Getting a prompt enquiry response from a large company can seem like a lottery. Fortunately, there are some good companies around, which begs the question that if they can do it why can't others?
I very recently had an experience with a service provider that was conducting an unsolicited telephone campaign with existing customers, to sell a new service. Due to the persistence of the agent and the fact that I was not interested in the offer, the result was a very poor customer experience which I reported to their complaints department.
Their response however, was exemplary. The following day, I was contacted with an apology, a corrective action and an offer to waive a month's service charge. In addition, the inevitable 'how did we do' survey arrived the following day but was only two questions. Full marks again. The result is that I am still happy with their service and would recommend them to others. It cost very little for them but kept a satisfied customer.
Contrast this with the experience had with another service provider, where a response to a simple enquiry took weeks and actually getting something changed needed multiple calls and emails, with no sense of urgency apparent. It wasn't as though they didn't need to keep the business, as they have plenty of competition.
It has been said of the internet that a falsehood can travel around the world before the truth has even got out of bed. And so it is true about customers. It can take a long time to get new ones but an instant to lose one.