I only ever buy poles from Brodex, never bought an 'off the peg' system from anyone as it's so simple to assemble your own from the component parts, and so much cheaper.
I've still got the alloy Prolong I bought several years ago, as good as new up to the day I stopped cleaning windows.
All my people have Hydra poles. They are very robust, come in enough lengths for all heights, including ground floor, they are always on 'special offer' if you buy a few at a time and work out very cheap. May not suit some of you perfectionists, but if you have to kit out employees/franchisees with poles to do the job and last more than a few months they are unbeatable.
OK so the clamps have a habit of coming loose but a careful application of Araldite makes a permanent repair. None of the poles we have ever seem to run out of adjustment on the clamps, unlike glass and carbon where the poles wear to the point that the clamps won't close down far enough to grip them.
I don't know about poor customer relations, I've always had a good response from them.
Just thought I ought to put the 'satisfied customer' point of view.