Nastiness on the Internet: A Tribute to Good Retailers Who Suffer Bad Customers

I prefer a peaceful life. Do my errands in familiar places. Sometimes I like to try something new. Generally, all my needs are well met by the retailers I patronize offline and online. If there's a glitch, I'm either patient and get what I need in the end, or just go to a different store that has the item. No big deal. I just want to pick up my stuff and go home.

That is not the world of the Global Mouthpiece that is the Internet.

The Web has so much potential for global commerce, bringing people together amicably, and an awesome resource for research and information. Unfortunately, this great tool is often identified instead by the worst faceless users in the world (some criminals), who spew mountains of hateful rhetoric for global publication every day. Ugly attacks and "Rantrums" against other people on the Web is way out of control, and is enabling public behavior that is openly uncivil, narcissistic, anti-social, and sometimes dangerous.

Really, there is a deep need for greater online regulation (never mind re-training in basic social skills), and a lot of retailers are quietly, politely, showing signs of getting proactively fed up.

One vocal online merchant says (and I totally paraphrase for his protection) that large and small retailers are increasingly and unnecessarily burdened with rude, undisciplined, and often abusive customers that cost way more than they should. Anger (sometimes enhanced by substance abuse?) can be stoked further by safe anonymity and what is often unregulated libel in Chat Rooms, Forums, Blogs, and online "Review" sites. Smaller business have been undeservedly damaged, or even ruined, by some of the more awful attacks from people who will destroy everything, and harm anyone, when they can't have their way. Even the last word in a dispute is up for grabs.