It's an unfortunate fact that, when times get economically tough, more people than usual come out of the woodwork to take advantage of others.

I'm sure you've heard the statement, "Silence is acceptance." I think they use it on the anti-drug commercials. And, I'm pretty sure they stole it from me. But, that's okay. At least I know I could be sitting on Madison Avenue instead of in front of this lousy computer.

Ever think about that statement? Ever think about how many things it could apply to in our lives? Ever really think about the number of things we accept by our silence simply because we don't want to make waves? Hey! What's a little wave?

Let's look at it another way. Ever think about the really mammoth size waves we create by our silence? I'm talking tsunami here!

Someone may not want to make waves over the suspicion that a kid is using drugs. What kind of a wave do they have when the kid ODs? Tsunami? You bet! That's what silence will get us.

A tsunami is exactly what is sweeping the Internet. We have a wave of unprofessional businesses drowning the rest of us in the murky water of their race to get-rich-quick. It's a wave of online companies with no concern for the customer other than how to get their money in the quickest way possible.

It isn't just the new online business owner - who may still be an inexperienced amateur. It's even the giant corporations. In the past, they handled their business professionally. They bent over backward to make customer service a top priority. I guess when you can market to the whole world you don't need to bother to take care of the individual customer, eh?

How did this become a tsunami? How did it get out of hand? You guessed it! We've gone along with it - especially if we were new to the Internet - because we didn't want to make waves! We've accepted it by our silence.

Every business owner on the Internet is also a customer on the Internet. If you're struggling to run a professional company, I know darn well you keep running into service - or product - providers who don't appreciate your business. They often act like they don't even need the customer in order to their keep their company afloat.

Fair enough. If that's what they think - let's tell other potential customers about it. These companies will no doubt thank us when they NEVER have to think about another customer!

It's time to stop staying silent. In fact, it's past time! Let's spread the word. Maybe a little pressure will push back that tsunami that's threatening to drown us all. Maybe a little pressure will encourage some of these people to start running their companies in a more professional manner.

We have several ways to do that ...

First, we need to pay attention. Never mind what their PR says - never mind what their affiliates say - are you getting what you're paying for? And, are you being treated like a VALUED customer, as you should be?

If not, we can begin - by stopping. STOP accepting unacceptable treatment from online companies. STOP doing business with those who promise one thing and deliver something less. STOP doing business with those who have no regard for considerate customer service.

And finally, we can start. START realizing that silence truly is acceptance! START telling everyone you know why you stopped doing business with these companies.

Here's where they think they have us. They think we're afraid to do anything other than stay silent. Me? I knew years ago that silence is acceptance. It's time we all made some noise!