What would you do if you got a critical e-mail from someone, say, a frenemy? You would doubtless forward it to all your friends, right?  Friends are our buffer zone, our protective shield.  And today, Facebook gives us the opportunity to have many friends, some of whom we don't even know!  Whether or not that defies the definition of 'friend' doesn't matter.  They are there and they are our sounding board. 

This is a vital point in the area of customer service.  If you have a bad experience with a product or service, you usually tell all your friends.  Dramatize the story to the hilt for more effect.  Add equal parts fire and bloodshed.  Point is, word can spread instantaneously.  

So many people have so many friends that customer service is vital today.  Just one wrong move, one bad experience, and hundreds of people could get the wrong (or correct?) impression about you and your services.  What kind of message are you sending?