We've all suffered through at least a few truly awful experiences with poor customer service. When it happens, and it seems to happen more nowadays, it always makes a singular and definite impression. In fact, depending on how bad it is, it can stick with us for several hours and in some cases, years.

I call that the "Poor Customer Service (PCS) Hangover" because it can actually debilitate some of us to the point that we almost can't function normally until it wears off. Of course, the most common cure for a PCS Hangover is to immediately tell others of your experience, as a form of cathartic release of the anger and frustration you feel.

But as troublesome as PCS is to your brand, poor service of prospective customers or the public at large is arguably as troubling.

That old saying, "Please one customer she'll tell one other; tick off one customer and she'll tell 10," is as true now as ever. But it needs to be looked at through the branding prism and with keen consideration for today's technology and social media.

Today, you must change the word "customer" in that saying, to "person." Because every person with whom your employees interact has the ability and opportunity to influence others. What's more, technology now allows one person the power to influence many more than 10 other people. And some victims of poor service make it their mission to publicize their bad experience far and wide.

I know of instances where victims have trashed the offending company to their entire e-mail contact list; others vent through Web sites, forums, social media or even blog about it. Not surprisingly, this can have a negative effect on the offending company's brand.

Most organizations work very hard to build and protect their brand. Many assign an employee to be in charge of the brand – to manage it, to cultivate it. Some spend significant sums of money, even retaining outside agencies to help define or improve their brand.

Given that, it's easy to think of branding as something delivered strictly through the various marketing channels – but this common myopia can allow for a subtle brand erosion through inattention to other methods through which your brand is delivered – such as your employees.

Not too long ago I did some mystery shopping and later conducted employee focus groups for a company that had re-branded a year or so earlier. My client was anxious to see if their employees were actually "living the brand."

With a large percentage of the company's 70-plus work force dealing with customers, vendors and the public, both face-to-face and on the phone, there were hundreds of positive branding opportunities each day. Unfortunately, many of these were missed.

Our findings spanned all non-marketing brand delivery avenues. For instance, the CEO never answered his own phone, in fact it was nearly impossible to get to his voice mail and messages were not returned.

Likely taking their cue from the CEO, most of the management team, along with many employees, followed suit and didn't answer theirs. The voice mail system was elliptical with no easy access to an actual human, and some of those charged with answering incoming phone calls were not helpful or pleasant, and were often short or surly to non-customer inquiries.

Non-customer phone calls weren't returned and e-mails were ignored across the board. The management team was nowhere to be found on the Web site; no names, no pictures, no phone or e-mail info. On the HR front, some job applicants were left unacknowledged, and those who were acknowledged received dismissive, brand-negative rejection notices.

All of these actions, inactions and brand-negative attitudes flew in the face of the company's stated values, brand attributes (friendly, attentive, helpful, etc) and positioning.

Today, after some careful planning and training,...