Thanks for the post.
I personally host several sites at HostGator and have had good support experiences. HostGator has live chat support with can be very helpful for some problems.
Another excellent choice is Rochen.
Rochen Review They know Joomla inside and out and have very fast shared hosting servers. They could be a few dollars more per month but well worth it.
Don't think they have live chat but their email support is excellent.
Hope this help and let me know if you have any more questions.
Thanks!