Google specifically seems to target their services much more at the large enterprise, rather than small companies and individuals. Enterprise will always pay for support, so if they are your target market, it's a given you can get them to pay. It's less of a necessity for providing lower costs, and more of a business decision to not expend resources to acquire customers that aren't bringing in tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars every month.

$10-20/month VPS providers often respond to, and actually take action, on tickets within 5-15 minutes at no extra cost. Of course there is no guarantee, and a ticket can certainly wind up unresolved for 24+ hours. In my experience, if the ticket you file clearly explains your issue and represents something they can realistically help you with, the level of service provided for such a low server cost can be exceptional.