I’ve been reading Heather Armstrong for years, and I’m a big fan. Truly, it was the experience of reading both her posts and Jessamyn’s during their pregnancies several years ago that helped me start feeling like I was maybe possibly in theory just a tiny bit ready to have kids of my own. The realness of what they wrote about did a lot for me in terms of confronting a lot of vague fears; the palpable beauty and love in their words helped me in ways I find difficult to explain.

I think Heather’s a hell of a smart cookie for leveraging her website the way she has, and I believe she deserves every bit of recognition she gets. She’s got an audience that’s hard for me to fathom—over a million followers on Twitter alone. Even subtracting the spambots, that’s . . . intense. That’s, like, the entire population of Detroit. Can you imagine sharing the intimate details of your life with Detroit? I mean, not Detroit specifically, just—fuck it, you know what I mean.

Anyway, if you follow her on Twitter you may have seen some posts from her about Maytag. I don’t know the whole story, but it sounds like she bought a brand new washing machine, it broke, and subsequent attempts to have it fixed didn’t work out. She posted several frustrated-sounding Twitter updates that repeatedly included the phrase DO NOT BUY MAYTAG.

It sounded like Home Depot connected with her on Twitter, and eventually, Whirlpool (the parent company of Maytag). It wasn’t clear if anyone actually called her, or did anything to help resolve the broken washer situation, but from the perspective of Twitter-bystander it sounded like they were trying to help. But maybe not. It was hard to tell.

I don’t work for Maytag, nor am I a fan of sitting back and accepting bad customer service. When I was treated poorly by American Airlines a while back, I definitely complained about it. I think it’s a good thing to share these stories, both for consumers and for the businesses that are hopefully going to see them.

I think there’s a difference, though, between taking the time to explain what went wrong, and basically calling for a boycott of a company because of your own personal experience. “Do not buy Maytag” is a call to action, and it went out to over a million people. Does Heather have the right to use Twitter to vent about an annoying situation she’s dealing with? Absolutely. Is there an ethical issue in telling such a large audience not to give a company their business, without providing any backstory aside from a short-by-nature series of updates someone may or may not have read, depending on how frequently they’re checking Twitter? Maybe. That’s where I disagree with her choice to call Maytag out in such a public fashion—not because she doesn’t have the right to receive good service, but because it was less of a “Hey Maytag, here’s what’s going on, you are totally shitting the bed right now,” and more of a no-context brand-bash to her entire audience.

At my company we monitor Twitter mentions constantly. Our support team jumps on any issues we see out there and we do our best to make pissed off people happy again. I fully understand the impact one person can have when they’re unhappy with your service, and maybe part of where I’m coming from is imagining being on the marketing side of Maytag right now, trying to do damage control and—from the looks of things—learning about Twitter for the first time (note that Whirlpool has a total of 11 updates, 4 of which involve Dooce).

Does Maytag deserve this kind of bad PR? Well, I think my problem with the whole thing is that I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s a company-wide Maytag problem, a local Home Depot problem, a stupid service-person problem, or what. A non-working washing machine sucks, especially in a house with kids—believe me, I get it. But should I not buy a Maytag the next time I need a new appliance? Heather seems to think so. And while I won’t make my purchasing decision based on one anecdotal piece of information, here’s the thing: some people will. Maybe a LOT of people. All you have to do is search Twitter for the responses people sent to Whirlpool on Heather’s behalf to understand the power of her influence. Or hell, look at some of the messages sent my way after I publicly disagreed with her.

Marketers will be talking about this, how one blogger stirred up so much conversation over a broken washing machine. People will theorize about the role of social media and the consumer, and much will be made of how consumers now have a voice in the face of uncaring corporate entities.

This isn’t quite the right story, though. Yes, companies should be using social media if they want to listen to their customers. Yes, consumers have the right to share their experiences, good and bad, because we can all benefit from that. But this isn’t the average customer/company interaction. Heather’s Maytag posts don’t prove that bitching about a company on Twitter gets you anywhere, it’s an anomalous data point. After all, how many people have over a million people listening to what we have to say? At this point, Maytag can’t win PR-wise: if they don’t respond, she stays mad; if they do respond, their actions seem less genuine than they would have been if Heather had, say, 20 followers. I think the more relevant issue has to do with whether a larger voice leads to greater responsibilities. In this case, as much as it seems like Heather should be able to say what she wants because what the hell, it’s her Twitter account . . . I kind of think it does.

