Despite the fact that this isn't the most importantfactor to help you recognize a trustworthy shared web hosting company from a bad one and a reseller from an actual supplier, being able to call and speak with a live person is an indicator that you are not working with a one-person service provider and that you'll be able to reach someone if you're looking for support. The phone support for web hosting services may vary from basic to dedicated, thus the issues that can be resolved through a call differ based on the specific provider. In the general case, these issues are more basic and feature billing or 1st level technical issues because more difficult tasks generally require a support ticket where both you and the administrators can track what's going on with a particular issue. However, having the option to call your supplier can save you considerable time and efforts for the countless small things which may eventually show up at the time you manage your hosting account.