Godaddy is probably the most highly advertised hosting company in the United States. It is one of the only hosting companies that you will see on television, so that alone gives it an edge in drawing clients. But how does it perform overall?
Reliability/security with Godaddy is average. The uptime is decent for such a big company, meaning that your website will load and perform in an efficient manner. Godaddy offers many security options as well. However, most services that they offer, you will have to pay extra for. Godaddy most likely will be one of the most reliable companies to host with, due to its funding, and number of clients. Don't expect it to go out of business or fall off because it has already seen a tremendous amount of success.
Functionality with Godaddy is overall excellent. Any service that you can think of, Godaddy offers or supports. They also provide both linux and windows hosting.. a feature that many hosts do not yet feature. If a new upgrade of a program comes out, Godaddy is very fast at providing the latest version. Other notable features include: built in ftp client, complete domain control, many freebies such as adwords credits, and facebook advertising.
Customer Service with Godaddy is average. Phone support wait time is very minimal. Because they have a fairly large employment base, you will more then likely get through to a representative within five minutes of placing the call. As far as knowledge goes, many representatives that you may encounter could use a little more training.