Before settling with Hostgator, I looked at a few server hosts recommended by Wordpress.org.  Dreamhost got some good (admittedly anecdotal) reviews.  However, I was turned off by their lack of phone support.  And so, I signed up with Bluehost, Wordpress' top recommended service.  They impressed me with many how-to videos and other articles, as well as phone and online chat support options.

However, their service left me feeling nothing but blue.  Even signing up was a headache, and after much frustration I decided that their service wasn't as great as I was led to believe.  Here's a breakdown of my experience:

1. They made me scan and email a copy of my driver's license and credit card to them to verify my account
2. 4 hours later they hadn't confirmed the account, so I initiated online chat.
3. The rep took about an hour to "help".  Most of this was spent waiting for him to respond.  In the end, he didn't check or confirm my account as was promised.
4. Later the next day, when my account was finally confirmed, I was so fed up... I had decided to cancel it.  Not that this was straightforward either.
5. ...because when they finally sent the account information, it didn't include the typical login details.  It just identified my by my chosen domain name.  Having to email customer support just for your login details?  Frustrating.  Infuriating by this point.
6. I had to contact them again to find out what username to use to log in so that I could access the cancellation screen (which is an automated system within the cPanel).

The lesson is: just because a company has a slick website and hypes their support options doesn't mean it's any good.  Also, I think they might sponsor Wordpress.org to give them that recommendation.

Also, watch out for Godaddy.  They 

buy domain names users search for and then charge you to buy it back from them

, oh and their 

CEO murders elephants

.

Have a hosting experience to share?  Want to tell me I'm crazy?  Let me know in the comments.