The Incident:

Consumer review websites serve two purposes: to inform consumers about the best values, and to give frustrated and semi-crazy customers a place to vent without making a scene and knocking over a magazine rack. Everybody understands this.

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Well, not everybody. When car transportation company Auto Transport Direct saw customers talking trash about them on Transport Reviews, well, they couldn't leave the complaints unanswered. But, hey, that's understandable, right? Reply to the negative comments, give your side, it's all good.

The Freak-Out:

The employee in charge of conducting their response/flame war kind of took the whole thing personally. So they went right for personal attacks against the reviewers, which is kind of a dick move, but also took the extra step of digging up and posting customers' personal information (real name and home town) to just go that extra dick mile.

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It wasn't a dick accident, either. After "April" left her anonymous review, Direct Express posted her info and taunted her: "Her choice of words in which to express herself should tell you plenty, which fortunately is now captured on the Internet with her full name and town."

Take that, dissatisfied customer!

The Fall-Out:

Once again the heroes at The Consumerist jumped into the fray, posting the story and eliciting the expected outrage in their comments (including one who dug up and posted the personal info on the business's owner, including how much he paid in property taxes last year).

Before it could turn into a full-blown incident, the company edited every one of their snarky responses and pasted an apology on the front page of their site.

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"While we find it frustrating that some people make disparaging comments on the Internet without putting their name to their words, we understand that the Internet works in that way and that we should respect people's right to opine, vent and express themselves in any way they choose. So there will be no more name and town stuff... We get it. And we're sorry."