This post is co-authored by
Saba Zia.
Social media is great "word of mouth" advertising when
things go right. It can also be a nightmare in damage control when
things go wrong. Sometimes the unsatisfied customer just lets it
rip fairly or unfairly.
In a recent Ontario case,
2964376 Canada Inc. (Ameublement Prestige Furniture) v.
Bisaillon, a retailer was awarded Cdn. $15,000 in damages for
defamation after the daughter of an unsatisfied customer began an
e-mail campaign. Although the case deals with e-mail, there is no
reason why it would not apply to social media.
The facts of the alleged unsatisfactory customer service were
not unusual. The customer had purchased a dining room table.
It was damaged. There were attempts to fix it. The company offered
to rebuild the table. The customer wanted a refund. When the
customer didn't get the refund, the customer's daughter
began an email campaign.
