Why do we hate our telecom providers?

We released our Top Rated Report for the 4th quarter of 2008. http://www.vendorrate.com/news/2009-01-13-VendorRate-Q4-Report.pdf

 Our executive summary mentioned a trend we've spotted during our first 10 months of observing IT and telecom professionals rate their vendors.  The strongest undercurrent of dissatisfaction among business professionals is directed towards their providers of wired telecom services, wireless telecom services, and data services.  After asking myself why for a few months, I think I've come up with my own answer. 

 I think the answer may be in their policies of captive contracts and device exclusivity agreements. If our company wants to roll out Palm Pre smart phones once they are released, we have to switch from Verizon to Sprint.  We did not deploy iPhones because we did not want to change to AT&T Wireless.  I personally had to "settle' for my 3rd choice of Blackberry.  My first two choices denied, I started out mad 14 months ago, and I'm still harboring resentment. A bitter aftertaste is always present.

Our business is totally dependent our data, voice, and wireless providers.  These vendors have leveraged our helplessness to lock most businesses into agreements we don't like.  I don't care how nice or knowledgeable the person on the other end of the transaction attempts to be, they are merely trying to  put air freshener in their outhouse.  

That's my take.  What's your organization's experience with your telecom and wireless vendors?

Comments

[Ben Kunz]

You touch on a deep issue. I think the reason there is so much frustration with wireless vendors is customers want communication to be immediate, and yet have to sort through so many conflicting standards in
- device selection
- coverage
- initial payments
- ongoing payments
- entanglement strategies (contracts, rollover minutes, add-on lines)
- relatively lousy interfaces
- and a curve of constantly improving technology that makes any decision on the above feel like a worse "deal" in about 6 months.

Beyond this, prices have fallen in many other technology areas and yet consumers still pay $100-$200 per month for cell service. There is a growing realization that the total costs to consumers (and businesses) for communications including phone, web, television, cable, music are too high -- and feel like a bad deal when the price of other mentally related services (laptops, digital cameras, software) is moving lower faster.

In sum, the telecom/wireless industry is defending margins in a world where digitization is moving almost everything else to the "free." It's a completely understandable defense, but not one to build love among the consumers or businesses paying for it.