Thanks for your reply. I was just trying to find out whether it is a server issue or a zencart issue. I will go back to the server and discuss this more with them.
If they are not familiar with ZenCart they will probably "freak" at the number of querries - -
They need to know that these are well indexed tables - as much as can be and that there are servers that can run ZenCart very quickly
On a VPS they will likely try to up sell you to additional resources