Every year when my contract is about to expire they tell me my rates will be increasing from $60 to $90/mo., I call in and say I want to cancel and go to CenturyLink unless there is a comparable retention offer, and they continuously offer me a similar rate if I sign a new contract. It takes about 5 minutes, though I wish I didn't have to jump through hoops.
In a competitive market, they will do this for me within 2 calls usually with no escalations.
My friends in places where there is no other option go all the way up the chain with no results, since their threat to leave has no teeth.
It was crazy observing the difference in customer service when I moved to a major metro.
What I'm trying to say is that I agree that they suck, but they do subsidize the cities with higher fees in the country, and also that haggling is important.