A friend who doesn't work in the food industry, but who has lots of buddies who do, was chatting with me recently when we got on the topic of how some restaurants treat their employees. Based on her friends' insider war stories, over the years she has compiled an ever-growing list of restaurants she simply will not visit, no matter how off-the-charts their reviews are.

She's not alone. Many modern consumers are very conscientious about the businesses they support; they "vote with their dollars" and take pride in banning all manner of establishments that flaunt socially unacceptable and environmentally unfriendly practices.

Through the magic of Facebook, not only do they make a personal decision not to shop, eat at, or even step foot in certain places, but they have no qualms or barriers about waging a campaign to encourage their friends and even complete strangers to join them in their protest.

Now, I'm not suggesting avoiding bad PR is the only reason to treat your employees with respect and within reasonable and legal standards. I'm saying it's just one reason and since I am in PR, that's the reason I write about. People want to feel good about how they spend their hard-earned money, especially at a time when it's in short supply.

So next time you reach for a pot to hurtle across the kitchen, consider who might catch wind of your lousy behavior and manage up.