Imagine or you're actually with a big company that has long since past its prime, that at one time been a regulated monopoly and as such been known for bullying or at best ignoring customers rather than innovating or going out of its way to serve them.

Even though the world has changed since your glory days--you have hungry competitors, your customers can drop your offerings at a flip of the appropriate fingers and they can cost you other buyers by telling the world via social media how lousy your outfit is--your culture hasn't.

So when a customer complains about your service to your CEO: a logical action because that person is ultimately responsible for the actions of your firm, what does one of your good soldiers, just following orders from their superiors of course, do? Threaten the customer, of course.