Not Paying Attention to Smaller Companies

If you want a stable relationship with a carrier, you may gravitate toward well-established companies like AT&T, MCI, or Sprint. If service is what really matters to you, you might need to refine your criteria.

Large telecom companies that have been around forever are often disjointed amalgamations of smaller companies they consumed, merged with, split off for special projects, or inherited from companies they consumed, merged with, or were split off for special projects. To avoid the incongruous workings of the main company, find a smaller, more personal connection with a smaller carrier. You could get lucky and end up with a less antiseptic version of customer service.

 Tip  Either contract with a switchless reseller that uses one of these carriers to handle its traffic or do some research to find any special division within the big carrier that has been designed to interact with you on a human level. Either way, you might just get the best of both worlds.