Long suffering with Telecom

It seems the discussion about issues with Telecom's BigTime broadband plan has achieved a record status here on Geekzone (from Mauricio's Twitter account):

Threads of this nature are common on Geekzone, and I'm not picking on Telecom as it happens to all the Internet Service Providers (ISP).  What continues to amaze me is the complaints that users will post, while still paying the ISP for service, and how long it takes for them to swap to another provider!

This doesn't seem to apply in any other facet of life: if a cafe gives you bad service, you find an alternative for your next caffeine fix; if a mechanic does a poor job servicing your car, you seek recommendations from friends as to who to use next time; if a rental car company gives you the run around you seek a better one.

The argument of term contracts isn't even valid.  Speed issues aren't seen on the other Telecom plans, and you are allowed to change your plan once a month for no charge.  Why is it that so many users have stuck with this plan, and not ended their suffering by changing plans/ISPs?

The mind boggles.