"Wendy's: You Will Have Your Burger With Toppings Or You Will Get Nothing."

"Wells Fargo Forces You To Pay Off Loans Costliest Way Possible."

"AirTran Agent Screams, Curses At Travelers While Supervisor Looks On."

And those are just a few of the headlines from consumer bitchfest/watchdog site Consumerist, where angry customers send in their tales of corporate wrong-doing. The site is packed with complaints about surly employees, retarded customer service representatives, stand-offish managers, and general corporate idiocy. Amidst all the angst and wrath though, is a great lesson for entrepreneurs: no matter how amazing a major corporation's products or services are, small businesses can almost always beat them when it comes to providing exceptional customer service.

Think about it. The companies that put people on hold for 174 minutes (ahem, Blackberry) or publicly berate customers are almost always corporate giants who employ so many people that there's typically more than a few rogue employees who wouldn't know good customer service if it smacked them in the head. This is where small businesses have a real advantage.

When a customer is angry, typically they just want someone to listen, to accept responsibility, and fix it (in that order). Nevermind how simple it sounds. It's still something big business hasn't been able to figure out. But as a small business owner, you have a far greater shot at making a consumer happy than a corporation who pays a customer service hack minimum wage to field angry calls. Take advantage of that edge, and use it to better compete with the big guys. If you're launching a start-up, even stress it as a competitive strength in your business plan, particularly if you're entering a market with a lot of major players. Remember, angry Wal-Mart customers have to go somewhere...