Dave Winer, one of the earliest bloggers, prolific web publisher, and a key developer of the RSS technology so many of us use daily, has made many pithy statements worth remembering, but I was reminded of one over the weekend as the silly GASP customer complaint “thingie” went viral.

Dave opined  “if you don’t want me to slag off at your product, don’t have a shit product”. A retailer sells goods, but the service is a part of the offering  to customers, so irrespective of weather or not a purchase is made, it is in the retailers interests to have them leave with a smile on their face.

The dresses at Gasp may be worn by so called stars, but the failure by the self proclaimed sales superstar  to recognise that individuals can now extract a substantial revenge for poor service via social media should ensure his superstardom is exercised elsewhere, perhaps serving petrol at the local Woolies where he cannot do much damage to his employers brand.