I seem to have that effect far too often. What, do I wear too much perfume or something?

James, another tip is to ask friends and colleagues who they host with, and ask about their experiences. You can't beat direct referrals. They've been with the host or designer, they know the work style, they have an idea what kind of support you can expect, they know how the host / designer communicates. If you just try to choose a host based on what you see in the various hosting directories, you may be at somewhat of a loss - because you still don't really know the company.