Sign with logo for Verizon, San Francisco, California, November 20, 2025. (Photo by Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images)Gado via Getty ImagesDuring the height of the cable bundle years, one ongoing complaint from customers was that customer service was a terrible experience. Next to complaints about the DMV, complaining about your cable company was almost an American pastime. And as industry experts explained at the time, there were valid reasons for customer discontent:“The cable companies’ roots were in monopolies, so in many cases, that created a corporate culture where customer satisfaction was a low priority. In many instances, cable companies were given exclusive rights to various geographic areas and therefore had no incentive to provide good — let alone great — customer service.
Initially, customers were much more satisfied with new internet and digital television competitors. In part, because those new companies were trying harder. And because they had fewer opportunities to annoy customers: Satellite service and IPTV providers are now in a honeymoon period with customers, and it will be interesting to see if their high marks in customer service remain as the market mature. Consumers tend to remember negative experiences more than positive ones, and many have had only a limited number of interactions — and therefore a limited number of possible bad experiences — with the new entrants.”
