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Why using Shiftcode is the biggest mistake you can make

C

Cavalier07

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Hi Fixers :)

Those who know me know I currently run (or used to) a GPT site using the shiftcode script. From my experiences over the last few months I would never ever recommend you to purchase a script from Shiftcode, Performa or any other Tom Dietzel company.

We have been a customer of Shiftcode for 2 years now spending a decent amount of money with them and due to their behaviors over the last few days I am now happy to publicly share with you what working with Shifcode is like.

The script itself is great. It does break every month as the monthly automation system is broke. There is poor infrastructure such as continued downtime, at one point the sql severs had to be rebooted every day as the entire platform become unusable after around 18 hours of uptime.

Our main issues with Shiftcode came about when every site on the platform suffered a massive data loss in November. This was caused by a hard drive failure and there were no usable backups in the last 10 days. To me that's unforgivable there are so many ways that they should be protecting data. Even a simple RAID configuration on the sql server with an extra hard disk would of solved this issue.

As December progressed more and more things on the script started to break. This included stuff like the integration with the performa network platform and a number of other features not working. As the new year passed the site broke even more with around 10 extra features we were given for free due to platform issues stopped working. The contest system also broke.

On the 3rd of January the support team broke the sites withdrawal system trying to fix other issues. At the time I was livid everywhere I looked something was broken and now the most fundamental part of the site was as well. I posted a not very pleasant post in the platforms support group on Facebook and also tagged Mr Dietzel in it trying to get some sort of solution before they killed my business.

Within seconds that post was removed from the group and I was banned from the support systems. After I few hours I believe I had tried to amend things regards to the post. The post from Tom himself was:


1/3/2014 6:28 PM Support Responded With:
You are welcome to complain on tickets all day long, tagging me on facebook and using our peer support group to post which clearly has rules is the reason for the response you received.

All the features your complaining about are free ones that failed to add. (Will handle via other ticket)

As for withdrawal will figure that out for you shortly.


So I waited and waited and waited for some sort of solution and nothing happened. With at least a 2 week response wait for a ticket it's something I expected. As payment day came around for the script. I contacted shiftcode asking about the issues and if they can fix them or give me a date when they will be fixed. Of course a ticket around money gets answered in hours with the following response.

Support Responded With:
Unfortunately your site is not eligible for renewal.

Upon asking why I was referred to the ticket about the Facebook Post made on the 3rd of January and due to that one post Shiftcode have decided to destroy my business after 2 years of being a paying customer.

This is not the first time they have done this and the reason you don't hear about it more is that every single admin who has a shiftcode/performa site is scared that if they say anything they will lose their business.

Why am I sharing this with you?

The aim of this story is to not trust Shiftcode , Performa or any other company owned by Thomas Micheal Dietzel . That includes platforms like Afftrack and thier affiliate network CPAWay.

All he is after is to make money out of you. Customer Service there is none and if you say something negative about any of his companies he will shut your sites down, your platforms down and destroy your business

As we the poor owners of sites on his platforms suffer he spends thousands on parties, conventions across the states.

We will be back with a new site on a new script by the end of this weekend as we were planning on moving away from shiftcode like many sites and networks are.

Thanks for reading and I hope if you choose shiftcode you realize you don't control your own business.

Tom Billington
 
Sorry to hear this happened to you, Tom! Any outage/break is lost business for you and two weeks or more is simply unacceptable, as is the response you got. I suspect that man will not last in this industry.

Hopefully, your loyal site members have stuck around and will continue to follow you to your new and much better platform. Still, the whole thing sucks!

Good luck with your new start!
 
Sorry to hear this happened to you, Tom! Any outage/break is lost business for you and two weeks or more is simply unacceptable, as is the response you got. I suspect that man will not last in this industry.

Hopefully, your loyal site members have stuck around and will continue to follow you to your new and much better platform. Still, the whole thing sucks!

Good luck with your new start!

Thanks azgold.

We have just launched our brand new site Earn Doing | Helping You Earn The Most which gives us a lot more freedom
 
Very nice, congrats! I love the simple navigation. Your site design has changed, seems to me to be different than it was, anyway.
 
It's unfortunate to all the errors that happened with Shiftcode, but with ANY software - problems are likely! Heck, even some of the most well developed platforms out there that handle larger scales and traffic go through some downtimes, errors and all that stuff we business owners try to avoid - sometimes it's just not avoidable.

