ORIGINAL: Straightarrow
Remember, the customer is always right - at least in their minds. A happy customer will tell a few people how nice your shop is. An unhappy one will go out of their way to tell 20 or 30 how terrible it is. It pays big dividends to be sure you have as few unhappy customers as possible.
I have personal experience with this. I did some work for a very difficult woman and was able to complete the work and meet all of her demands even though it cost me considerably. I have because of this received well over $100,000 worth of business from people she knows. You never know who you are talking too.
Dealing with the public:
Never complain about them and always be sympathetic about their troubles to everyone and I mean everyone and people will seek you out. I don't even talk negatively about customers to people who are close to me. I've learned that the hard way.