Indirect is best

When you're a kid, you have one way of confrontation: directly against the person who aggravated you. "Hey, give that back!"

When you're a grownup, hopefully you'll learn a different technique. Let's call it "indirect." If you are upset at something I did, do you call me out on it? Total waste of time. I get mad at you, you end up looking bad.

The better maneuver is that I tell others around you what you did. I create a compelling narrative sympathetic to my story. Choose the details that put me in a good light, you in a bad one.

If my story is any good, others rally to my cause. They see the harm in what you've done. They may not really remember all the details of what you did later, but when they see you, they have a negative thought about you.

This negatively impacts your reputation, and if this happens enough, you will suffer for it.

I guess this is why social review networks are so powerful: they let people tell others about bad service you offered. If enough people complain, your reputation will be impacted. It has to be, if by definition reputation is what others say about you.