I really do hope Heather’s washing machine gets fixed soon. And I hope that if the weird knocking sound in my dryer means my (non-Maytag) appliance is on its last legs, I can get it resolved. You know, on my own.

Comments

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Scattered Mom
14 years ago

I thought you were brave for calling what was happening for what it was. While I like Dooce occasionally, I agree that the sudden tweets calling out a company with no back story was a poor choice. What really left a bad taste in my mouth after reading Dooce’s account was that while on the phone with Maytag customer service she finally pulled the “do you know who I AM?” card and practically threatened Maytag with saying something on Twitter. The customer service girl told her it wouldn’t make a difference-I hope she still has her JOB.

I believe that sort of behavior on the part of bloggers (famous or not) makes the rest of us look bad, and I resent it. It reminds me of the woman threatening the Crocs rep at Blog Her, and ruins our credibility.

Mel
Mel
14 years ago

She wasn’t calling for a boycott, she was simply saying that she wouldn’t buy maytag if she were you. So she’s got an audience. So what? She can still say what she likes, just like you can misconstrue things as much as you like.

Sorry your audience isn’t so big, and sorry your poetry isn’t as popular.

“boycott” is a strong word. No where did she say “boycott” this company.

Scattered Mom
14 years ago

Oh and Sundry, I had never heard of you before this, but you can bet I’m following you on Twitter and your blog now. :)

Jessica
Jessica
14 years ago

I think you make a good point, but I found this tweet to be really, really unfortunate.

“Would now be a bad time to mention this weird noise our dryer is making? I think there might be a sense of entitlement stuck inside it.”

Krissa
Krissa
14 years ago

Yes, you called her a bully AND ALSO you did it to gain readers. I mean, *obviously.*

Jessica
Jessica
14 years ago

@Sundry — that’s good to hear! I think you and Heather are both real nice ladies. I appreciate your blogging and entertaining us masses.

Whippy's
14 years ago

This entire event has been so intriguing to me on so many levels.

You both expressed your opinions & received responses both negative/positive. The fact that you both can do this, as women, in America is fortunate.

My Mother, 77 yrs old, would never speak out about anything that either you or Dooce put out in public via blogs/Tweets. She is horrified that I blog & feels the same about anyone that does.

Lastly, just imagine what all your kids will be like as a result of mothers, like you & Dooce, that freely express themselves … Hopefully they won’t accept status quo or unsatisfactory customer service from any business!!

In the end … Good for both of you. Develop thick skin & carry on. You can’t please everybody & why would you want to spend your entire life doing that anyway? : )

=^..^=

/

Tessa
Tessa
14 years ago

I agree that the multiple DO NOT BUY MAYTAG tweets without the full story to go with it were irresponsible. (Once she finally posted the whole thing, I agree, it was a series of terrible customer service experiences, but…I certainly hope that she never has a bad experience with my company or any of yours.

I also think it’s kind of funny that your posts involving laundry-related issues are always the ones that bring out the haters for you. Let’s go back to discussing fabric softener use on sheets!

Marinka
14 years ago

Heather has every right to vent her frustration on Twitter, or however she sees fit. she absolutely has the right to tweet “off with their heads!” but her followers, and I’m one of them, need to figure out for themselves whether they’re going to follow blindly or think it through.

I saw part of the discussion last week and wasn’t motivated to do anything but have my laundry sent out to be done by someone else and delivered to me, all clean and folded.

Kim's Korner
14 years ago

I’m not on Twitter. I don’t tweet. I missed the whole thing and simply ended up here by following another thread the other night. Never been here before.

I’m simply an unknown blogger. I have no ill will towards Sundry, but yes, like many others, I do read Dooce.

I’m blown away by the whole ‘Team Sundry vs Team Dooce’ hatred going on and although my blog is read worldwide, I’m GLAD I’m not ‘popular’ enough to have enough fans/followers to make a ‘Team Anything’. Not if THIS is what being on a team involves. For either side.

I’d just like to point out a couple of things, then I’ll be on my way back to obscurity.

Perhaps Heather wasn’t putting out that tweet so EVERYONE would boycott Maytag. Heather is internet savy enough to know the power of the tool. PERHAPS … she was simply hoping the RIGHT person would read it.

