Hatchling Gators
Written by Chad Bean on April 17, 2008 – 8:31 pm -HostGator has been growing in record numbers lately, and hiring employees just as fast. We thought it might be interesting to go around and harass some of the new trainees. Without further ado, meet our new employees as recorded by Justin…
The first few people we interviewed for the video started saying how much we sucked, but after canning them the morale suddenly increased as you can see in the above video.
The employee culture at HG has generally stayed the same over the years. I started at the company when there were just 4 of us in a small office in Florida, and now we’re closing in on 200 employees in our Houston office.
One of the cool things about the company is you’ll see the owner, Brent Oxley, at the office every day working more hours than just about any other employee. Many new hires would never expect him to be the owner of the company, which reminds me of a prank we pulled on Vincent when he first started.
Vince was heading home after his shift, when he ran into Brent. Not knowing that Brent was the owner, Brent was asking him how he liked it at the job. Of course Vince, like the other new fish you saw in the video, declared his love for the job. He was a bit surprised, however, when Brent started going off on how much he hated the company. Acting as though he was a disgruntled employee, Brent mentioned how he was going to come back the next day with a gun to shoot the place up.
Brent went on for a minute complaining about the “owner” of the company and how much of an @!^hole the owner was before he asked if Vince had met him yet. Vince had tried to reason with Brent not to shoot the place up, until Brent finally broke the news and introducing himself to him.
Good thing Vincent loved his job that day.
P.S. We’re looking for excellent System Administrators and Support Techs to join the fold. Apply today if you want to love your job too.
Tags: Comedy, employees
Posted in Gator Politics | 16 Comments »
By Kayol H on Apr 18, 2008 | Reply
Cool, but the environment looks like a typical call center. Last week we pranked one of our employees by putting clear tape over the lazer under his mouse. When he came back from a coffee run he was completely confused. Next week we’ll flip his screen upside down.
By Andre on Apr 19, 2008 | Reply
Hey hey, no personal pranking!
By Thales on Apr 19, 2008 | Reply
I applied quite a while back, after personally speaking with Brent about an issue with my account. Too bad they aren’t nearby, I’m stuck in sunny and sandy Gulf Shores, AL. It does look like an average call-center environment, admittedly not as crowded, but it still looks very impersonal. Maybe once I finish my BS I’ll apply again.
By Vincent on Apr 21, 2008 | Reply
The building actually has an admin area, sales area and the call/chat pit area. That was just one small area for chats and phones. :)
By jonel on Apr 24, 2008 | Reply
Nice to know that more crocs are added to this family to take care of our nest in the web.
By Gerald Weber on Apr 28, 2008 | Reply
That prank is hilarious! I would have loved to witness that! ROFL!
By Gerald Weber on Apr 28, 2008 | Reply
The people and the management are what makes the environment. Not the walls and the cubicles. =)
By Kristen- 1st Lady of Hostgator on May 8, 2008 | Reply
It’s good to know that other people pull pranks and have a sense of humor!
I speak from personal experience when I say that Brent is a HUGE prankster. Maybe I’ll convince him to post a blog about all of the pranks he has pulled here at Hostgator. He is always skeeming!
And don’t worry Vincent, we will definitely mention when he got you :)
By Dave on Jun 21, 2008 | Reply
This is an excellent marketing tool. At some other hosting companies I’ve worked with I suspect the support staff was about 3 people. Seeing that many trainees convinces me that you have adequate support staff.
By Mahaki on Aug 3, 2008 | Reply
WHAT……do I get, if I sign up with HostGator?
What will it cost me per month
By John Reed on Aug 9, 2008 | Reply
Thanks! Really funny. I wish i could spend my time on writing articles…just have no time for it.
By Noon on Aug 11, 2008 | Reply
Thanks! Really funny. Big ups!
By charismatic on Aug 23, 2008 | Reply
I just wanna say that the best resources of a company should be the employees.
By nick cook on Dec 4, 2008 | Reply
Host Gator seem to be looking ok … but have to say need cheer up the place a little. My company has also grown, and the best thing I did was to give people a nice place to work. Let them do there thing in their space and bingo productivity goes up.
All the best hostgator happy to be on board.
Reseller
By Free Online Store on Dec 23, 2008 | Reply
Ahh thanks great little video. Thanks for this post guys :D
Richard.
By Amanda on Apr 25, 2009 | Reply
A lot of HG employees have glasses. It makes me want to go out and buy a pair to fit in :P They make it look good! :D