ISPs say their "excellent customer service" is why users don't switch providers

Customer Service vs. Reality

• Most commenters reject the idea that “excellent customer service” keeps users from switching.
• Common view: if you need to contact ISP support at all, the provider has already failed.
• “Good” service is defined as never needing support; stable connectivity matters more than any interaction.
• A minority say they genuinely like or tolerate big ISPs because they rarely have issues and don’t care about speed/price optimization.

Lack of Competition and Switching Friction

• Dominant theme: people don’t switch because there are few or no viable alternatives, not because they’re happy.
• Many report single-provider or de‑facto monopolies (especially cable) or only much worse alternatives (very slow DSL, WISP, Starlink price/perf).
• Even where a second option appears, switching is seen as a hassle: new equipment, scheduling installs, fear of outages, or complex cancellation processes.
• Some note that mere presence of competition improves incumbent offers (higher speeds, lower prices).

Pricing Games and Retention Tactics

• Numerous anecdotes of:
  • Sudden large price hikes until customer threatens to leave, then “special deals” restoring old rates.
  • Introductory discounts that expire, driving churn every 6–12 months.
  • Full‑month billing even after cancellation requests.
• Many see this as evidence of market power and regulatory failure, not good service.

Cancellation, Billing, and Equipment Horror Stories

• Long waits just to return hardware; mandatory sign‑ins and queues for 30‑second tasks.
• Fear of being falsely billed for unreturned equipment; insistence on receipts, which sometimes still don’t prevent charges and even debt collection.
• Stories of “cancelled” accounts that were never actually canceled, leading to months of bogus bills and threats of collections.

Examples of Better Models

• Municipal or coop fiber and some niche ISPs are praised: lower prices, symmetric speeds, low latency, minimal outages, and highly competent support.
• International examples (EU, UK, NZ, AU, Canada, Helsinki) highlight:
  • Structural separation of infrastructure from retail ISPs.
  • Regulated wholesale access and easier switching.
  • Mixed results where regulation exists but pricing or design still favors incumbents.

Technical Quality vs. Support

• Some note issues like bufferbloat, asymmetric upload, and data caps as bigger problems than frontline support.
• Others run dual ISPs; redundancy makes occasional outages tolerable and softens views on any one provider.