I know when I’ve received shitty customer service, and I feel I’m being mis-treated by the CSR, I will ask to speak to someone who I think WILL be able to solve my problem. Someone who understands. Someone who ‘gets it’. PERHAPS that’s what Heather was shooting for? To get the RIGHT person to finally hear her?

There have only been two moments in my life where I’ve gone over a supervisor’s head. Two instances where I’ve contacted the ‘head honcho’ of a corporation. LARGE corporations.

And you know what? Me, the lowly unknown blogger, got service. IMMEDIATELY. FROM THE PRESIDENT OF THE MAJOR ORGANIZATION.

And I’m not even #26!

I just needed the RIGHT person to hear my story. The person who actually had the power to FIX it. And it was fixed. Immediately.

Also, this is not the first time something like this has been done. As perviously mentioned. We’ve all blogged or talked about bad service.

Some of you may have heard or seen the YouTube video for United Breaks Guitars

That was done by a local Halifax musician, who had flown United, had his guitar broken by baggage handlers and spent a YEAR dealing with United and their bad customer service over it.

When I blogged about Dave’s Video he had just over 500,000 hits. Because the song struck a chord with consumers, it’s now up over 5 million.

United finally got the message, and are compensating him for his guitar.

Only AFTER going extremely public with his complaint.

One man. Who wasn’t #26. But needed the RIGHT person to hear him.

Should he NOT have used YouTube on the chance that ‘too many people’ would see it?

It’s exactly what he should have used. IF after going the ‘original routes’ he didn’t get the satisfaction he deserved, SURE he shoud have!

I don’t fault Heather for doing so either.

The squeeky wheel gets the grease.

Heather’s washing machine wheel wasn’t working … she squeeked (or Tweeted) LOUDLY … it’s now greased. And working.

I say more power to her, and power to her readers (and yours) for having their own brains to think for themselves. And act accordingly.

OK. Done. Going back to my Korner now.

Kim's Korner
14 years ago

Oops, sorry, the link for United Breaks Guitars didn’t come through for some reason. Those interested can find it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YGc4zOqozo

I won’t bother reposting the link for my blog post on it. It’s not all that important to the original comment anyway ;-)

Abby
14 years ago

I’d love to say that if I had been in Heather’s shoes I would’ve taken the high road and not done what she did but … I’m human, and I know what it’s like to be sleep-deprived while caring for an infant.

It’s WILD to me that this has been taken so far. I had no clue what was going on because I try avoid the Internet a few days a week, and this all blew up while I was away.

However, perhaps many companies could learn a lesson here. They are only as good as their customer service because machines DO break occasionally, and they need to be prepared to deal with ticked-off customers when that happens. If Heather hadn’t been treated so poorly this would all be different, I’d venture to guess. An “I’m sorry, let’s try to fix things this way” goes a lot farther than an irritated sigh from a gum-chomping 20-year-old.

That all being said your reply was eloquently stated. Maybe we should all remember that elementary-school rule – Time to learn to agree to disagree.

Lesley
Lesley
14 years ago

To beat this dead horse a little more, I clicked on Dooce’s twitter followers and a good number seem to be spammers and bots. Parasites, if you will.

kim
kim
14 years ago

I don’t understand the ones who defend Dooce’s right to post anything she wants but then slam you for what you’ve said. If it’s ok for Dooce, why isn’t it ok for you?

And most of the ones who defend Dooce are doing so after she’s posted the backstory – which: duh – is why her tweets now make sense…the whole point of your comment was she had provided no backstory at that time.

I read both of you, but you are my favorite blogger regardless.

I will say it seems a bit self-serving for her to figuratively shake her finger at all of us because she “thank Mike Hamilton” saves her money for big purchases – when her site is known to produce upwards of $40,000/month in ad revenue for her – $1300 is chump change for her, no saving required.

And she has an assistant – why couldn’t she run to the laundromat for her, it’s the kind of thing an assistant does: right? All this crap about dirty laundry piled up was ridiculous – she has friends/family as well – I think the idea that her house smelled like spoiled milk was a bit of creative writing, not at all her reality.

Sweetney
14 years ago

God, what to say after reading all of those comments? People never cease to amaze me. And I mean that both ways.

I have no judgments to pass or points to argue, I merely wanted to say that, having been through the interweb wringer before myself, I’m sorry you’re having to go through it. The good news is, the attention span of the internet is REMARKABLY short.

