In the past, a customer product complaint such as a poorly made pair of shoes probably would not make it out of a close circle of friends or associates. But now, there is a new factor in the customer service game that has completely turned the tables on production quality requirements: social media.

Customers now will do much more damage to a company when they have a complaint about a product. They will post it on Facebook (News - Alert). They will tweet it. By doing so, they will take the reputation of your company and throw it into cyberspace—where it will continue to live on and damage the name of your brand long after they have moved on.