How do some companies survive?

I think the most important component of a succesful company is it's service. It may seem that customer service is a hit or miss with companies, but over the past couple years I have realized that there is a direct relation between quality of service and cost of the product. I didn't want to use a real example, but good friends at Rogers have gracefully allowed me to bash them. I had a cell phone with Rogers three years ago, and the two years I was with them were the most miserable I had ever been. I was a prisoner to their horrible service; locked down by a never-ending contract (two years seemed like an eternity with Rogers). Everytime I had a problem (very often), I would call 'customer service', only to hang up even more irritated. I was so anxious to leave the company that I bailed out a couple months early for Telus. Now, Telus, wow...my friends were right. Customer service is top-notch, they seem to actually respect their customers. I have, to this day, not had a single problem with Telus.

Today, my mother's Rogers cell phone wasn't working, so she asked me to fix it. I called customer service, and after 5 minutes of an irritating man asking me to 'tell him what is the reason for my call', I was finally able to speak with a 'customer service representative'. I told her the problem, and she insisted that the options on the phone had been changed, and would have to be changed back. I was certain they weren't because my mom doesn't go fiddling around with the phone. So, I had to hang up with her to look at the options (which obviously hadn't been changed). I called back to tell her how incredibly stupid she was, and the 'voice recognition' automatic system (which drives me off the wall) sent me to a technician in the cable department. He then forwarded me back to wireless which was then closed at that time. So, the problem hasn't been fixed, I wasted 45 minutes of my time, and I popped a few blood vessels on my forehead.

Moral of the story? Rogers has poor customer service (and reception), and please, spend the extra few dollars and sign up with a company that is worth your time and money.