I have a personal-use, low-volume site mainly used for experimenting with various LAMP applications for academic and potential enterprise use. The only problem I have ever had has been occasional delays in email processing (POP access from our email clients). Since I am not a business, this has not been critical. I would not make a commercial enterprise dependent on this level of service. General downtime has been virtually nil — outstanding reliability. Customer and technical support have always been surprisingly good for a plan that costs $9.95 per month. Regarding canceling services, I recently canceled a domain registration using 1and1's online tools. It was not difficult. I received a confirmation, which I kept for billing validation purposes. Even for a $5 or $10 plan, some level of user competence is necessary. You must be able to read step-by-step instructions, apply them, and — if calling for help is necessary, be able to frame your issue in clear language and follow along as a technician guides you through a solution. This is standard for the use of any technology. If you are not comfortable operating with web-based guidance and form-based tools, you need to have someone else manage your web presence.
I have no interest in 1and1, other than as a customer. If 1and1 is going downhill, I will soon become aware of it. For now, and the past three plus years, 1and1's service has been incredibly good for the cost. If you've ever had a truly terrible host (and I have), you will recognize the 1and1 is actually pretty darn good.