @yoursunny Artwork is always an option.
lol @oloke, thanks man! I have no problem in communicating it.
I think it's best to just refund a customer in some circumstances. I have done this before, and sometimes it turns out okay and sometimes not as much, but I am okay with the open dialogue on it. It always turns out okay.
Thanks
The best path forward is always to fix your service.
Apparently, requesting a refund for a non-functioning service will also get you evicted.
Hey @mans_xd we have seen a mix of different customers for sure.
@alexnjh
That’s the problem. it's already too late to "just close the ticket." DediRock issued a forced refund to my PayPal without my consent.
When a provider unilaterally sends your money back and tells you to move your data, the service is effectively terminated from their end. I didn't even have the chance to close the ticket because they chose to "Refund & Kick" me first.
Hey @itachikonoha,
I agree that can be the case in some instances. Currently, I am correcting some past setups I did for our storage lineup, and it's improving things greatly but there is definitely more work to do.
Thanks for the communication!
Take the win bro.
Hi @DediRock,
Since you’ve made it clear that a forced refund is your "best path forward" regardless of my technical workaround, I have a few final questions regarding my account:
Account Status: Is my DediRock account being disabled or banned entirely?
VPS Termination: Since the refund is already processed, how much time do I have before the instance is permanently deleted? (I’ve already moved to RackNerd, but this is for the record).
Future Business: You mentioned earning my business again in the future—does that mean you’ll eventually enable standard features like AES-NI, or will "technical users" still be refunded and evicted as a standard policy?
I appreciate the $7 back, though I would have preferred a provider that actually fixes configuration issues rather than firing the customer who finds them.
Best regards,
Sakura
Hey @alexnjh,
Thanks for the viewpoint. Over the past 8 months, I would say I have learned a lot, and if I think I can't hit the mark for a customer, it's okay to go ahead and refund.
But I'm always improving at the same time; right now, I am continuing to do upgrades on many nodes. It’s a learning process for sure.
Thanks
Hey @alincupunct,
I 100% agree. I have definitely learned and improved from past challenges.
Currently, I'm doing full upgrades for storage nodes to RAID-5 and have hired a new Systems Administrator to handle server loads. We have seen a great improvement so far, however, obviously there is still more to do. I'll get there!
Thank you for the comment.
Hey @void how are you man? Sorry I didn't back to you, I know you had messaged me a week or so ago. If your still looking, I can get back to you with a quote that for server.
Thanks for the comment.
You have to love how his stupid AI doesn't even respond to what it quotes, it's just random gibberish plus appreciation. Now imagine system administration done the same way.
Fair point. I’ve definitely learned my lesson: The first rule of the $7/year club is: Do not open a ticket. The second rule is: DO NOT open a ticket. 😂
@zed it is a unique situation, I did leave the server on etc just in case there was data stored.
I'm probably going to be mega unpopular here(but I don't care) however the OP is wrong but also right.
OP is right as turning on a flag isn't that hard of a task. Why AES-NI is not turned on in the first place is actually insane. This reminds me of my fight to get AMD-V turned on at ServaRica specifically on their Xen platform. They have KVM and both AMD-V/Intel-VT and AES-NI is turned on.
OP is also wrong. I have no idea why you put a workload like that on something that was clearly not appropriate for a $7 a year VPS. This is clearly a learning experience to tailer your expectations and to not use a unsustainable service.
You're not the type of customer for Dedirock. I would just take the money and find someone more suitable.
That’s okay, but I meant why my account says “closed”?
Im with @host_c on this one. You guys have fairy tales expectations from 7$/y vps. Use it for simple tasks and will work like horse.
lol @zed thank you for the comment
lol @1265578519 fight club for hosting
Hey @MaxTakeba,
Thank you for that communication. While we do try to make the service work for all, the $7 price point does have its challenges for both the provider and the end user.
The good news is that @1265578519 did get fully refunded and said he went over to RackNerd, which has amazing service, and that he is happy now. So, it all worked out well.
I'll add that starting from a position of publicly asking them to fix such small things as an OS icon and a bandwidth calculation makes you a problem they don't want to have. Those kinds of things are something you report to them once and just leave it alone. They aren't really impacting your service, and you certainly don't need to call the provider out on it in a public forum. That said, I'm pretty disappointed to see this thread. DediRock has treated me well, but I feel like they could have handled this better.
hey @void ok cool man, let me know. That's random DM if you'd like your email or INV number and I can set it back active, sorry about that. Thx
Hey @emperor,
I think that is a great point! I think to be more helpful to potential customers, I will eventually put more data on what the server works best for.
Thanks!