It has been argued that social media has given even the most introverted and meek the power to speak their mind in ways loud enough to be heard around the world, with power and influence that matches even the greatest politicians.

But what are they saying? Or more importantly, what are they saying about you?

This question has become a major selling tool for dozens of “experts” and “gurus” who are selling courses, books and consulting services to businesses of all sizes. Their goal is to convince these companies that not embracing social media will result losing touch with their customers by not knowing what’s being said about them online.

And while this may hold true for major brands such as Dell, Toyota and McDonalds, the fact is that for most businesses, no one cares enough to say anything – good or bad.

You see, there’s three questions to ask when analyzing the power of negative reviews.

1. How are people sharing their experiences?
2. Who’s listening?
3. What influence do they have?

While some people may tweet about poor service at a restaurant, for the most part they still share their experiences, both good and bad, in person. And in some ways can be more influential than any tweet – or not influential at all.

And if a negative comment about you or your company is tweeted or written about, does anyone even know about it? With most tweets and blogs being read by dozens rather than thousands, it’s quite possible that only a handful of people will ever find out about your lousy return policy or poor customer service anyway.

And even if they do find out about it, who’s the source? Would you not see a movie because someone you follow on Twitter said it sucks? Likely not.

So my advice to you would be this: don’t care too much. That’s right. Who gives a crap that some bitter customer with a bad attitude has issues with you?

Now before you start commenting on the validity of that concept, let’s get some things straight.

First, you are focused on making your customers happy. For you, customer service is not lip service. You do whatever it takes – without killing yourself in the process.

Second, you provide quality products and services at a fair price.

Third, you embrace feedback, both good and bad. You know that a complaint is really a chance for you to prove how great you are. But the condition is that it must be direct and not a rumor spread through Twitter or on some blog site.

The fact is that if you focus on making each customer happy using a set of established guidelines, policies and standards, then you are likely already ahead of your competitors. And for those that you cannot please? They will always exist. It’s a fact of life.

Let them go. Apologize. Give them their money back if possible. Never lay blame. And welcome them back if they choose to return. And if they choose to vent their anger and frustration online, who cares? After all, you’re too busy making your real customers happy.