I have a lot of respect for you, and you’ve handled this with a lot of guts and grace. In a couple of days, this will be near ancient history, thank god. Until then, do what you can to find rest and peace, and know you are very loved.

l
l
14 years ago

i hate this whole thing because it just shows how bitchy (mostly commenters are) and how quick everyone is to judge and bitch and hate on each other. seriously. you wonder what is wrong with this world? It took me about twenty reads of i hate dooce, im unfollowing her rah rah rah to get fed up with all of this. all. of. it. i enjoy both blogs, but rarely get involved because people are so so so quick to hate on each other.

i seriously dont care about the situation we dont even have the brand maytag where I live. there are two sides to every story, but if someone wants to vent on twitter i dont see why its such an amazing whooo haa we hate either/both sides.

jo-jo
jo-jo
14 years ago

I couldn’t agree with you more. I was really turned off my the numerous tweets and was disappointed in her “do you know who I am” take on the situation. Yes, she went through a shitty experience, and it really sucks, but man…..I don’t know, I really like to read Dooce and now I’m a little less in love with her for that. Which makes me sad.

Also, I know its been said already, but you really do have majorly big balls. In the best way of course, mad props for being willing to ruffle the feathers of someone with so much pull. I love you even more for it!! :)

Alyce
Alyce
14 years ago

If I (joe blow american consumer) had a product that didn’t work and I was getting the runaround from customer service and no-help-technicians arriving at my house, I’d be pissed. Understandably so. But I would have handled it differently. And that’s where, Linda, you make the very best of points.

See? I’d have just packed up my 10 loads of laundry and gone to the laundromat. Instead of spending 4 days doing the laundry, I’d have it done in 2 hours tops. Plus, I’d have been able to read a couple of old People magazines and sip on whatever cold coffee beverage I grabbed next door.

In other words, I’d have dealt. I would not have started a national campaign to boycott anyone.

If I had done that, I would have been mocked to kingdom come.

Liz
Liz
14 years ago

Hey, @Leslie,

There is more than one “Liz” – go figure it’s a common name. Please refrain from the insults before you think of that. I’d put up a link or something but I don’t have a page of my own. I’m the one who called Linda’s post “less than classy” – I’ve been a long time reader but I’ve never before commented.

Now I’m really turned off this blog. Not only by the post, but by vicious community members like you, who see a common name and jump over everyone.

Great community, Linda. Seems really in tune to the whole “jump down other women’s throats” kind of thing.

Patsy
Patsy
14 years ago

I followed a link from Pooponpeeps.com

I was very impress by how you handled yourself.

I do have to question WHY you want to remain friends with Heather. Is it clearly for aesthetics? I mean can you say you dislike Heather in public and still be received the way you have. Lets be honest. People who publicly say they dislike Dooce, are not going to be asked to speak at blogher.

Patsy
Patsy
14 years ago

Where did my comment go?

Tammy
14 years ago

I have read only a few of the other comments so forgive me if I am bleating on in the same vain.
I read both you and Dooce’s blogs and love them both. I’m not an avid commenter, just a stalky type reader but I felt compelled to throw my tuppence worth in on this one.
I think people are missing the bigger picture here. The fact is, Dooce went out and spent $1300 of her hard earned money (for a lot of people – a weeks salary) on a brand new washer. The expectation being that …it worked. It didn’t. She called Maytag to tell them and instead of apologising profusely and sending a Brand New appliance that DID work within a reasonable amount of time, she was given the run around…all the while Maytag holding on to her hard earned $1300. I would have lost my freaking mind.
At what point did it become okay to passively accept terrible customer service? Yes, shit happens, and I certainly don’t think we should expect absolute perfection but once a problem is flagged it should at the very least be put right with as little disruption to the consumer who forked over their weeks salary, as possible. Could she have gone to the laundromat? Yeah. Should she have had to? NO.
Social Media works both ways. Companies can also benefit from the good PR received which should in turn prompt them to not treat their customers as though they are a mere obstacle to raking in a ridiculous profit. If nothing else, maybe just maybe, Maytag and other companies like them will use this as motivation to bring back some form of decent customer service.
I say Hoorah for Dooce and for getting it done!

Janna
Janna
14 years ago

I second Tammy, but I appreciate the great discussion. (I’ll ignore a few of the nastier comments I just happened to read.)