I used Shiftcode for a year or so for EpicRewardz and I can say, it's been through some crazy stuff. Back in April of 2013, our site was HACKED - the ENTIRE database was wiped clean, design deleted, and I literally had nothing left. Tom helped me every step of the way though - He paid for the coding of my design, gave me a year free hosting, and made sure I was set. We had a forum back then and it contained the entire user base, he gladly created a script and added that database to my site - I got the users back and he helped me with anything I needed. Tom is by far one of the main reasons I'm still in business and he knows how to run a business. He even ran a security test on my site with software he had to make sure my site was secure when I relaunched. When we Re-Launched on a new platform, we had server failures, he took the time to help me fix the servers, install things for me and gave me some top notch advice on what I should do and how I should do it. I won't go into details but he even helped me when my site (EpicRewardz) was being attacked back in november. I've personally met Tom at Ad:tech and all I can say is, he's truly one of the nicest guys I met in the industry.

CPAWAY is run professionally, always paid on time, always get a prompt response when asking for support - everything is just run like a business should.

"All he is after is to make money out of you." - This kind of puzzled me, of course a business wants to make money off it's clients. isn't that what a business is for?

The conclusion is, all systems have flaws, even my custom script still has its errors and it will stay that way for a while. I believe if you were a bit more patient and professional about the matter, it would of been resolved promptly. It seems as if you're taking this personally towards Tom, business is business man, just how it works.
 
It's unfortunate to all the errors that happened with Shiftcode, but with ANY software - problems are likely! Heck, even some of the most well developed platforms out there that handle larger scales and traffic go through some downtimes, errors and all that stuff we business owners try to avoid - sometimes it's just not avoidable.

I used Shiftcode for a year or so for EpicRewardz and I can say, it's been through some crazy stuff. Back in April of 2013, our site was HACKED - the ENTIRE database was wiped clean, design deleted, and I literally had nothing left. Tom helped me every step of the way though - He paid for the coding of my design, gave me a year free hosting, and made sure I was set. We had a forum back then and it contained the entire user base, he gladly created a script and added that database to my site - I got the users back and he helped me with anything I needed. Tom is by far one of the main reasons I'm still in business and he knows how to run a business. He even ran a security test on my site with software he had to make sure my site was secure when I relaunched. When we Re-Launched on a new platform, we had server failures, he took the time to help me fix the servers, install things for me and gave me some top notch advice on what I should do and how I should do it. I won't go into details but he even helped me when my site (EpicRewardz) was being attacked back in november. I've personally met Tom at Ad:tech and all I can say is, he's truly one of the nicest guys I met in the industry.

CPAWAY is run professionally, always paid on time, always get a prompt response when asking for support - everything is just run like a business should.

"All he is after is to make money out of you." - This kind of puzzled me, of course a business wants to make money off it's clients. isn't that what a business is for?

The conclusion is, all systems have flaws, even my custom script still has its errors and it will stay that way for a while. I believe if you were a bit more patient and professional about the matter, it would of been resolved promptly. It seems as if you're taking this personally towards Tom, business is business man, just how it works.

Hi Nate just a few comments back :)

Tom has his moments when his reputation is on the line. Epic was shiftcodes biggest site and it being hacked was very public. If he did nothing it would do a lot of damage to the platforms name.

For us smaller sites I think over a month for a reply to a support ticket disgusting and there are plenty of smaller admins who get the same treatment. I think when you have a customer who has an unusable product that as a service provider you should fix it as soon as possible. If my ISP for example had a damaged line to my house they would try to fix it as soon as possible or give a date for it to be fixed. They wouldn't just ignore you and go partying in Las Vegas. (btw I paid shifcode more then my ISP so I expect a decent service)

The downtime cost us all dearly. I have had members who wouldn't even use the site any more as it's shiftcode why do you think a lot of us are running as fast as possible away from them. You jumped ship as well and it wasn't just because you wanted poker rooms on your script.

I also find it wrong that he will shut a site down based on 1 Facebook post which tagged him as I didn't really want to wait weeks for a fundamental part of the site not working. My cause for concern was correct when during the time when this feature was down earnings dropped 90%

The out to make money comment. That's more in the context as he just wants to take as much money from possible from you and give you nothing in return. As a service provider I expect a working service not to be firefighting issues with the script 7 days a week. With the platform already struggling instead of fixing it he allows 10 more networks to be opened to put more strain on it.

Patience is a two way street especially when at one time I had 15 open support tickets with technical issues and you can only have so much of it. 3 - 8 weeks as a support response time is madness and will kill any online business out there.

Those who have seen the new site are happy with it. For in the long term a lower cost we are getting much more functionality so from this day I'm a Pro-Titan Supporter :)

Tom
 
Hi Nate just a few comments back :)

Tom has his moments when his reputation is on the line. Epic was shiftcodes biggest site and it being hacked was very public. If he did nothing it would do a lot of damage to the platforms name.

