Have you ever experienced having to deal with a decision tree in a suppliers phone system? Isn't it frustrating?

About a week ago I tried to change something in my Visa account. And of course the problem that I first encountered was that what I wanted to do wasn't one of the options that were available. The things that I wanted were dealt with by head office and not the partner bank in question. After three calls I believe, I was so angry and frustrated that I was ready to explode.

So I have been reading with interest recently some of the comments about Dell's customer service that are appearing and wondering what other companies have a serious customer service problem, and which ones really excell at service.

Here and here are a couple of interesting reads about the way Dell treats customers for instance. I have heard (and have had) some dreadful experiences on airlines over the years - which is probably not surprising considering how much I fly. And I have heard some dreadful criticism of United and BA over the years. I fly with United quite a lot, and notwithstanding the fact that their planes are all looking a bit tired, I still travel with them, partly because their frequent flyer program is one of the best, I think.

How can companies improve the way that they service customers and make a fundamental shift for themselves?