But here’s my opinion:
I’m a bit flabbergasted by all the sympathy here for Maytag. Who cares if Dooce was mean to Maytag? They sold her a sh*tty product and then refused to take responsibility. Perhaps it was an isolated incident, but I highly doubt it. She just happened to have the audience to get them to pay attention. I would have done it too if I could.

I do have personal sympathy for the marketing folks at Maytag who I’m sure had a hell of time dealing with all the bad PR. However, again, I doubt that it’s just their bad luck that the one person who ever had a bad experience with their product and service was a blogger with a million twitter followers. The much more likely scenario is that this or similar has happened to lots and lots of people who just don’t happen to be famous. And while the folks at Maytag may have a big headache, the responsible thing for them to do is take a look at how a customer could have been treated so badly and make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Will that happen? I don’t know. I fear that more likely Dooce will be sued for libel, just as Oprah was when she criticized beef.

I also think a “national boycott” takes a lot more than a couple of tweets to organize. And unfortunately, while this has raised a bunch of conversation, I wouldn’t be surprised if it didn’t affect Maytag sales at all. THAT would be interesting info to add into the mix.

kim
kim
14 years ago

I still want to print Team Sundry and Team Dooce shirts and sell them, since I did NOT win the megamillions. :(

Lisa
Lisa
14 years ago

Are you kidding me?? Is this really something to debate about?? A twitter post?? Most likely venting from frustration because you have a toddler and newborn and don’t have time to F around with this crap?? Shame on this for being a discussion and shame on anyone who makes their purchasing decisions based on a twitter post.

ade
ade
14 years ago

This is so ridiculous. If her experience helps any customer service department get their crap together, then I’m all for blogging and twittering. I’m SOOO sick and tired of calling huge companies, only to get transferred twenty billions times, told over and over again that my problem can’t be fixed by some snotty bored little bitch and hung up on. I have to say that I love what Dooce did. The service was ridiculous and Maytag deserved the bad press. I read her blog and thought “AWESOME” “WAY TO GO” “YOU TELL THEM!!!”

This is my first time here…I don’t think I will come back.

Stumpy
Stumpy
14 years ago

Hey, you’re entitled to your opinion, but I wholly disagree that (totally paraphrasing it here) she needs to frakking watch it (rethink what she’s saying, etc) when she whines/vents just because she’s got followers/readers?

Dude. That’s what I’d call to be limiting freedom of speech (or tweet or bitch in this case).

I have a blog myself and have bitched about my husband’s car being broken into, on how the cops were dealing with it, etc, and oh well, if I had like 1 million followers, basically..I won’t be allowed to openly voice my frustration? Because I may be giving the local police department a ‘bad’ name?

That’s discrimination. To tell people what they can or can’t write/bitch about based on the amount of people listening. My experience may be a REAL one and until the day comes when we’re actually honoring censorship, etc, if I ever had millions of followers, I do refuse to shut my mouth from bitching :)

I don’t even know who she is (or you) until someone actually linked the story today.

Laura
Laura
14 years ago

@Stumpy – you have no idea what you’re talking about. Freedom of speech means you can say what you want without the government censoring you, not that you can say what you want with no consequences or any sense of responsibility. Similarly, discrimination is when someone is denied something, like a job, or a hotel room, or access to a water fountain, because they belong to a certain group, whether defined by race, gender, or religion, generally. It does not mean pointing out when someone is irresponsible.

Julie
Julie
14 years ago

I believe Dooce totally reserves the right to express her frustration for the poor service she received. If folks choose to boycott a major corporation, so be it. She’s not “making” them do that, free will people, free will.

alfredsmom
14 years ago

Wow- a lot of people are totally over-reacting here. Your post was mature and well thought out. You arent a bully, you are just expressing your opinion. I love both you and Dooce and I know you weren’t trying to cause any sort of throw down like some others have said. Silly commenters.

BTW- good luck with your big triathlon! I think I remember you saying it is in Sept, just not sure when. So impressed with your stamina and determination.

Liz
Liz
14 years ago

You know what gets me most about this whole situation? Outside of (what I consider) a very interesting conversation about marketing, internet responsibility, and customer service, this whole chorus of “BULLY!” or “JEALOUS!” or “HUGE BALLS OMG!” has gotten OUT of CONTROL. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen two people disagreeing spark such battle.

