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Technology companies get away with this because technology consumers have low expectations. Not because we don't expect support, but rather we have come to expect lousy support. Terrible service. We've been conditioned to see these values as a separate product that is an optional purchase.

In some ways this is changing. Because of consolidation in the market, many sectors in the tech industry have already found the low cost leaders, and the rest need to rely on support and service to differentiate their product.

Also there is pressure from the open source community. While open source software generally can't compete on features and ease of use, I have found that open source communities are exceeding commercial offerings when it comes to service. Returning to my .Mac example, Apple offers email-only support to .Mac users. Also, Apple only guarantees a response within 24 hours. In my case, Apple did not respond to inquiries and it did not meet that 24-hour response time constraint. That same week I was having .Mac woes, I was trying to build the Java 1.4.2 SDK on FreeBSD. Granted this is out of the realm of the typical user, but it is an excellent counterpoint to Apple's poor support. I was having trouble so I posted a message to two BSD mailing lists, including the java list where the developers talk. I received two excellent responses within thirty minutes, which solved my problem completely.

Granted open source groups do not make any claim of support, service, or accountability, but I have found them to be more responsive and more courteous than many professional support services. When a commercial operation cannot supply the value attached free software, they need to seriously reevaluate their policies and practices.

Besides lower expectations, technology companies enjoy a lack of options and competition. This isn't true of all products, but it is something to contend with. If you were unhappy with your toaster or your VCR, you could easily shop at a different store or buy a different brand. If you were having problems with an accounting software package, you may only have a choice between three or four companies. In many cases, you may have to stick with a single company due to the availability of features or perhaps you need to use a de-facto standard. Other, non-technical users are often unaware of other options or unsure how to locate them.

When you receive poor service or support from a company, or a company refuses to take responsibility for its actions, do not be complacent. Make a stink. Don't go away. Don't allow yourself to have low expectations. Regardless of how a company acts, the consumer holds the power in any business transaction.

Remember that support and services costs money. If you go to the lowest cost provider, you aren't going to get the red carpet treatment. So never demand more than is fair. Still, demand accountability from the company.

Second, don't be afraid to look elsewhere. Nothing hurts a company more than losing a customer. Especially if you are a customer that is likely to make repeat purchases. Even if you think that you're locked into a particular product or service, it's never as bad as you think. A great example of this is Ernie Ball of the Sterling Ball Company. Microsoft treated him so poorly that he replaced all Microsoft products in his company with alternatives. There was no reason for this to happen other than arrogance on the part of one company.

Finally, tell people. Tell everyone and anyone. There is an old business rule of thumb that every unsatisfied customer tells twelve people about their experience. I've heard the rule stated with a disgruntled customer telling as many as twenty-four other people. The consumer has the power. With the communication capability of the Internet, we can post reviews and create entire web sites to point out bad experiences. Customer satisfaction in the Internet age is more important than ever.

Again, take the example of my .Mac experience. Apple wouldn't pay a representative to fix my problem or to help me. How much would it have cost them to do this? When you consider that .Mac service costs $100 per year, when you subtract the cost of running the service and paying someone to help me, they may have severely damaged or even negated any profit gained from me that year. But they also lost my $100 for next year. They lost my $100 for the year after that. They lost any referrals I may have sent them. They may lose my business when I purchase my next PC. Furthermore, I have just started a small business and I spent over a week gathering information on what platform to standardize on. OS X was near the top of my list. Even though Apple hardware costs more money, I was counting on the ease of use and support to make the TCO lower over the course of the lifetime of the machine. I'm not so sure at this point. Also, I have told everyone I know about this experience and I was so moved by their indifference that I created DotMacSucks.com.

Every disgruntled customer has the potential to become an evangelist against a company that doesn't live up to their responsibilities. As tech consumers it is time to put corporations on notice that we will be complacent no more.

Fred McCann works as a Software Engineer in New York City