If you have an angry, inconsolable customer, how do you deal with it? I can keep a pretty cool head, even when I know the customer is being ridiculous. Sometimes we have to bear the big brunt when we've only been a small part of a customer's service. For example, a customer that feels he was treated unfairly at the mechanics shop early in the day may be a total tool to the carwash dude later that afternoon. Or, another example, a forum member may treat a newbie's "dumb" question" very rudely because in all of his experience he believes that the newbie shouldn't ask such a stupid question. I would like to share this list of customer service tips with you that I inadvertently came across while searching for phbbb3 spam mod advice.
Helpful, and with open ears is the only way to deal with a customer. If that does not prevent you from stepping down an expensive path (because the customer has unreasonable expectations), then you might need to do more work in defining the terms of your "services" (visa vi legal agreement). Even when you deal with a situation where the customer is "pushing boundaries", you can always find a polite way to inform them of what is within the bounds of your arrangement with them and your willingness to be helpful WITHIN that realm.