A few years ago, I had what has, luckily, been my only largely negative experience with an airline. I swore off the company and wrote a complaint letter, but when I received a free trip voucher along with an apology note, the airline quickly regained my business. I got what I was ultimately looking for—acknowledgement of the mistake and some decent customer service.

Unfortunately for United Airlines, a single unaddressed customer complaint turned into a full-blown social media crisis. When Dave Carroll’s numerous phone calls and e-mails to the company yielded no response, he took his grievance to a different outlet where he knew he would be heard—YouTube.

Carroll, who claims the airline broke his $3,500 guitar on a flight last year, joined forces with his band, Sons of Maxwell, and created a music video chronicling his complaint and the lack of customer service. The video grabbed the attention of not only United Airlines, but 2.5 million others, with 20,000 ratings and over 13,000 comments.

With platforms like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, it is now more imperative than ever that companies listen to their customers. As United Airlines has undoubtedly learned, if you won’t listen, customers can find a much bigger audience who will.

If there is one thing that makes us tick at T3, it’s listening to our clients’ customers.

I had a remarkable opportunity last week to sit down over breakfast with some farmers in upstate New York and talk. The coffee was pouring, plates clanking, eggs and pancakes flying everywhere. About as far as you can get from your traditional focus group.

But these people were totally comfortable talking about a brand they loved. They told stories, pulled out pictures and laughed with each other. We heard about their gardens, pets, kids and grandkids.

They told us what we were doing right (a lot!) and what we were doing wrong.

You could almost touch the work ethic in the room.

And when it was over, most of them came up to us and shook our hands and told us how much they appreciated us coming out and asking their opinion. And they said they enjoyed visiting with each other and hoped we would ask them to come back sometime.

We have all the high-tech listening platforms you would expect. But there is nothing better than talking face to face over a plate of chopped ham and eggs.

We got real insight. And we made some friends.

Listening is good.

As marketers, we talk a lot about digital experiences and how to make them better for consumers. I totally agree that these conversations are valid and that digital is now at the center of successful marketing programs. However, I often wonder about the lack of attention given to in-store experiences. And as a consumer, I am quick to notice and applaud those businesses doing it right.

Last night I stopped at Whole Foods Market at 9:30 p.m. (30 minutes before the store closes). To be honest, I was tired from a long day and not in the brightest mood. Having yet to eat dinner, I was thrilled to find my favorite salmon and sweet potatoes still fresh on the grill. I went on to produce and picked up some great tips from an employee about picking peaches. Not to mention that the produce was perfectly displayed and, as usual, no digging required to find just the right selection.

Since the experience was so pleasant, I picked up a few more items than planned. At checkout, I reminisced with the cashier about his pair of heart sunglasses that were strikingly similar to my favorite from childhood. I received compliments on my reusable grocery bag’s design, and got into an interesting conversation with employees about similar products.

I headed home more relaxed than before my shopping stop. Every day consumers interact with brands, up close and personal. The experiences they come away with shape their purchase decisions for years to come. We often hear brands talk about their hope of providing a 360-degree experience, where every touchpoint is consistent and excellent. As marketers, we have the chance to help consumers with maybe 180 of those degrees. It’s refreshing to be reminded of the power of the other 180 that make up the purchase experience.