Sad to see that two women openly disagreeing with each other causing such an uproar. I can’t help but feel if this was two men, it’d have boiled down to “Dude, you suck” “No, dude, YOU suck” “Eh, fuck you, dude*” and we all would have rolled our eyes and been spared the hassle of feeling like we had to ‘choose a side’ and expect someone to apologize for having the audacity to have voiced a differing opinion.

ANYWAY: appreciate the clarifying post here, and have really enjoyed this conversation as it plays out. Lot’s of good things to talk about. Also: Bosch as got to be LOVING this whole shebang.

*Men: Don’t email me. I know that you can argue more intelligently than that.

Kizz
14 years ago

Now that all the info is out about it and we know that some of your interest comes from the perspective of a company who follows social media comments about its work I want to contribute to the conversation on that level. I hate bad customer service (who doesn’t?), it makes me seethe. It would anyway but, since I worked in customer service in a few different industries, I really try to approach the problem in a kind way and with an understanding approach to a worker who simply doesn’t have access to the tools to help me. I hated it when that was the case for me. Recently I was in a dust up with a communications company on behalf of my boss whose husband had recently died. They were clearly screwing her on a couple of levels and it was my job to fix it. The customer service was abominable. It was so bad that when I got to the highest level of it the supervisor yelled at me. Anyway, neither here nor there but to say that, as I read your argument, I thought about that experience and how poorly I (and my sweet boss) was treated and I tried to imagine if I would have vented on Twitter or Facebook or my blog (I don’t have Twitter, I try very hard not to put job things on the other two) if it had been a personal thing. I sure as heck blogged about Bank of America when the treated me like shit on a shingle personally. Honestly, regardless of how few or how many followers I had I don’t think I could have stopped myself, and I’m sure I wouldn’t have given the full story until I could calm down because it was so ridiculously bad I couldn’t think straight. The pull of the quick release would be too much.

I don’t know if she has a responsibility to be more careful what she says given her job and her following. I do think that she wound up giving Maytag an opportunity for some good publicity and they took it. I also think that everyone (Dooce included) who said that calling her Do Not Buy tweet dangerous was undervaluing the intelligence of her readers has a point. And yet…so do you.

You’re right, it’s a really interesting conversation.

JennyM
14 years ago

@Laura (8:11 PM)– thank you. Jebus.

Anyway, ah, the wonderful, horrible Internet.

B
B
14 years ago

All I can say is freedom of speech; someone can speak, but you don’t have to listen. Just because someone has more of a global audience, does that mean that they have to hold back from speaking their mind? Couldn’t agree with SKL more! It is the responsibility of the audience to remain educated. Either there is alot of truth to Heather’s posts, or there are pretty many ignorant ppl in the world…

Lesley
Lesley
14 years ago

Liz, yes I was addressing you. Your writing voice and multiple comments have been unremarkably consistent: rude and ill-informed. Heavens, even Heather’s husband complimented Linda on her post and supported her right to engage in debate. Guess you missed that.

Now, since you think ill of Linda and her readers, despite the fact that you couldn’t be bothered reading her post in its entirety or most of the comments, you’re welcome to change the channel. Or you can continue blathering away about a blog you’ve – to paraphrase – “never read and have no interest in.” It’s your time, waste it as you see fit.

Robyn
Robyn
14 years ago

Don’t all you crazy ladies have some diapers to change or something? I can’t figure out why this even mattered to you, Linda, but hopefully Maytag will replace your appliances for looking out for them. That’s the only motivation I can see from this post.

ginger
ginger
14 years ago

I really wonder what it’s like for Heather, having so many people willing to “defend” her against any perceived slight? Can she call them off, or are they pretty much self-directed? (Not that I think she did much to call them off this time – I think she kinda stirred ’em up, actually.)

susan
susan
14 years ago

Arriving late to the party (as usual). As a person senstive to phrasing and tone, to *me* had she worded her Tweet just a little differently it may not have struck such a chord. Perhaps it would have been better received if she’d said “I WILL NEVER BUY MAYTAG AGAIN,” vs. “DON’T BUY MAYTAG.” One is a personal choice/rant, the other *could* be interpreted as a call to action. I can see how it rubbed some the wrong way.

Lorrie
14 years ago

[Lorrie, I’m sorry, I felt this comment was too much of a personal attack to stay posted here. – Linda]

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