I think this is definitely a positive change that's going on. Everyone is loyal to a phone/cable/internet company because they are more or less stuck with them as there are usually only a couple of options in most areas. Even in bigger cities there may be up to 5 companies or so to choose from, which really isn't a whole lot in the scheme of things.
Happy consumers that can put there resources where they want to could stimulate an economy more than anything. We of course in the transition process where we are still stuck in this boat, but Netflix is definitely and slowly killing huge companies like DirecTV and Dish, as well as others. Perhaps they will begin to adapt and perhaps charge per channel. Because if you're like most consumers you don't watch all 150 DirectTV channels in the standard package as more than half of them are Home Shopping Network type channels and a handful of music channels.
However, as far as customer service, it has definitely shifted a lot in the past 15 years. It didn't used to be so automated. In fact, when I try to get ahold of my health insurance company, I typically wait 10-15 minutes on hold after I put in my information until I get ahold of someone...then I get transferred.
The sad part is the firms don't really consider that a part of their marketing which they DEFINITELY should. The problem I think stemmed from so many companies that did do this to save costs that it allows all of them to do this. I think many firms are afraid to go back to this because that would mean they would incur more costs. But of course we know that we would be much more likely to be loyal to a company that practices such a strategy (always getting ahold of someone) and would lead to longterm profits.
But of course, therein lies the even larger problem. Many businesses today have a very short-term focus. Which, in my opinion, may be the reason we are in a recession today. Make a quick buck now rather than a lifetime of cashflow.
