The reason they're so hated is a perfect combination of Service Quality x Frequency. The service quality is horrendous and intentionally misleading, for all the reasons you've stated, among others. But that's just the half of it. We, as consumers, have to deal with these companies on a regular basis. We get their crazy bills every month. We get outages, and we have to navigate a labyrinth of bullshit to get them serviced. We get their up-sales calls every month, despite repeatedly asking to be removed from whatever hell-spawned list we're on to get them. Every now and then, we have to deal with their customer service reps on the phone.
The point is, we have tangible, direct experience with these companies every year. By comparison, our experiences with the folks at Halliburton, Monsanto, BP, etc., are indirect. We might rely on their products and services, but we don't deal with these companies directly. This makes them more of an abstraction in our minds. Many of us despise that abstraction, but it remains an abstraction, all the same.
If you look at polls of the most hated brands and companies in America, many of them are brands and companies we engage with personally and frequently. Airlines, credit card companies, cable and ISPs, cellular companies, insurance providers, etc. Companies like Blackwater (or whatever it's currently calling itself) don't make those lists, because aside from hearing about them in the news, most people don't have any direct experience with them.
The point is, we have tangible, direct experience with these companies every year. By comparison, our experiences with the folks at Halliburton, Monsanto, BP, etc., are indirect. We might rely on their products and services, but we don't deal with these companies directly. This makes them more of an abstraction in our minds. Many of us despise that abstraction, but it remains an abstraction, all the same.
If you look at polls of the most hated brands and companies in America, many of them are brands and companies we engage with personally and frequently. Airlines, credit card companies, cable and ISPs, cellular companies, insurance providers, etc. Companies like Blackwater (or whatever it's currently calling itself) don't make those lists, because aside from hearing about them in the news, most people don't have any direct experience with them.