For us smaller sites I think over a month for a reply to a support ticket disgusting and there are plenty of smaller admins who get the same treatment. I think when you have a customer who has an unusable product that as a service provider you should fix it as soon as possible. If my ISP for example had a damaged line to my house they would try to fix it as soon as possible or give a date for it to be fixed. They wouldn't just ignore you and go partying in Las Vegas. (btw I paid shifcode more then my ISP so I expect a decent service)

The downtime cost us all dearly. I have had members who wouldn't even use the site any more as it's shiftcode why do you think a lot of us are running as fast as possible away from them. You jumped ship as well and it wasn't just because you wanted poker rooms on your script.

I also find it wrong that he will shut a site down based on 1 Facebook post which tagged him as I didn't really want to wait weeks for a fundamental part of the site not working. My cause for concern was correct when during the time when this feature was down earnings dropped 90%

The out to make money comment. That's more in the context as he just wants to take as much money from possible from you and give you nothing in return. As a service provider I expect a working service not to be firefighting issues with the script 7 days a week. With the platform already struggling instead of fixing it he allows 10 more networks to be opened to put more strain on it.

Patience is a two way street especially when at one time I had 15 open support tickets with technical issues and you can only have so much of it. 3 - 8 weeks as a support response time is madness and will kill any online business out there.

Those who have seen the new site are happy with it. For in the long term a lower cost we are getting much more functionality so from this day I'm a Pro-Titan Supporter :)

Tom

I understand - I've got a few comments myself. EpicRewardz wasn't anywhere near the biggest Shiftcode sites, there's a few others that are much bigger I'd say. And honestly, he didn't have to do a thing - but he did! It even states it in the Terms & Conditions of Shiftcode - they have no responsibility of any loses in any situation. He helped me outside shiftcode as well, so I doubt it was to save "Shiftcodes" reputation or anything - he did it because he wanted to, he even told me himself (during the hack) - he see's no good news for me and my site pretty much is gone (DB info). But in the end we both figured it out - told me if i ever needed anything to call or text anytime. The amount of trouble shiftcode is - it's pretty bad lol (I know this now, now that I own my own script), so getting messages on his private FB and all is pretty annoying for anyone. With over 200+ shiftcode sites, handling all that can be pretty stressful as well. When he helped me with my custom script, he didn't have to do that, he did it because he wanted to. Get what I'm trying to prove? ... Anyhow though, it's impossible for anyone to satisfy everyone, just how it works.

Just my 2 cents anyhow

Edit: You paid Shiftcode more than your ISP? - isn't the monthly fee for Shiftcode $30/month?
 
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High Speed Internet in the UK is cheap you guys in the US get ripped off

We pay £20/month for 30mb internet, cable tv and telephone calls

EDIT - That's $32 a month based on current exchange rates
 
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High Speed Internet in the UK is cheap you guys in the US get ripped off

We pay £20/month for 30mb internet, cable tv and telephone calls

EDIT - That's $32 a month based on current exchange rates

Wow, that is cheap! Here in Ontario, I went with the cheapest ISP in my area, get 150 GB a month bandwidth - no cable or phone - just high speed internet for $50+ a month. That includes a $5/month modem rental and taxes.
 
High Speed Internet in the UK is cheap you guys in the US get ripped off

We pay £20/month for 30mb internet, cable tv and telephone calls

EDIT - That's $32 a month based on current exchange rates

Aaaaaand now I'm jealous. If I went with cable, internet, and phone, it'd run me $159/mo.
 
Guys! You're earning in the most expensive currencies. You income is thousands per month and your internet is calculated by MBs.

I am living here among the cheapest currencies. Nearly all of the people in my country earn below a thousand (even below $500) and the internet is calculated by KBs. I am spending $150/month for the actual stable of 256Kbps UL/DL speed.

Back to the point of ShiftCode, The first time I knew that it's a hosted solution, I'd never care to use it. My personal taste is to use on my own server. Everything that is out of my control; I don't want to treat as business.
 
Sorry to hear about your problems with Shiftcode. I personally am having a few issues. I am currently using this as a learning experience about PTC/GPT websites. Support is ok. Most issues solved. One is currently pending. I wish my signup rates would reflect the money spent lol.
 
You will find that a lot of people ignore shftcode sites now due to the issues they see one and move on.
 
From Shiftcode no. As soon as they saw the post they deleted my site with no comments as is their policy. Speak out against them and loose your site.
 
From Shiftcode no. As soon as they saw the post they deleted my site with no comments as is their policy. Speak out against them and loose your site.

Hmmm... That doesn't sound too fair! Over the years I have heard tons of complaints about Shiftcode from GPT owners.
 
Hmmm... That doesn't sound too fair! Over the years I have heard tons of complaints about Shiftcode from GPT owners.

It's not and that's why a number of the networks and bigger sites are all moving onto custom platforms. Shiftcode can then keep all the small sites/fraudsters trying to con people
 
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