ship should be and how it should work. Consumer Expectations Because of its privileged status as a protected monopoly, consumers in many markets have come to automatically, and in many cases subconsciously, associate many of the characteristics of their original relationships with providers. The basic rules of the telecom provider/consumer relationship were simple. Telcos were responsible for providing high-quality phone eXcellence in Telecommunications The Telco Churn Handbook service to all citizens of the country on an equal basis. Rates for the services were set by the government. This meant that consumers never needed to develop a sense of value for the services they received. Phone service was phone service, and that was all there was to it. There was no concept of shopping or negotiating for the service. This history has created several interesting side effects in today's marketplace. Everybody Hates the Phone Company Because customers could not bargain for services and because there were no alternative providers consumers learned that there was only one avenue for communication with the phone company, and that was to complain. Complaining to and about the phone company got to be a standard lament for many consumers. Comedians in almost every country in the world had a collection of phone company jokes that made fun of the poor quality, appalling customer service, and terrible frustrations that most consumers felt. Lily Tomlin's famous Phone Lady on Rowan and Martin's Laugh In television show in the 1970s highlighted this stereotype. The character, a phone operator, would answer phone calls, threaten customers, and in general display an attitude of arrogance and power that many people believed typified the attitude of the phone company. In the 1960s movie, The Presidents Analyst, the star, James Coburn, spent the entire movie uncovering the fact that the phone company had taken over the world and was controlling all of the governments and companies through the use of information gained by listening in on e