I think you may have misinterpreted what I wrote in my original posting on my website’s blog. What I said was that lack of communication will lead to a far greater chance of a lawsuit being filed. Nowhere in my post did I mention the term “customer service.”

No one is ever forced to pander to an unreasonable customer (and I am making no judgments about the customer in the Best Buy case as I only have the purported facts from a news article). In fact, businesses always reserve the right to do business (or not) with whomever they choose (discrimination excepted). However, when a dissatisfied customer is not dealt with at all, what other avenues does that customer have to be heard? The courts and the press (and anyone else they can tell).

Most lawsuits are about being heard and about correcting a perceived “unfairness” or wrong (which are always in the eye of the beholder). When one side of a dispute does not communicate, you’re more likely to get a lawsuit. That’s one reason why mediation can be so successful: parties can be heard and perceived wrongs can get addressed.