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What if it is a coordinated attack by sophisticated cyber-criminals, as when a group of self-styled experts in online reputation destruction contacted CheapAir with a threat to flood review sites with negativity?

There is plenty of corporate crisis research on how and why to respond promptly, fairly, and firmly to complaints. “But there is a gap on how to react in terms of customer blackmailing,” according to Maike Steggemann of the University of Twente in The Netherlands, who analyzed online blackmail against companies as a study in shifting power relations between consumer and retailer.

This kind of research has led to various taxonomies of complainers, such as whether they are naturally meek, aggressive, high-rolling, discerning, opportunistic, or just chronic whiners.

In their 2012 book Attack of the Customers, Paul Gillin and Greg Gianfort identify four main types of attackers. The least worrisome is the casual complainer who is annoyed but unlikely to dwell on it. The most stubborn and successful is the committed crusader with a grudge that is often motivated by human or animal rights or the environment. The noisiest is the indignant influencer whose fame amplifies their every dissatisfaction. The most sinister is the extortionist who seeks rewards, damage or compensation that is not willingly on offer.

Photo by SunMedia

There seems to be a fifth type of complainer, though: those who portray themselves as altruistic in their aggression, as if their goal is to save others from having complaints of their own. These are the black swans of Yelp and TripAdvisor, and they demand both the most sensitive and the most powerful corporate reactions.