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“I don’t have time to deal with this stuff,” a resigned Smith said by phone. “If you can fix something immediately when we call and don’t play the stupid blame game, then we’re yours.”

Stories like Smith’s are splashed across the Internet – in forums and on fan pages that look like hate pages, a public tug-of-war between Canadians and the telecom companies that serve them. Rogers isn’t the only target. In an online forum, a user asked: “Hey, Telus! Why do you suck so much?” (In the same thread, another user called Telus Corp. “a gift from God.”) And to BCE Inc.‘s Bell Mobility: “Get your sh-together,” from a Reddit user.

Based on what telecom executives are saying publicly, customer service is something they’re taking very, very seriously. BCE’s George Cope told shareholders that a focus on service is “paramount.” During the past two years, the telecom has spent $300 million to upgrade its IT systems so it can collect deeper insights about its subscribers and what they want.

Guy Laurence, chief executive at Rogers, has not stopped talking about how much he cares for his clients since he arrived in 2013. Improved service is a pillar by which both companies measure success.

In its “expect more” ad campaign, Telus is telling people that it’s the best for service today and it’ ll do even better than the best tomorrow. In fact, internally, it strives to be the world’s most recommended company.

“One of the easiest things is to understand, at a visceral level, what customers don’t like and stop doing it,” Darren Entwistle, chief executive at Telus, said last month during an interview. “Don’t pay Mc-Kinsey, don’t pay Bain, don’t pay BCG, don’t pay EY. The customer is my coach. All you have to do is listen.”