I've been running/developing browser based games for several years now, and the one complaint I get over and over is that the mods are terrible. I even did a survey recently, and while my support ticket response time is only a couple of hours, the rating of customer service severely suffered, specifically due to the dislike of how the moderators handle things in the game (chat, forums, etc).
I'm wondering if this is just how it is with these type of things and that the people speaking out are just the trouble-makers (which I know this is obviously some of it). I really want my customer service to be known as high quality, but there's no way to get there without improving the moderation situation. I hear everything from mods being "tyrannical" to abusing power to not doing anything and playing favorites.
I have selected highly regarded players in the games that have been around a long time and volunteered to do the job. I've got rules outlined that the moderators are supposed to enforce. What else can be done to improve the situation?