With over 100,000 loyal customers to their credit already, iPowerWeb aspires to not only be the best web hosting service but also the largest. In January, we awarded them our coveted "Web Host of the Year" award based on our reader popularity and our initial tests. But we wanted to dig deeper to see if they were really as good as they seemed. Here is what we found out on our initial visit to iPowerWeb's headquarters in Santa Monica, California.

First Impressions of iPowerWeb's Headquarters
Sharp, down-to-earth, and progressive is how we would describe this rising web host and its 55+ employees. CEO, Thomas Gorny, shared with us the iPowerWeb mission- to become the absolute leader in web hosting by having the most satisfied customers. We were impressed right from the start with iPowerWeb's open and honest attitude. They gave us access to every area inch of their headquarters, and even personally introduced us to most of the employees working there. We noted that most of the employees seemed happy, cheerful and professional. The feeling there was casual, but serious--everyone knew what to do and was busy doing it. After graciously spending the entire morning with us, our hosts then spent the afternoon taking us on a tour of their high-security data center. When the day was over, we left even more impressed than at first. Here is our report on the things that impressed us most:

The iPowerWeb Support Team
Well over half of the iPowerWeb staff are dedicated to some form of customer service, which isn't surprising considering the emphasis iPowerWeb places on customer satisfaction. They told us that their goal is to develop a positive service relationship with each and every customer. They told us that their policy is to try and help the customer with their problems, no matter what the reason or type of problem. They accomplish this through a highly trained customer support staff, and a company wide priority of helping customers. CEO Thomas Gorny readily admitted that they were not perfect, but that they were always taking steps to improve things so that the same problems don't recur.

iPowerWeb is obsessive about customer support from the top down. We were surprised to learn that everyone at iPowerWeb is required to do customer service, and when call volumes are high, everyone starts answering customer support calls, from the CEO and Marketing team on down. iPowerWeb strategically staffs its support lines, tracks peak hours for issues and makes sure they are adequately staffed at all times.

The support representatives handle 24/7 phone support, 24/7 toll-free tech support, and daytime billing support 7 days a week. They even give priority to the non toll-free callers so customers calling on their own dime aren

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