Who can help me?

I'm stuck in quite the predicament with my internet provider, Clearwire right now. When I first made the switch from Comcast, I was excited about the new technology, and very optimistic. When the issues started, I was patient, trying to work through the glitches. Now, the problems have continued, the customer support has been terrible, and I've completely soured on Clearwire.

I've run through all of the troubleshooting steps at least five times because every time I chat or call, I get told to do the same thing (maybe they should consider keeping a record of things I've tried). Last time I was asked to try the modem in every room in the house, even though the nearest tower is to the SE and when in the second story SE window, I get virtually no signal. Putting it in the garage was a real good use of my time. So now, I want to cancel. I've been fighting for a year, and I'm tired of it. Unfortunately, I am locked into a two year contract. My opinion is that since Clearwire has failed miserably to uphold their service promise, and I have continually jumped through hoops to try and make it work, they should waive the termination fee. But who can actually help me with this?

When I ask the online chat person, they aren't able to do anything, and I have to call. When I try to send an e-mail because it is after the appropriate calling hours, I get a response that says I have to use the online chat. When I finally take time during my day to get ahold of someone on the phone, I have to do phone troubleshooting steps (this is challenging given the fact that I am at work during the day and can't troubleshoot my internet). Assuming I can ever get through those steps, I must then have a technician come out and look at my modem (apparently I'm uncapable of pointing it in SE direction, and am just making up problems because I get kicks out of talking to customer service and not being able to use my own internet). The technician though is only available from 9-4 Monday - Thursday (I'm not kidding, won't come early, won't come late because that might inconvenience the tech). This means I have to miss a half day of work because I have to wait for a tech, and I can't actually work at home because of the whole internet problem. So, do I horribly inconvenience myself to have a tech show up to tell me that it's not that bad for the five minutes that he is there, or do I pay an unrealistic cancellation fee to save myself the headache of continuing to have a modem that is as effective as a paperweight?

Why do companies do this? Rather than me being able to part ways, and chalk it up to it just didn't work for me, I am now so upset that I am telling everyone I know to stay away from Clearwire at all costs. Why is customer service so difficult? And it's not just Clearwire.

Companies spend so much time and effort on acquiring the customer that they have nothing left for their current customers. Current customers are a source of revenue and dollars. Non-customers are a source of expenses. Customer complaints should not be discouraged, dismissed, or thought of as frustrating. In fact, customer complaints should be seen as a great marketing opportunity. Handling a current customer's issue quickly and effectively is some of the best PR possible. All consumers know that there will be issues, nothing is perfect. It's how those issues are handled that really reflects on a company.