Don't oversell

Overselling happens when you have a server which can handle 10 users, but you’re selling it to 15, because you assume they’ll not utilize all resources assigned to them. Or that you’ll manage to add more resources before users would start using them fully. It’s the most broken assumption in tech industry which almost never works, drives customers mad and ruins your brand. And that’s exactly what’s happened to me recently.

I was shopping for new VPN service. Previously I was with TorGuard which is great, but I’ve wanted something outside of US jurisdiction. So I’ve checked this huge list of VPNs. Chosen handful, did some googling, then checked Reddit. And this is where I’ve gone wrong. It should’ve struck me immediately that if service is doing promo weekly and cuts price so much it’s a no go. But my cheap side took over and I’ve bought it.

Boy, what a disaster that was! It’s reminded me of days from the past when I was fishing some really shady VPN services on ebay just to watch Hulu. But even these services were better. Transfer speeds I was getting with this new one was something I’ve last seen when I’ve had a dial-up modem, not joking! Plus there was constant disconnection.

OK, they’ve had 30 days money back guarantee. Let’s use that and move on, I’ve thought. But no, I’ve had to go through troubleshooting first which included anything from advising me to turn off my AV to suggesting that maybe my connection (150 Mbps) is too slow. I wasn’t loosing hope as I’ve paid by PayPal and they’re always solid in getting your money back, but I was getting annoyed.

Finally I got my money back, so I won’t mention this company name. But there’s lesson for everybody here. For me, to be more careful when buying something. For companies, to stop overselling. It’s just stupid thing to do. I’ve read reviews of this VPN service and they were mostly very positive. And now customers are infuriated. Not only new ones like myself, but the ones which were with them for years. It’s hard to impossible to rebuild people’s trust, especially with so much competition out there. Think twice, and then don’t do it, if you ever consider overselling!

I also feel bad for their support which is obviously taking a lot of shit just because some manager had a brilliant business idea:(